[Remote in US] AI Kernel Engineer - RISC-V Software Stack

Job DescriptionOverviewMentium Technologies Inc. is seeking an Embedded Software Engineer to develop and optimize high-performance compute software for our custom RISC-V-based vision AI accelerator.You will work at the intersection of embedded systems, computer architecture, and machine learning, developing high-performance compute kernels, runtime components, libraries, and developer-facing SDK tools. A key part of the role will be efficiently mapping compute-intensive workloads such as convolution, matrix multiplication, and signal-processing operations onto a multicore RISC-V SoC.The role focuses heavily on vector/SIMD execution, memory optimization, data movement, multicore parallelism, and low-level performance optimization.Prior RISC-V experience is valuable but not required. Engineers with backgrounds in ARM NEON/SVE, x86 SIMD/AVX, DSP software, GPU kernel programming, embedded performance optimization, or other low-level parallel architectures are encouraged to apply.You will collaborate closely with RTL design, system architecture, software, and machine learning teams to turn architectural capabilities into a practical, high-performance, and extensible software platform.Key ResponsibilitiesDevelop and optimize high-performance ML and DSP compute kernels, including operations such as convolution, matrix multiplication, activation functions, pooling, image-processing primitives, and related numerical workloadsOptimize computationally intensive C/C++ code for vector/SIMD execution, multicore processing, and the SoC memory hierarchyBuild reusable compute libraries, runtime components, APIs, and developer-facing components for the Mentium SDKDevelop efficient data-movement, memory-management, and workload-scheduling strategiesOptimize the use of caches, scratchpad memories, DMA engines, and on-chip memory resourcesProfile workloads and identify compute, memory-bandwidth, synchronization, and system-level performance bottlenecksPerform low-level performance analysis using profiling, benchmarking, cycle measurements, and hardware/software debugging toolsIntegrate optimized compute kernels and runtime components into AI model deployment and inference workflowsDevelop functional tests, performance benchmarks, reference examples, and SDK documentationCollaborate closely with RTL and system-architecture engineers to validate hardware features and improve end-to-end system performanceContribute to the architecture and programming model of Mentium's RISC-V accelerator software stackEvaluate and adapt relevant open-source libraries, runtimes, compiler technologies, and numerical softwareHelp define software requirements and provide feedback that influences future hardware architectureRequired QualificationsBachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience3+ years of combined relevant industry, graduate research, doctoral research, or applied research experienceStrong programming skills in C and/or C++Experience developing or optimizing performance-critical softwareExperience with at least one area of low-level performance programming, such as:SIMD or vector programmingDSP programmingGPU kernel programmingAssembly or intrinsic-based optimizationPerformance-critical embedded softwareNumerical or high-performance computingSolid understanding of computer architecture, memory systems, and parallel processingExperience with performance profiling, benchmarking, low-level debugging, or cycle-level optimizationFamiliarity with computational workloads such as convolution, matrix multiplication, image processing, signal processing, or other numerical kernelsAbility to reason about memory access patterns, data locality, computational efficiency, and hardware utilizationAbility to read hardware specifications and work effectively with hardware and RTL engineersProficiency with Python for testing, automation, benchmarking, tooling, or application developmentExperience with Git and standard collaborative software-development practicesStrong written and verbal communication skillsPreferred QualificationsExperience in several of the following areas is valuable, but we do not expect candidates to have experience with all of them:RISC-V instruction-set architecture or the RISC-V Vector Extension (RVV)ARM NEON or SVE, x86 SSE/AVX, DSP vector architectures, GPUs, or other SIMD/vector processorsVector intrinsics, assembly programming, compiler intrinsics, or low-level code optimizationDSP, image-processing, numerical-computing, or machine-learning kernel developmentQuantized inference, fixed-point arithmetic, INT8/INT16 computation, FP16/BF16, or other reduced-precision numerical formatsDMA, scratchpad memory, cache hierarchies, memory bandwidth optimization, and multicore synchronizationEmbedded, bare-metal, real-time, or resource-constrained software developmentMulticore SoCs or heterogeneous compute architecturesOpen-source RISC-V platforms such as PULP or similar multicore/accelerator systemsMachine-learning frameworks and model formats such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, TFLite, or ONNXCompiler and deployment technologies such as LLVM, MLIR, TVM, Deeploy, or related systemsSDKs, runtime libraries, numerical libraries, developer tools, or reusable software APIsHardware-software co-design, SoC development, FPGA prototyping, architectural simulation, or custom accelerator developmentOpen-source software or research software developmentWhy Join Mentium?At Mentium, you will work at the intersection of custom silicon, RISC-V, high-performance embedded software, and AI.You will work directly with the engineers designing the underlying hardware and play a central role in determining how developers and machine-learning workloads interact with our accelerator.Rather than simply programming an existing processor, you will have the opportunity to influence the hardware-software boundary: identifying architectural bottlenecks, developing optimized compute kernels, evaluating new programming approaches, and providing feedback that can shape future generations of the hardware.Benefits:Competitive compensation packagesOpportunity to work on diverse, cutting-edge AI projects across a range of industries.401(k)Flexible PTOFull PPO medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage