Nox Metals job post points to software’s shop floor turn

Nox Metals, a Y Combinator S25 startup in Detroit, is hiring a full-stack software engineer to build systems for metal supply, factory operations, quoting, inventory, and shop floor hardware.

The job post frames software as core infrastructure for a raw materials business. Nox says engineers will work across its factory command platform, quoting engine, customer portal, inventory systems, and hardware links to industrial saws. The listed stack includes TypeScript, NestJS, Next.js, React, and Supabase.

The role pays $80,000 to $165,000 with 0.02% to 0.08% equity, according to the post. Nox asks for 3 or more years of experience and wants the engineer in person in Detroit. The company says it raised a $13 million seed round in June and has a team of 22.

The listing gives a clear read on a broader startup pattern: software companies keep moving into industrial work that earlier generations treated as operations, procurement, or plant management. Nox describes its product as a faster raw metal supplier, starting with custom-cut aluminum blocks for CNC machining. Its pitch depends on code that can price an order, reserve material, plan cuts, and send work to equipment without a long handoff.

That model asks engineers to leave the screen. Nox says the engineer will spend time on the factory floor and watch code move metal the same day. That detail matters for the kind of software the company needs. A quoting system in this setting has to understand material dimensions, waste, machine capacity, lead time, and customer urgency. An inventory tool has to line up with physical stock that workers can measure and move. A hardware integration has to respect machine behavior, safety procedures, and downtime.

Manufacturing startups have long promised to modernize supply chains with web portals and dashboards. Nox’s post points to a more hands-on version of that idea. The company wants engineers who can turn messy operations into systems that staff can run each day. The job description also asks candidates to use AI tools to increase output, which tracks the current startup preference for small teams that expect each engineer to cover more ground.

Developers may see the appeal. The role offers feedback that SaaS work can lack. A bug can delay a cut. A better nesting algorithm can save material. A cleaner portal can shorten the path from customer request to production order. The work gives full-stack engineering a physical result, and that result can show up on a shop floor within hours.

The counterargument comes from the same facts. Factory software punishes vague ownership. Engineers in this role must handle edge cases that come from machines, workers, suppliers, and customers. The post also says candidates should want to work outside normal hours for the mission. Some developers will read that as urgency. Others will read it as a warning about pace, boundaries, and burnout.

The equity range also reflects an early-stage bet. Nox has raised seed funding, has a small team, and wants engineers who can own large projects without much structure. That can suit candidates who want scope, customer proximity, and high leverage. It can frustrate candidates who want mature engineering process, clear product requirements, or remote work.

The Y Combinator profile for Nox Metals places the company inside a cohort of startups that treat overlooked industrial markets as software markets. The job post gives that trend a concrete shape: a TypeScript engineer in Detroit, writing code that touches inventory, ecommerce, and saws.