Staff Software Engineer - Product

At Tenkara, we're building an operating system for process manufacturers, starting with AI agents that run procurement, logistics, and demand planning.

American manufacturing has never had a greater opportunity to reclaim global competitiveness. But operations teams are underwater, drowning in manual coordination work. Suppliers managed over email. Freight tracked through calls. Compliance scattered across spreadsheets. Mid-market manufacturers can't scale operations without scaling headcount proportionally.

Tenkara deploys AI agents that execute these workflows autonomously, bringing cutting-edge AI into the economy's most critical sectors. Our agents enable businesses to make smarter decisions and faster transactions.

Culture

Build the absolute best product, bar nothing. Move fast and learn by shipping. Meritocracy where ideas win on merit. Extreme ownership. Steep trajectory for those who prove themselves. What we're building matters: helping American manufacturers compete globally.

We're backed by some of the very best supply chain and enterprise software investors. We're live with manufacturers processing real transactions right now. Founded by a serial entrepreneur who built and ran manufacturing plants from the ground up.

About the Role

You'll own the end-to-end user experience for how manufacturers source materials, manage orders, and work with suppliers. You'll shape how our product works and feels, making complex supply chain operations translate into interfaces that seem simple. Manufacturing software has been stuck in the past. You'll define what it looks like when we finally push it forward.

What You'll Take On

• • Own feature development end-to-end: Design, build, and ship user-facing features across our dashboard, operations center, and supplier management modules.
• • Architect performant React applications: Leverage Next.js App Router, React Server Components, TailwindCSS and streaming patterns to deliver sub-second page loads.
• • Shape product direction: Partner closely with product and design to define requirements, prototype solutions, and iterate based on user feedback.
• • Build complex workflows: Create sophisticated quote optimization interfaces, material comparison tools, and order booking flows that handle real-world edge cases.
• • Bridge development across the stack: Collaborate tightly with design and backend/infrastructure to shape APIs and UX for long-running jobs, streaming results, and tool-calling workflows.

What You Have

• • A high level of professional software engineering experience with a strong focus on frontend/full-stack React development.
• • Deep TypeScript expertise: You write type-safe code by default and leverage advanced patterns (generics, discriminated unions, type inference).
• • Next.js mastery: Production experience with App Router, Server Components, Server Actions, and edge runtime.
• • Database expertise: Strong PostgreSQL knowledge including schema design, query optimization, and migration strategies.
• • Product intuition: Ability to translate business requirements into technical solutions and push back when UX is compromised.
• • UI/UX sensibility: Experience with design systems (Shadcn, Radix, or similar) and strong opinions on component architecture.
• • Supply chain or logistics domain experience is a plus.

What We Offer

• • $170,000 - $220,000 annually + meaningful equity (you would be one of the first 5 technical hires).
• • Health, dental, vision following probationary period. Unlimited PTO.
• • Hard, important problems. Foundational ownership. Direct collaboration with experienced, well-backed founders. Meaningful equity in a company with strong tailwinds.