OpenAI and Anthropic are rapidly expanding their teams, hiring forward-deployed engineers who bridge the gap between AI technology and customer needs. OpenAI aims to grow its team to about 50 by 2025, while Anthropic plans a five-fold increase in its applied AI personnel this year. Job listings for these roles spiked 800% from January to September 2025, as companies seek practical AI solutions to everyday problems, demonstrating the growing importance of tailored engineering in the AI industry.