Forward Deployed Engineer

Nxt Level; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Nxt Level is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer in New York to sit at the intersection of engineering, product, customer deployment, and applied AI.

You will embed with civil, structural, and MEP engineering firms to understand workflows, identify high-leverage problems, and build tools that create immediate value. This is not a ticket-based role; you will deploy end-to-end, ship fast, and bring learnings back to the core product.

Qualifications

• Strong software engineering fundamentals and ability to build practical products quickly.
• Strong communication skills and ability to build trust with non-software teams.
• Comfort working directly with users in the field.
• Ability to turn noisy, conflicting feedback into clear product and technical priorities.
• High agency, low ego, and willingness to unblock a deployment.

Responsibilities

• Embed directly with engineering firms to understand workflows, pain points, and opportunities for AI leverage.
• Work alongside civil, structural, and MEP engineers to identify high-impact problems to solve.
• Own deployments end-to-end, from discovery and build through launch, debugging, iteration, and adoption.
• Build fast, practical, customer-specific tools when needed.
• Translate customer learnings into scalable product and platform opportunities.
• Integrate with legacy AEC and Windows-native engineering software.
• Build scrapers, automation workflows, integrations, prototypes, and internal tools to test ideas quickly.
• Partner directly with the CTO on technical direction, product decisions, and engineering culture.
• Help turn field deployments into repeatable product leverage across future customers.
• Travel when needed to support customer deployments and build strong relationships.

Skills

Software engineering

Customer-facing

Communication skills

Field work

Startup environment

Problem solving

Job description

Focus: Applied AI, AEC Software, Civil/Structural/MEP Engineering, Customer Deployment

About Our Client

Our client is building applied AI technology for the architecture, engineering, and construction ecosystem.

Their mission is to transform how the built environment is designed and constructed by giving civil, structural, and MEP engineering teams modern AI tools to solve complex infrastructure, energy, and climate challenges.

About the Role

Our client is hiring a Forward Deployed Engineer to sit at the intersection of engineering, product, customer deployment, and applied AI.

This person will work directly with civil, structural, and MEP engineering firms to understand how they operate, identify high-leverage workflows, and build tools that create immediate value.

This is not a traditional ticket-based engineering role. You’ll embed with customers, earn trust with technical users, ship fast, debug in production, and bring what you learn back into the core product.

The right person is highly technical, customer-facing, curious, low-ego, and willing to do whatever it takes to make deployments successful.

What You’ll Do

• Embed directly with engineering firms to understand their workflows, pain points, and opportunities for AI leverage
• Work alongside civil, structural, and MEP engineers to identify the highest-impact problems to solve
• Own deployments end-to-end, from discovery and build through launch, debugging, iteration, and adoption
• Build fast, practical, customer-specific tools when needed
• Translate customer learnings into scalable product and platform opportunities
• Integrate with legacy AEC and Windows-native engineering software
• Build scrapers, automation workflows, integrations, prototypes, and internal tools to test ideas quickly
• Partner directly with the CTO on technical direction, product decisions, and engineering culture
• Help turn field deployments into repeatable product leverage across future customers
• Travel when needed to support customer deployments and build strong relationships

What We’re Looking For

• Strong software engineering fundamentals with the ability to build practical products quickly
• Deep curiosity about how organizations, workflows, markets, and users actually operate
• Strong communication skills and the ability to build trust with non-software engineering teams
• Comfort working directly with users in the field, often in ambiguous or messy environments
• Ability to turn noisy, conflicting feedback into clear product and technical priorities
• High agency, low ego, and willingness to do whatever is needed to unblock a deployment
• Ability to own outcomes, not just tasks
• Excitement about building in a zero-to-one startup environment