WHY_IT_WORKS
Built Different. Proven at Scale.
The team, the technology, and the track record behind the AI Forward-Deployed Engineer model.
Origin
Built by an Engineer, for Engineers
Forward-Deployed Engineering embeds elite engineers directly with your team. It used to require government-sized budgets and multi-year contracts.
ReactorJet changed that. An AI engineer that indexes your codebase, understands your patterns, and ships production-ready code — accessible to any brand, at any scale.
— Tim Lai, Founder
Our Mission
“Forward-Deployed Engineering used to require a Palantir contract. We brought it to every brand that ships online.”
Architecture
The FDE Stack
Three layers working in concert — human judgment at the top, autonomous execution in the middle, elastic scale at the base.
Oversight
Human Expertise
Founder-level engineering judgment guides every engagement. Architectural review, scope definition, and quality gates ensure AI output meets production standards — not just test coverage.
AI Core
FDE Engine
The autonomous engineering core indexes your codebase, writes production-grade code, runs tests, and validates output end-to-end — all in minutes, not days. No context loss between tasks.
Scale
Elastic Capacity
Scale from 1 to 50 concurrent tasks instantly. No hiring cycles, no onboarding lag, no bench cost. Engineering capacity that expands and contracts with your sprint velocity.
OPERATING_PRINCIPLES
How We Operate — And Why It Wins
Four non-negotiable commitments that shape every engagement — and the competitive proof behind them.
Ship, Don't Spec
We measure success in merged PRs, not in Notion documents.
Your Stack, Your Rules
No proprietary frameworks. No vendor lock-in. We work inside your world.
Aligned Incentives
Pay-per-merge means we only win when you do.
Transparent by Default
Every line of code is visible in your repo. No black boxes.
THE_COMPARISON
Three Paths. One Clear Winner.
How an AI Forward-Deployed Engineer stacks up against traditional hiring and agency models.
| Full-Time FTE | Traditional Agency | ReactorJet AI FDE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | $120K–$200K+ / year | $150–$300 / hour | Pay per task or retained |
| Speed to Deploy | 2–6 weeks hiring pipeline | 1–4 weeks SOW + onboarding | Minutes — indexes your codebase |
| Availability | Business hours, PTO, turnover risk | Business hours, timezone gaps | 24/7 elastic AI capacity |
| Flexibility | Fixed headcount, slow to scale | SOW-scoped, change orders | Cancel anytime, scale instantly |
| Code Ownership | You own it | Varies by contract | Always yours — sovereign merge control |
| Domain Fit | Generalist or specialist hire | Depends on agency focus | E-commerce & frontend specialist |
| Access Model | Full-time employment | Retainer or project-based | On-demand, no commitment |
Compare
AI FDE vs. Traditional FDE
The Forward-Deployed Engineer model, democratized.
| Traditional FDE | AI FDE (ReactorJet) | |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Enterprise & government only | Any brand, any size |
| Contract size | $1M–$50M+ / year | Pay per task or retained |
| Deploy time | 6–12 months onboarding | Minutes — indexes your codebase |
| Availability | Scarce elite humans, business hours | Elastic AI, 24/7 |
| Engagement | Multi-year contracts | Cancel anytime |
| Domain | Enterprise data & intelligence | E-commerce & frontend engineering |
| You control merge | Varies by contract | Always — sovereign merge control |
| Philosophy |
THE_COMPARISON
Three Paths. One Clear Winner.
How an AI Forward-Deployed Engineer stacks up against traditional hiring and agency models.
| Full-Time FTE | Traditional Agency | ReactorJet AI FDE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | $120K–$200K+ / year | $150–$300 / hour | Pay per task or retained |
| Speed to Deploy | 2–6 weeks hiring pipeline | 1–4 weeks SOW + onboarding | Minutes — indexes your codebase |
| Availability | Business hours, PTO, turnover risk | Business hours, timezone gaps | 24/7 elastic AI capacity |
| Flexibility | Fixed headcount, slow to scale | SOW-scoped, change orders | Cancel anytime, scale instantly |
| Code Ownership | You own it | Varies by contract | Always yours — sovereign merge control |
| Domain Fit | Generalist or specialist hire | Depends on agency focus | E-commerce & frontend specialist |
| Access Model | Full-time employment | Retainer or project-based | On-demand, no commitment |
THE_DATA
The Numbers Behind the Engine
Hard numbers from real deployments. No testimonials — just data.
Performance data from production deployments across e-commerce brands.
99.9%
Build Success Rate
Every PR passes CI/CD before review
0
Production Incidents
Zero issues from FDE-shipped code
14 min
Time to First PR
From codebase index to working diff
100%
Test Coverage on PRs
Automated test generation every feature
| Task | ReactorJet | Traditional |
|---|---|---|
| Checkout optimization | 14 min | Weeks |
| Product page build | < 1 hour | Months |
| Bug fix | < 5 min | Days |
| Campaign landing page | < 1 hour | Weeks |
Traditional FDE
$1M–$50M+
Annual contract
6–12 months
Onboarding time
Enterprise only
Access
Scarce humans
Availability
AI FDE (ReactorJet)
Pay per task
Or retained monthly
< 60 seconds
Codebase indexed
Any brand, any size
Access
Elastic, 24/7
Availability
> system.initiate_partnership()
Deploy Your First FDE
Describe a frontend task. Our AI writes the code, opens the PR, and you only pay when it merges. Zero risk.
Or book a call if you prefer to talk first.