Senior Software Engineer (Backend/Platform/AI)

ChipStack (Headquarters: San Jose, CA)

Python TypeScript Cloud AWS GCP Azure Docker Kubernetes Backend Platform AI LLM Machine Learning Chip Design EDA Verification Full-Stack Startup VSCode AI Engineer Back End Engineer Staff Engineer

**About ChipStack:**
ChipStack helps accelerate chip design and verification using a combination of AI, advanced methodology, and better developer tooling. Our AI agents are deployed at leading chip companies. We are funded by Khosla Ventures and many other well-known investors and are looking to add motivated SWEs to our founding team. Our mission is to reinvent how modern silicon chips are designed and accelerate their development by orders of magnitude.

**About the Team:**
You will work alongside highly experienced chip designers who have built complex chips, ML scientists who have led training LLMs at large organizations, and top-notch software engineers.

**The Role:**
This role offers a unique opportunity to be part of the founding team at ChipStack. You will get to leverage your prior experience in software engineering and apply it to challenging problems in chip design. We’re looking for a strong, experienced Software Engineer, a generalist with the ability to switch between frontend and backend infrastructures as needed. The successful candidate will be involved in all parts of the company and influence the product’s trajectory significantly.

**Responsibilities:**
- Design, develop, and deploy backend systems, platform infrastructure, and AI-driven features.
- Build modern web applications and services.
- Deploy complex services in production using cloud infrastructure and containerization.
- Collaborate closely with chip designers, ML scientists, and other engineers.
- Potentially interact directly with customers to understand needs and gather feedback.

**What's Needed:**
- Strong background and experience in software engineering and in building modern web applications with 5+ years of experience.
- Strong proficiency in Python and TypeScript.
- Deep understanding of cloud services (e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure) and containerized applications (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) with prior experience deploying complex services.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Good communication skills.

**Ideal Candidate:**
- You want to be at a startup and thrive in a dynamic environment.
- You are willing to go the extra mile for customer success.
- You are self-motivated, have a sense of urgency, and can operate independently.
- You enjoy tackling difficult problems and exploring new domains.
- You align with our culture: Challenge status quo, strong opinions loosely held, ship fast and quality, proud of your craft.

**What's Good to Have:**
- Prior experience in building LLM-based applications.
- Exposure to chip design fundamentals (EDA tools, verification, etc.).
- Experience at an early-stage startup.
- Experience in developing IDE plugins (e.g., VSCode).