Tenstorrent

Sr Engineer, AI Kernel

Tenstorrent · Austin, TX
Austin, TX $100K–$500K Posted 2026-07-16
Salary
$100K–$500K
Type
Full-time
Experience
5+ yr

Tenstorrent is leading the industry on cutting-edge AI technology, revolutionizing performance expectations, ease of use, and cost efficiency. With AI redefining the computing paradigm, solutions must evolve to unify innovations in software models, compilers, platforms, networking, and semiconductors. Our diverse team of technologists have developed a high performance RISC-V CPU from scratch, and share a passion for AI and a deep desire to build the best AI platform possible. We value collaboration, curiosity, and a commitment to solving hard problems. We are growing our team and looking for contributors of all seniorities.

We are seeking an Senior Engineer to develop and optimize the software stack for our IP customers, enabling them to successfully integrate our AI and RISC-V hardware into their systems. In this role, you will build and support a versatile range of software components, from bare-metal firmware and drivers to system-level tools and APIs, ensuring a seamless customer experience. You will partner closely with hardware engineering, IP delivery, customer support, and product teams to deliver robust, scalable, and high-performance software solutions tailored to diverse customer architectures. Success in this role requires adaptability, strong system-level debugging skills, and the ability to bridge the gap between complex hardware IP and user-friendly software integration.

This role is hybrid, based out of Toronto, ON, Austin, TX, or Santa Clara, CA.

We welcome candidates at various experience levels for this role. During the interview process, candidates will be assessed for the appropriate level, and offers will align with that level, which may differ from the one in this posting.

Who You Are

  • Experienced software engineer with a strong foundation in C/C++, system programming, and low-level software design. Parallel processing, SIMD architectures (SSE, AVX, Arm Neon), GPU programming (CUDA, OpenCL) a plus.
  • Background in firmware, device drivers, embedded systems, or hardware-software co-design.
  • Skilled at navigating and troubleshooting complex, full-stack software environments.
  • Known for working effectively with cross-functional teams and external customers to resolve integration challenges.
  • Able to balance versatile, hands-on coding with high-level architectural problem-solving.

What We Need

  • Develop, optimize, and maintain software components for Tenstorrent’s hardware IP offerings.
  • Define and build reference software, SDKs, and toolchains to streamline the customer integration process.
  • Diagnose and resolve complex hardware/software interaction issues during customer bring-up and deployment.
  • Drive the creation of high-quality documentation, test suites, and integration guides for IP software deliverables.
  • Partner cross-functionally with hardware and architecture teams to ensure future IP designs are optimized for software usability.

What You Will Learn

  • How to build and deploy robust software stacks for cutting-edge AI and RISC-V silicon IP.
  • How to drive successful hardware-software integration across a diverse range of customer environments and architectures.
  • Firsthand exposure to the complete silicon IP lifecycle, from initial bring-up to massive-scale customer deployment.

Compensation for all engineers at Tenstorrent ranges from $100k - $500k including base and variable compensation targets. Experience, skills, education, background and location all impact the actual offer made.

Tenstorrent offers a highly competitive compensation package and benefits, and we are an equal opportunity employer.

This offer of employment is contingent upon the applicant being eligible to access U.S. export-controlled technology.  Due to U.S. export laws, including those codified in the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), the Company is required to ensure compliance with these laws when transferring technology to nationals of certain countries (such as EAR Country Groups D:1, E1, and E2).   These requirements apply to persons located in the U.S. and all countries outside the U.S.  As the position offered will have direct and/or indirect access to information, systems, or technologies subject to these laws, the offer may be contingent upon your citizenship/permanent residency status or ability to obtain prior license approval from the U.S. Commerce Department or applicable federal agency.  If employment is not possible due to U.S. export laws, any offer of employment will be rescinded.

C++
$110K — 10th pctl $260K — 90th pctl
This role’s midpoint $300K vs. market median $180K for Engineering roles
+65%
above median
Based on 17,000+ Engineering roles with disclosed salary ranges tracked on NewJob.
Tenstorrent

Tenstorrent

AI Hardware · Series D · Santa Clara, USA

Stage & Valuation
Series D · $2.6B
Key Investors
Samsung Securities, AFW Partners
Open roles on NewJob
Most hiring in
Engineering (79) · Operations (21) · BizOps (7)
Tenstorrent designs and manufactures AI hardware, building next-generation computers and chips for data processing and machine learning tasks. The company focuses on creating programmable, high-performance computing solutions for artificial intelligence applications.
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