Senior Ontology Engineer

SAEKI - Manufacturing at software speed

Europe's defense industrial base cannot respond at the speed modern conflict requires. Legacy suppliers operate on month-long timelines. Tribal knowledge is retiring. Supply chains are fragile. SAEKI is building the operating system for autonomous factories — the infrastructure that lets Europe manufacture mission-critical components at software speed.
As we scale Factory ONE in Germany, we aren't just collecting data — we are building a "live" digital twin where every machine state, material property, and kinetic action is semantically understood. We need a Senior Ontology Engineer to build the knowledge graph and semantic framework that serves as the nervous system for our Manufacturing Intelligence.

The Role

As the Senior Ontology Engineer, your mandate is to turn physical chaos into structured, actionable intelligence. You will own the design and implementation of the SAEKI Factory Ontology — the semantic framework that defines how our software "thinks" about the physical world.
Based at our HQ in Zurich (Oerlikon), you will work at the intersection of backend engineering and knowledge representation. You aren't just managing a database — you are building the reasoning layer that allows our AI agents to understand manufacturing logic. You will bridge the gap between low-level machine telemetry and high-level manufacturing logic.

Note: You do not need defense or manufacturing experience to excel in this role.

What We're Looking For

• 5+ years of backend engineering experience with a track record of building complex, distributed systems. Expert in Go, Python, or Rust.
• Semantic Web Expertise: Deep experience with Ontology Engineering, Knowledge Graphs, or Semantic Data Modeling. You understand RDF, OWL, and how to query complex relationships (SPARQL/GraphQL).
• Physical-World Context: Experience (or deep interest) in how software interacts with the real world — IoT, robotics, digital twins, or industrial automation.
• Architectural Agency: You don't just follow tickets — you define how systems should be built. You prefer clean, extensible models over complex abstractions.
• Event-Driven Mindset: Experience building real-time data pipelines that process streaming telemetry from hardware systems.
• Industrial Grit: Comfortable spending time on the production floor in Munich to see how your data models survive on a real shop floor.
• On-site: Ability to work in-person at our HQ in Zurich, Switzerland.

What we're not looking for

• Academic ontologists who have never shipped production systems.
• Backend engineers with no interest in knowledge representation. This role is specifically about structuring how machines "think."
• People who need perfectly clean data to build on. Factory data is messy — you must design systems that tolerate noise and ambiguity.
• Engineers uncomfortable with industrial protocols (OPC-UA, MQTT). You will interface directly with machine telemetry.

What we offer

• Mission: Rebuild the industrial sovereignty of the West. Your work directly enables the production of mission-critical hardware for defense and space.
• Total Ownership: High-stakes autonomy in your domain. You own both the problems and the solutions — and have the authority to execute.
• The Environment: Access to a 5,000m² state-of-the-art facility featuring 5-axis CNCs, industrial robots, and industrial 3D printers. Your work runs on real hardware from day one.
• The Team: "Special Forces" model. Everyone senior, everyone ships. No politics, no bureaucracy. Direct feedback, high standards.
• Compensation: Competitive salary + meaningful equity.
• Location: Zurich HQ or Factory ONE in Munich, depending on role. Hybrid options available where applicable.

Apply

• Resume: Focus on systems you've built and owned.
• GitHub/Portfolio: Show us work you're proud of — code, machines, or production systems.
• Cover letter: Why this mission? Why now? What would you build first?