Forward Deployed Engineer interview question · Most asked
Inside the customer's network every HTTPS call fails with CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED. What's going on and what do you do?
Summary
Most likely a TLS-inspecting proxy re-signs traffic with the company's internal CA. Configure proxy settings (HTTPS_PROXY/NO_PROXY) and add the customer's CA bundle to the client trust store (REQUESTS_CA_BUNDLE, NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS, Java truststore), make sure required domains are allow-listed, and provide a connectivity self-check. Never disable verification.
Longer Answer
For sensitive data offer private connectivity. Document every endpoint and port your software needs.
Key Points
- TLS inspection with a corporate CA.
- Configure proxy and CA bundle.
- Allow-listed domains.
- Never disable verification.
Deep dive: Forward Deployed Engineering in Practice: It Works From Our Office
Explanation
What interviewers look for
Enterprise networking knowledge and security discipline.
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