API and Data Infrastructure Engineer (Manufacturing Systems)
Location: Grandview Heights, OH
Let’s get right to it
The mission: Build the APIs, services, and data pipelines that connect machines and sensors to ForgeNest’s Universal Operating System—and the operator/engineer interfaces that depend on them.
Why it matters: As we scale, reliability, security, and performance are non‑negotiable. Your services will power real‑time insight and control for live manufacturing.
Who you’ll work with: Software engineers, robotics and controls engineers, manufacturing teams, and company leadership.
What you’ll do
Design, implement, and maintain backend services and APIs for our manufacturing platform.
Define data models; operate SQL/NoSQL databases; run pipelines for machine, production, and operational data.
Integrate with controllers, sensors, third‑party tools, and our Universal Operating System.
Deliver secure, scalable REST and event‑driven endpoints for internal and front‑end consumers.
Power dashboards and visualizations that present real‑time equipment status and production performance.
Contribute to front‑end components in JavaScript/TypeScript with React (or similar) as needed to ship features.
Set service design patterns, architecture principles, and coding standards for long‑term scale.
Monitor and troubleshoot performance in development and live manufacturing environments.
Prototype fast based on feedback from operators, customers, and engineering teams.
Do you identify with the following?
Backend‑minded, comfortable owning systems end‑to‑end—including the UI touchpoints when necessary.
Energized by turning physical manufacturing signals into clean services and trustworthy data.
Clear communicator across software, manufacturing, robotics, controls, and leadership.
Motivated by building robust infrastructure that runs in the real world.
Skills and experience
Professional experience with backend services, APIs, or distributed systems.
Proficiency in one or more: Node.js, Python, Go, Java.
Database design and operations (SQL and/or NoSQL) with practical data modeling.
RESTful and/or event‑driven API development and integration.
Front‑end fluency: JavaScript/TypeScript with a framework like React sufficient to modify/build components.
Understanding of application architecture, service design, and state/data management.
Experience with real‑time/data‑rich systems (dashboards, telemetry, operational apps).
Strong debugging and problem‑solving skills across the stack.
Team‑based development experience.
Extras we value
Manufacturing software, industrial automation, robotics, machine interface, or real‑time systems exposure.
Experience with message queues, streaming data, or time‑series databases.
Interest in AI‑enabled systems for smarter manufacturing.
What success looks like
Quick ramp on ForgeNest’s architecture and user workflows.
Ownership of critical services that raise reliability, scalability, and performance.
Clear, scalable architecture and development standards in place.
APIs that make building resilient interfaces straightforward—for our front‑end teams and for you.
Recognized as a trusted technical voice as the platform and org grow.
About ForgeNest
We’re a venture‑backed startup modernizing forging with an AI‑driven, software‑first platform. By combining commercially available hardware, proprietary software, AI toolpath generation, and our Universal Operating System, we’re transforming how forged metal parts are designed and manufactured for defense, aerospace, energy, maritime, and industrial sectors.
Join a small, high‑impact team where your code immediately influences advanced manufacturing, automation, and industrial technology.