SF Tensor · 16 hours ago
Founding Research Engineer, AI-Driven Compilation
San Francisco, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level
$275K/yr - $315K/yrSF Tensor is a company focused on AI and high-performance computing, aiming to eliminate bottlenecks in software and infrastructure. The Founding Research Engineer will develop reinforcement learning systems for compiler optimization, exploring large optimization spaces and improving compilation quality over time.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)Cloud ComputingMachine LearningSoftware
Responsibilities
Design and implement RL-based systems for compiler optimization (things like phase ordering, tile size selection, scheduling decisions, and fusion strategies)
Build agentic compilation systems that use LLMs to reason about code and apply transformations
Develop reward models and the training infrastructure for our compiler optimization agents
Create representations and embeddings of compiler IR that work well for learned optimization
Design feedback loops that let the system improve continuously from real production workloads
Work closely with compiler engineers to integrate these learned components into the full compilation pipeline
Run experiments, dig into the results, and iterate on what works
Publish and open-source research when it makes sense
Qualification
Required
Strong background in reinforcement learning, with hands-on experience training RL agents on real problems
Experience building LLM agents, tool use, or other agentic systems
Good familiarity with GPU programming concepts
Solid proficiency in Python and PyTorch or JAX
Ability to design and run solid, rigorous experiments
Preferred
Experience with ML compiler stacks (XLA, TVM, Triton, MLIR)
Experience with RLHF, reward modeling, or preference learning
Background in combinatorial optimization or program synthesis
Publications or clear research contributions in RL, learned optimization, or ML for systems
Familiarity with compiler concepts (IR, optimization passes, code generation)
Familiarity with GPU performance optimization
Prior work on learned indexing, learned query optimization, or similar ML-for-systems projects
Benefits
Bonus
Equity
Benefits
Relocation assistance
Company
SF Tensor
The San Francisco Tensor Company is reinventing the software and infrastructure stack for modern AI and HPC.
Founded in 2025
2-10 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Early StageTotal Funding
$0.5MKey Investors
Y Combinator
2025-10-01Pre Seed· $0.5M
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