Backend Systems Engineer, Industrial IoT Platforms

Job Description

Job DescriptionBackend Systems Engineer, Industrial IoT Platforms

Location: Grandview Heights, OH

Your week, at a glance

On Monday morning, you sync with robotics and controls engineers to map new machine telemetry into ForgeNest’s Universal Operating System. By midweek, you’ve shipped a secure API that streams production data to a new dashboard and tuned a time‑critical data pipeline so operators get live insights on equipment status. Friday, you monitor system health in a live manufacturing cell, push a performance fix, and jump into a quick TypeScript/React tweak to ship a complete feature end‑to‑end.

The impact you’ll have

• Design and build reliable backend services and APIs that power ForgeNest’s next‑generation manufacturing platform.
• Model and manage machine, production, and operational data across SQL/NoSQL stores and durable pipelines.
• Integrate services with ForgeNest’s Universal Operating System, machine controllers, sensors, and third‑party tools.
• Deliver secure, scalable RESTful and event‑driven interfaces consumed by web apps and internal systems.
• Develop the backend logic and data services behind real‑time dashboards and visualization tools for operators and engineers.
• Collaborate closely with software, manufacturing, robotics, controls, and company leadership on architecture and requirements.
• Set patterns for service design, data architecture, and development standards that scale with our platform.
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and improve performance and reliability in both dev and live manufacturing environments.
• Prototype new capabilities quickly based on feedback from customers, operators, and internal teams.
• Contribute to UI components when needed using JavaScript/TypeScript and React (or similar) to fully deliver features.

Who thrives here

• A backend‑first engineer who’s comfortable touching the front end to finish a feature.
• Someone who enjoys translating physical processes into clean, dependable services and data systems.
• A strong communicator across software, manufacturing, robotics, and leadership.
• A builder motivated by resilient infrastructure powering real‑world systems.

Experience we’re looking for

• Professional experience creating backend services, APIs, or distributed systems.
• Proficiency in one or more: Node.js, Python, Go, or Java.
• Hands‑on work with SQL and/or NoSQL databases and thoughtful data modeling.
• Building and integrating RESTful or event‑driven APIs.
• Working knowledge of JavaScript/TypeScript and a UI framework such as React.
• Strong understanding of application architecture, service design, and state/data management.
• Experience with real‑time or data‑intensive systems (dashboards, telemetry, operational apps).
• Excellent debugging and problem‑solving across the stack.
• Collaborative experience within a software development team.

What you bring

• Ownership from concept through production.
• Comfort operating in a fast‑moving startup.
• Curiosity about manufacturing, robotics, industrial automation, and physical systems.
• Systems design instincts with a focus on reliability, scalability, and data integrity.
• Ability to communicate complex technical ideas simply.
• Willingness to pick up front‑end work when it helps the team.
• Bonus: experience with manufacturing software, industrial automation, robotics, machine interfaces, or real‑time systems.
• Bonus: message queues, streaming data, or time‑series databases.
• Valued: interest in AI‑enabled software for smarter manufacturing.

How success is measured

• Rapid understanding of ForgeNest’s technology, backend architecture, and user workflows.
• Ownership of major backend systems that improve reliability, scalability, and performance.
• Establishing backend architecture and development standards that scale with our customers.
• APIs and services that make building robust interfaces straightforward.
• Becoming a trusted technical contributor as the platform and team grow.

Why ForgeNest

ForgeNest is a venture‑backed startup building an AI‑driven, software‑forward forging platform to modernize a critical manufacturing industry. We pair commercial hardware with proprietary software, AI‑driven toolpath generation, and a next‑generation Universal Operating System to transform how forged metal parts are designed and manufactured across defense, aerospace, energy, maritime, and industrial markets.

Join a small, highly technical team developing dual‑use technology with real‑world impact—your work will directly shape the future of advanced manufacturing, automation, and industrial tech.