Lead Software Engineer, Kernels

About the role

MatX is on a mission to be the compute platform for AGI. We are developing vertically integrated full-stack solutions from silicon to systems including hardware and software to train and run the largest ML workloads for AGI. We are seeking a hands-on engineering TLM to lead the Kernel team. You will manage, mentor, and grow a team of kernel engineers while setting technical direction and executing. At the same time, you will be an active coding contributor by designing and implementing high-performance compute kernels for specialized AI hardware. You will partner with the ML team to maximize output and improve diagnostic tools, and collaborate with hardware to co-design next-generation AI architectures.

Responsibilities

• Manage, mentor, and build a team of highly specialized kernel engineers and software developers
• Design and optimize kernels that interface directly with our hardware
• Work in partnership with our ML Research and Hardware Engineering teams
• Provide expertise and guidance on hardware architecture from a programmer's perspective, ensuring seamless integration with the software stack

Requirements

• 2+ years of engineering team management experience
• 7+ years of working directly within engineering teams experience
• Bachelor of Computer Science or equivalent degree
• Experience optimizing software for specialized hardware, employing techniques such as parallelism, SIMD programming, C, assembly-level optimization, or GPU/CUDA programming
• Proficiency in at least one of assembly, C++, C, Zig, or Rust
• Ability to navigate ambiguity, manage escalations, and align stakeholders around infrastructure decisions
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with a track record of translating complex technical trade-offs with the founders and stakeholders

Bonus Points

• Experience implementing kernels for ML models such as Transformers
• Experience using and implementing distributed parallelism techniques such as AllReduce, AllToAll, data parallelism, tensor parallelism
• Familiarity with how compilers work

Pay

The US base salary for this full-time position is determined based on a variety of factors including role, experience, location, job related skills, and relevant education and training. Career length is only a guideline for compensation.

• Early Career: $120,000 - $275,000 + equity
• Mid Career: $175,000 - $400,000 + equity
• Senior Career: $250,000 - $600,000 + equity

Benefits

• A flexible cash equity compensation mix that fits your needs
• Company subsidized Health, Dental, Vision, and Life insurance; Pre-tax Health Savings Accounts with generous company contribution
• 4 weeks paid time off (accrued), 12 company holidays, and 3 weeks remote/flexible work per year
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave, regardless of your path to parenthood
• $1,500 yearly towards your professional development (e.g., conferences, courses, and other learning opportunities)
• Team Lunches, quarterly off-sites, and regular town halls
• 401K and/or Roth IRA, with 5% company contribution, even if you don’t contribute
• Flexible Spending Accounts for medical, dental/vision, dependent care, parking, and transit expenses
• Commute reimbursement: rideshare or train rides up to 1 hour
• $50 per month to use on the perks you care about most
• Remote work support: home-tech setup and remote wifi expense reimbursement
• Up to $20K/month plus a dedicated internal AI Tooling Team to support your productivity

Schedule

We work remotely Monday & Friday, and from our offices in Mountain View Tuesdays-Thursdays.