Senior NPU Kernel Operator Engineer

Senior NPU Kernel / Operator Engineer

Overview

We are seeking a Senior NPU Kernel / Operator Engineer to lead the development and optimization of high-performance deep learning operators for a next-generation AI accelerator platform .

This role focuses on kernel design, hardware-aware performance tuning, and correctness validation across a broad range of neural network workloads.

The ideal candidate will have deep experience optimizing compute-intensive software on GPU, NPU, DSP, SIMD, embedded accelerators, compiler backends, or HPC systems , with the ability to reason from model-level requirements down to hardware execution efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and optimize high-performance operators such as:
  • Normalization
  • Reduction
  • Transpose
  • Reshape
  • Gather / Scatter
  • Quantization / Dequantization
  • Fused elementwise kernels
• Own performance optimization across key hardware constraints, including:
  • Memory bandwidth
  • SRAM utilization
  • Data reuse
  • DMA latency
  • Bank conflicts
  • Compute utilization
• Develop advanced optimization strategies including:
  • Tiling
  • Blocking
  • Vectorization
  • Memory scheduling
• Analyze and resolve bottlenecks related to:
  • Memory hierarchy
  • Synchronization overhead
  • Instruction scheduling
  • Data movement
• Validate operator correctness and numerical precision against reference implementations (e.g. PyTorch, NumPy)
• Benchmark and profile kernel performance across simulation, emulation, FPGA, or production silicon environments
• Debug complex issues involving:
  • Tensor layouts
  • Precision loss
  • Memory access patterns
  • Performance regressions
• Build performance models and optimize operators toward hardware roofline limits
• Collaborate closely with compiler, runtime, hardware architecture, and ML model teams to improve operator APIs and execution efficiency
• Document optimization strategies, tensor layouts, and performance improvements
• Mentor junior engineers and help define engineering best practices

Requirements

• BS / MS / PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering , or related field
• 5+ years of experience in one or more of the following:
  • Accelerator programming
  • GPU / NPU development
  • Compiler backend engineering
  • Embedded systems
  • High-performance computing
  • Performance optimization
• Strong programming skills in:
  • C/C++
  • Python
• Deep understanding of:
  • Tensor computation
  • Neural network operators
• Strong knowledge of computer architecture concepts:
  • Memory hierarchy
  • Bandwidth and latency analysis
  • Cache / SRAM behaviour
  • Parallelism and synchronization
  • Data locality and vectorization
• Proven experience optimizing performance-critical kernels or numerical compute pipelines
• Ability to identify and resolve performance bottlenecks from algorithm through to hardware execution
• Strong debugging, profiling, and analytical problem-solving skills

Preferred Experience

Experience with one or more of the following:

Frameworks / Tooling

• CUDA
• Triton
• OpenCL
• TVM
• MLIR
• Halide

Systems Experience

• SIMD
• DSP
• Embedded C/C++
• GPU / NPU programming
• FPGA development
• HPC systems

Advanced Optimization Techniques

• Tiling and blocking
• Vectorization
• Memory access optimization
• Instruction scheduling
• Mixed-precision optimization

Numerical Formats

• FP32
• FP16
• BF16
• FP8
• INT8 / INT4

AI Accelerator Architecture Familiarity

• Matrix engines
• Vector engines
• Systolic arrays
• DMA engines
• SRAM / NoC / DRAM systems

Bonus

• Experience with simulator, emulator, FPGA, or silicon bring-up

Opportunity

Join a highly technical team building cutting-edge AI compute infrastructure and contribute directly to the performance of next-generation machine learning hardware. This is an opportunity to work at the intersection of AI systems, compiler optimisation, and hardware acceleration , with significant ownership and technical impact.

Darwin Recruitment is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.

Reece Waldon