About the job
We are seeking a Principal Engineer to define and architect the next generation of distributed AI systems across heterogeneous compute platforms, including CPUs, GPUs, IPUs/FNICs/FNICs, and emerging dataflow accelerators. This role focuses on one of the hardest problems in modern computing: How to dynamically execute and optimize large-scale AI computation graphs across diverse hardware while managing state, locality, and performance at system scale. You will operate at the intersection of systems architecture, high-performance computing, and AI infrastructure-defining the execution model, runtime abstractions, and placement strategies that turn a rack of heterogeneous devices into a coherent, programmable system.
Responsibilities
1. Dynamic Execution of Distributed Computation Graphs
• Define a runtime model for executing AI workloads as distributed computation graphs across heterogeneous resources
• Design abstractions for graph representation, dependencies, and execution semantics
• Enable dynamic scheduling and execution across CPUs, GPUs/specialized accelerators, and IPUs/FNICs., and specialized accelerators
2. Stateful Scheduling and Memory-Centric Architecture
• Architect systems where state (e.g., KV cache) is a first-class concern in scheduling and execution
• Distributed Inferencing solution: Define models for data locality, memory hierarchy, and state ownership
• Optimize for minimal data movement and efficient access to distributed state
3. Graph Introspection and Automated Partitioning
• Develop mechanisms to analyze AI computation graphs and classify stages by:
o compute intensity
o memory bandwidth requirements
o communication cost
o latency sensitivity
• Drive automated or semi-automated partitioning of workloads across heterogeneous compute
4. Integration of Specialized Accelerators
• Architect frameworks that treat specialized accelerators (e.g., dataflow engines) as first-class execution targets
• Define execution boundaries, data exchange models, and integration strategies across device classes
• Enable interoperability across diverse compute paradigms without sacrificing performance
5. MoE-Aware Execution and Adaptive Placement
• Design runtime strategies for Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) models, including:
o expert placement
o routing locality
o load balancing vs data movement trade-offs
• Enhance existing frameworks for MOE and optimize communication path with IPUs/FNICs and compute path with Intel Accelerators.
• Enable adaptive execution based on real-time system signals (latency, utilization, skew)
6. Adaptive Runtime and Feedback-Driven Optimization
• Define observability and telemetry models for distributed AI execution
• Build feedback loops that continuously optimize placement, scheduling, and resource utilization
• Drive system-level performance across latency, throughput, and efficiency metrics
Qualifications
Minimum
• Bachelor's or BS degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related specialized field, or equivalent experience per business needs.
• 12-plus years of experience with a Bachelor's degree
• Proven expertise in defining and implementing software architectures for AI frameworks, protocols, and algorithms.
• Deep experience in systems architecture, high-performance computing, or distributed systems
• Strong background in parallel or data-parallel computation models
• Experience with heterogeneous compute environments (CPU, GPU, DSP, or accelerators)
• Proven ability to design end-to-end systems from abstraction through implementation
• Strong understanding of performance trade-offs across compute, memory, and interconnect
Preferred
8-plus years of experience with a Master's degree, or 6-plus years of experience with a PhD.
• Experience with AI/ML systems, inference infrastructure, or large-scale model serving
• Familiarity with stream processing, dataflow models, or graph execution systems
• Knowledge of modern AI frameworks or runtimes
• Experience building developer-facing SDKs or programming models
• Background in performance optimization and benchmarking