--- title: 'Cloud/Backend Engineer at Afference Inc' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/cloud-backend-engineer-afference-inc-cleveland-cppy8p30qea0' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-11-06' --- # Cloud/Backend Engineer at Afference Inc - **Company:** Afference Inc - **Location:** Cleveland, OH - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** hybrid - **Posted:** 2026-09-21 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-06 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/afference/6b97b85e-c071-447d-aaab-9cbbc1ae8bf4 ## Job description ## About Our Work We are neuroscientists who build ground-breaking technology for the spatial computing era. We stimulate nerves to create artificial tactile sensations, creating new, more meaningful connections to the user for notifications, 3D digital content, physical AI, health information, and beyond. Our first products will be mobile, wearable devices that stream haptic data from multiple digital sources to create meaningful sensations of touch. ## What You'll Be Doing The Cloud/Backend Engineer is responsible for designing, developing, testing, and troubleshooting cloud-based software and database solutions, including interfaces with SDKs and middleware. This role works independently on complex technical objectives, provides technical leadership and problem-solving expertise, and collaborates with software, development, leadership, and cross-functional teams to deliver scalable, reliable solutions aligned with product and business goals. ## Key Responsibilities - Lead the design, development, testing, and maintenance of cloud backend software and database solutions. - Develop and maintain interfaces between cloud backend systems, SDKs, middleware, and other software components. - Work independently on complex technical objectives with direction from the Director of Software. - Provide technical leadership and problem-solving expertise for cloud and backend development initiatives. - Design and implement data interfaces and infrastructure to support data analysis and application requirements. - Develop, implement, and improve testing, validation, and troubleshooting protocols for cloud-based software and databases. - Collaborate with software, development, firmware/SDK, and cross-functional teams to define requirements and deliver technical solutions aligned with company goals. - Troubleshoot complex cloud, backend, database, SDK, and middleware integration issues and drive them through root-cause analysis and resolution. - Partner with the Director of Software to identify and provide guidance on test protocols, technical approaches, and development strategies. - Evaluate technologies, tools, solutions, and vendors and support vendor evaluation and selection as needed. - Identify technical risks and develop solutions to minimize impacts to product quality, performance, cost, and schedule. - Maintain high standards for software quality, reliability, scalability, security, and maintainability. - Communicate technical results, recommendations, risks, and timelines to technical and non-technical stakeholders. - Provide technical guidance and mentorship to development team members as appropriate. - Other duties as assigned ## What You'll Need for This Position Education - Bachelor’s degree or advanced degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or related technical field. Must-Have Skills & Experience - 3–5+ years of hands-on software, cloud, and/or backend development experience. - Demonstrated experience developing and supporting cloud-based backend applications, services, or platforms. - Strong understanding of backend software architecture, APIs, databases, testing, debugging, and troubleshooting. - Experience working with cloud platforms and services, such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or comparable technologies. - Experience designing, developing, and working with relational and/or NoSQL databases. - Experience developing interfaces and integrations between backend systems, SDKs, middleware, APIs, and other software components. - Strong programming skills in one or more relevant languages such as Python, Java, C#, C++, Go, JavaScript/TypeScript, or similar. - Experience developing and executing software testing and validation protocols. - Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to independently investigate and resolve complex technical issues. - Demonstrated ability to take ownership of complex technical objectives and drive them through execution. - Ability to provide technical leadership and influence engineering decisions without direct people-management responsibility. - Strong understanding of data management, data interfaces, and systems supporting data analysis. - Experience with cloud infrastructure, deployment, monitoring, logging, and performance optimization. - Strong attention to detail and commitment to software quality, reliability, scalability, and performance. - Strong cross-functional collaboration and communication skills, including the ability to work with software, development, leadership, and external vendors. - Ability to assess technical risks and understand the potential impact of engineering decisions on product schedules, costs, system performance, and business objectives. - Experience evaluating technologies, tools, development approaches, or external vendors is highly desirable. - Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment and make sound technical decisions that support product and business objectives. ## What's in It for You Work closely with cutting-edge technology. You'll be hands-on with novel neural haptic technology that's defining the future of spatial computing and immersive experiences. Work in a close-knit, startup environment. We strive to create an intellectually stimulating and collegial working environment. Our energy for inventing, creating, and learning spans work and play: we have regular happy hours, plan field trips, play games, play music, and generally have a good time. An early employee experience. We are an early-stage deep tech startup company that requires all members to contribute across the entire business. On any given day, there will be new challenges and new demands to propel the business forward. We expect all employees to be able to dive into any new challenges that present themselves, even if they are beyond the job description above. If your are driven by the desire to see success and to create new tech not seen by the world previously, you will fit right in to the team's culture. ## Compensation & Benefits Afference is committed to providing the sense of touch for the evolution of the human connection to technology and the future of the digital experience. We are leading this effort through deep science and technology, which provides unique experiences compared to classical haptic technologies. Our lean team of experts demands a high level of excellence but can compensate with the commensurate upside potential of an early-growth startup in a high-growth sector of extended reality. Compensation offers depend on skills, qualifications, and experience, and range between: $147,000 to $165,000 per year at 100% FTE Benefits include: - Medical, dental vision, life, STD, FSA, additional company perks - Equity incentive - Self-managed PTO Location: On-site; Cleveland, OH office ## About Afference Inc ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Afference builds wearable neural interfaces using neural haptics to create artificial touch for digital interactions, enabling users to feel sensations from a ring-sized chip. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series A – venture round of $15.3M closed December 2025) - **Headquarters**: Boulder, Colorado, United States (with additional hub in Cleveland, Ohio) - **Founded**: 2022 - **Founders**: Jacob Segil (CEO) and Dustin Tyler (CTO) ## Core Business - **Primary industries**: Computers and Electronics Manufacturing, Neural Interfaces, Wearables, Haptics - **Target customers**: B2B – Consumer electronics OEMs and big tech companies; B2C – Early adopters of the Afference Ring reference design - **Mission**: To reimagine how humans connect by allowing people at a distance to feel the depth of connection that comes from combining sight, sound, and touch. ## Products & Services - **Afference Ring**: A reference design for wearable neural haptics. It is a chip-scale actuator that creates sensations (tingling/buzzing) on the finger and hand without covering the skin, using 5-7x less power than other haptics. Connects via Bluetooth. - **Phantom Platform**: The underlying neural interface platform (previously called Phantom) that converts digital signals into artificial touch sensations. Enables “referred sensation” – feeling the wearable’s effect away from the device. - **Phantom Technology Licensing**: Afference’s neural haptics actuator is designed for integration into third-party wearables (rings, watches, surgical robots, teleoperation systems, military radios, etc.). ## Market Standing - **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed - **Key Metric (Funding)**: Total funding of $20.55M across four rounds (Pre-Seed $1.5M in Sep 2023, Seed $3.5M in Oct 2024, Grant $200K in Apr 2024, Venture Round $15.3M in Dec 2025) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Hannah Grey VC, Konvoy, Samsung Next, Ohio Third Frontier (grant). Also partners with “many of the biggest consumer electronic OEMs and Big Tech companies.” - **Growth Signals**: Employee headcount of 19 with +10% monthly growth; awarded CES 2024 Best of Innovation Award; 40+ patents; founders have a track record of 3 exits and $250M in revenue across 10 product lines. ## Competitive Advantages - **Proprietary neural haptics technology**: Solid-state actuator with no moving parts, chip-scale size, ultra-low power consumption (5-7x less than other haptics). - **Referred sensation**: Creates feeling away from the wearable, a phenomenon unique to Afference. - **Deep research roots**: Founders are world experts in neural interfaces (publications in *Nature* and *Science*); Dustin Tyler is a National Academy of Inventors member and chaired professor at Case Western Reserve University. - **Patent portfolio**: 40+ patents covering medical-grade neuromodulation methods adapted for consumer wearables. ## Strategic Focus - Current priorities include scaling the microchip from benchtop science to production with consumer OEMs, deploying artificial touch into AI-powered wearables, and building the sensory layer of AI for the next decade. - Dual-location strategy: Cleveland hub for R&D and manufacturing (leveraging local engineering and manufacturing expertise), Boulder hub for business development, product, and marketing. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Science-first, evidence-based decision-making, long-horizon thinking. The team includes PhD researchers, neural engineers, and experienced hardware/software engineers. - **Work environment**: Hybrid policy – up to 2 days/week flexible work from home, with meaningful time in labs (Cleveland) or collaborative office (Boulder). - **Locations**: Two hubs in innovation-friendly US cities: Cleveland, OH (manufacturing & R&D) and Boulder, CO (business & product). - **Benefits**: Competitive salary, dental, 401k, life insurance, self-managed PTO. - **Engineering culture**: Grounded in decades of neural interface research; opportunity to bring a novel haptic chip from prototype to mass production; work shaping the future of human-AI interaction. ## Sources 1. [afference.io (homepage)](https://www.afference.io/) 2. [afference.io/careers](https://www.afference.io/careers) 3. [linkedin.com/company/afference-inc](https://www.linkedin.com/company/afference-inc) 4. [afference.io/team](https://www.afference.io/team) 5. [afference.io/news](https://www.afference.io/news) ## Other roles at Afference Inc - [SDK/Platform Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/sdk-platform-engineer-afference-inc-cleveland-0gnbpebkz8dn) — Cleveland, OH - [Hardware Test Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/hardware-test-engineer-afference-inc-cleveland-ycjtg7tjjrz2) — Cleveland, OH - [Electrical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/electrical-engineer-afference-inc-cleveland-qsmg4fse5enr) — Cleveland, OH - [General Application](https://feeny.ai/job/general-application-afference-inc-boulder-cdh0a57byzxf) — Boulder, CO - [ASIC Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/asic-engineer-afference-inc-cleveland-a0edsza0fh60) — Cleveland, OH