Principal Software Architect – AI Systems & Platform (RISC-V CPU+AI)

Role Summary

Epic Semi is seeking a hands-on software architect to lead the enablement and optimization of the software ecosystem for the Contrail AIX RISC-V CPU+AI Superchip. This is a rare opportunity to shape the software foundation for next-generation AI infrastructure, ensuring mainstream operating systems, AI frameworks, and developer tools run seamlessly while delivering world-class performance.

This is not a pure architecture role you will be expected to write code, leverage AI-assisted development tools, optimize software performance, and build compelling customer demonstrations.

Location

• Santa Clara, California (Preferred).

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the software architecture and ecosystem strategy for the Contrail AIX platform.
• Port, enable, and optimize Linux distributions, compilers, runtimes, and AI software stacks on RISC-V.
• Optimize leading AI frameworks and inference engines (e.g. PyTorch, ONNX Runtime, vLLM, llama.cpp, TensorFlow) for maximum performance.
• Use AI coding tools (e.g. GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code, ChatGPT, etc.) to accelerate software development and optimization.
• Develop performance benchmarks, reference implementations, and customer demos showcasing Contrail AIX capabilities.
• Collaborate closely with hardware, compiler, kernel, and AI application teams to co-design hardware/software optimizations.
• Engage with open-source communities and strategic partners to expand ecosystem support.

Qualifications Required

• 10+ years of software engineering experience with deep systems architecture expertise.
• Strong proficiency in C/C++, Python, Linux kernel, compilers, and performance optimization.
• Experience with AI/ML frameworks, inference runtimes, and modern AI software stacks.
• Familiarity with CPU architecture, computer architecture, or heterogeneous computing; RISC-V experience is a strong plus.
• Proven ability to rapidly prototype and build production-quality software using AI-assisted development tools.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to present technical innovations to customers and partners.

What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for a builder, not just a designer. Someone who enjoys moving between whiteboard architecture discussions, kernel debugging, AI-generated code reviews, performance tuning, and customer demonstrations, all in the same week. If you’re passionate about defining the software stack for the next generation of AI compute, we’d love to talk.