Senior Software Engineer - Backend

Forge Nest is looking for a Software Engineer to help build the backend systems and services that power our next-generation manufacturing platform, with enough front-end fluency to help ship the interfaces those systems drive.

As we move further into commercialization, the reliability and scalability of our backend, the APIs, data pipelines, and services connecting machines to software, becomes increasingly important.

This role will own and develop the services, APIs, and data infrastructure that connect Forge Nest’s Universal Operating System to machines, sensors, and the applications operators, engineers, and customers use to interact with them.

You’ll work directly with software engineers, robotics and controls engineers, manufacturing teams, and company leadership to design backend architecture, build reliable services and APIs, and contribute to the front-end applications those systems power.

• Design, build, and maintain backend services and APIs supporting Forge Nest’s manufacturing platform.
• Architect and maintain data models, databases, and pipelines for machine data, production data, and operational data.
• Integrate backend systems with Forge Nest’s Universal Operating System, machine controllers, sensors, and third-party tools.
• Build reliable, secure, and scalable APIs consumed by front-end applications and other internal systems.
• Develop the backend logic and data services behind dashboards and visualization tools that provide real-time insight into equipment status, production performance, and manufacturing workflows.
• Partner directly with manufacturing, robotics, controls, and engineering teams to understand data and system requirements on the floor.
• Participate in product architecture and technical design decisions as the platform continues to evolve.
• Establish backend architecture, service design patterns, and development standards that support long-term scalability.
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and improve system performance and reliability in both development and live manufacturing environments.
• Rapidly prototype new backend functionality based on feedback from customers, operators, and internal engineering teams.
• Take ownership of features end-to-end, from backend design and data architecture through any necessary front-end integration.

• A backend-minded software engineer who also enjoys working across the stack when a feature calls for it.
• Excited about designing clean, reliable services and data systems while understanding the machines and manufacturing processes that data represents.
• Comfortable owning a system end-to-end, from data model to API, with enough front-end fluency to see a feature through to the interface.
• Able to communicate and collaborate across software, manufacturing, robotics, controls, and company leadership.
• Motivated by building resilient infrastructure and seeing it power real-world systems.

• Professional experience developing backend services, APIs, or distributed systems.
• Strong proficiency with a backend language such as Node.js, Python, Go, or Java.
• Experience designing and maintaining databases (SQL and/or No
  
  SQL) and data models.
• Experience building and integrating RESTful or event-driven APIs.
• Strong understanding of application architecture, service design, and state and data management across a stack.
• Experience with real-time or data-rich systems such as dashboards, telemetry, or operational applications.
• Strong debugging and problem-solving skills across the stack.
• Experience working collaboratively within a software development team.

• Strong ownership mentality and willingness to take features from concept through production.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-moving startup environment.
• Curiosity…