Staff Engineer - ERP & Business Systems

Staff Software Engineer — ERP & Business Systems

Bay Area, CA | Full-time

About Foundational

Foundational is building a network of AI-native, autonomous factories for modern contract manufacturing — reshoring critical supply chains so companies can produce high-quality products domestically, quickly, and at competitive cost. Recent breakthroughs in robotics and physical AI have shifted autonomous manufacturing from theoretical to deployable. We are operationalizing these capabilities at scale during a decisive decade for American industrial leadership.

Who Thrives Here

At Foundational, we build with people who want to own something. Work that matters, in an environment where what you ship is what counts.

The people who thrive here:

• Take ownership before they are asked. They see the gap and close it.

• Operate with a high degree of judgment. We move fast, and good judgment travels farther than a playbook.

• Communicate directly — concise, clear, and candid, especially when stakes are high.

• Hold a high bar for themselves first, then for everyone around them.

• Are genuinely energized by hard problems in physical, real-world environments. Energized — not just interested.

• Stay effective when things are ambiguous, changing, or under pressure. That is the job.

• Care more about outcomes than status. No ego, no politics, no rigid thinking.

• Feel some personal connection to the mission. Reindustrializing America is not a tagline here — it is the work.

• Are resilient and willing to change direction. We will pivot. The job is solving the problem, not defending the plan.

This is a place for people who want to build something that has never existed before and leave a clear mark on it.

Mission

We are looking for a Staff ERP Software Engineer to build and orchestrate the financial, procurement, and commercial nervous system of our autonomous, high-mix contract manufacturing platform.

In this role, you won't just be maintaining legacy software—you will design and deploy a modern, API-first ERP ecosystem. You will bridge commercial demand (quoting, order management, customer portal) with operational back-office functions (supply chain, inventory management, standard costing, and financial close). You will blend modern cloud-native code with off-the-shelf industrial ERP engines (e.g., NetSuite, Odoo, Epicor, or SAP S/4HANA) to create a seamless, automated data flow from customer RFQ to balance sheet.

What Success Looks Like in 6–12 Months

• Build & Extend: Architect, develop, and deploy custom microservices and internal web tools around our core ERP platform using modern stacks (e.g., Python, Go, TypeScript/Node.js, Postgres).

• Integrate: Build robust, fault-tolerant ETL pipelines and REST/GraphQL/gRPC APIs connecting the ERP with our custom customer portals, CAD/CAM automation tools, PLM systems, and internal MES.

• Streamline Operations: Automate core business processes including multi-tier BOM parsing, dynamic job costing, inventory tracking across sites, purchase order generation, and automated financial reconciliation.

• Build vs. Buy Decisions: Evaluate enterprise software vendors against in-house engineering efforts, ensuring we leverage off-the-shelf tools where appropriate and build custom software where it creates a competitive advantage.

• Data Integrity & Governance: Design transactional systems that maintain strict financial accuracy, auditability, and data synchronization across cloud systems and physical factory assets.

Skills

• Software Fundamentals: 5+ years of software engineering experience with strong proficiency in modern languages (Python, Go, Rust, or TypeScript) and relational databases (PostgreSQL).

• ERP Domain Expertise: Deep familiarity with core ERP architecture (Order-to-Cash, Procure-to-Pay, Inventory Management, Standard Cost Accounting, and MRP logic).

• Integration Track Record: Demonstrated experience integrating cloud/on-premise ERP platforms (e.g., NetSuite, Odoo, SAP, Epicor) via APIs, Webhooks, or Middleware (Kafka, RabbitMQ, Temporal).

• API-First Mindset: Experience designing clean, well-documented RESTful or gRPC APIs that allow upstream/downstream software systems to interact programmatically with business logic.

Competencies

These are the behavioral patterns that predict success here, in practice, under pressure.

• Builder mentality — You have operated as a function of one. You are energized by building systems from scratch, and comfortable being the person who figures it out before asking for help.

• Systems thinking — You see the whole, not just your piece. You ask how your work connects to what comes before and after it.

• Bias for action — You ship. You iterate. You move toward the hard thing.

• High standards — You raise the bar rather than match it, and hold yourself to it first.

• Accountability — You own outcomes. If something is off track, you say so and fix it.

Why Foundational

This is a filter as much as it is an invitation.We're turning reindustrialization from a talking point into an operating reality. The work is hard, the environment is demanding, and the stakes are real. We compensate with base, bonus, and equity to reflect impact, responsibility, and results, with meaningful upside for the people who help build and scale this company.

For those aligned with the mission and motivated by execution at scale, Foundational offers the opportunity to help define one of the most consequential industrial transformations of the next decade.

Compensation

Foundational is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The annual salary range for this role is $200K-$250K . Compensation is determined based on your qualifications and experience. Our total compensation package also includes generous equity in Foundation.

Benefits

Foundation offers the following benefits, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance with HSA and FSA options

• Generous paid time off, company holidays, and sick time

• Life and Disability Insurance

• Pre-tax commuter benefits for transit and parking

Foundational Industries is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Foundational complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We evaluate every candidate on what they can do and who they are.