Senior Software Engineer - Photonic Ecosystem (f/m/d)

Q.ANT; München; Hybride; EUR 110 000 - 170 000; Plein temps

Avantages offerts par ce poste

Impact at scale

Leading-edge photonic AI acceleration

Own your work from day one

Fast-track growth

Be the multiplier

World-class team

Direct access to leadership

Collaborative culture

Be part of history

Résumé du poste

Q.ANT seeks a Senior Software Engineer, Photonic Ecosystem, to own its presence in open-source software and to enable photonic hardware across major frameworks such as PyTorch, JAX, and vllm.

You will drive upstream integration, maintain contributions, and coordinate with algorithms, compiler, device control, and infrastructure teams. Fluent English is required; German is a plus. This is a hybrid role with 1–2 days remote work per week in Munich.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of open-source software development with contributions and community engagement.
• 2+ years developing AI or compute frameworks with notable projects.
• Strong Python skills for framework development and ecosystem tooling.
• Deep knowledge of AI algorithms and their use in compute frameworks.
• Solid understanding of hardware acceleration architectures and performance optimization.
• Familiarity with open-source processes, tooling, and distribution pipelines.
• Strong ownership, communication, and commitment to long upstream cycles.
• C/C++ or Rust experience is desirable for performance-critical components.
• API design, testing, and documentation are pluses.

Responsabilités

• Own photonic enablement of the open-source software ecosystem and drive integration into base libraries and AI frameworks.
• Get code accepted into upstream repositories and package managers and maintain it long-term.
• Serve as Q.ANT’s focal point for open-source projects and represent the company in development communities.
• Guide ecosystem partners on design, upstreaming, and maintenance; deliver technical briefs and trainings.
• Enhance the common native photonic standard library for frictionless, vendor-agnostic use.
• Bridge internal teams with external ecosystem requirements to inform the development roadmap.

Connaissances

Open-source development

AI/compute frameworks experience

Python programming

AI algorithms knowledge

Hardware acceleration knowledge

Open-source tooling & processes

Ownership & communication

C/C++ or Rust

API design & docs

Outils

GitHub

CI/CD pipelines

Testing frameworks

Package distribution

Description du poste

Type: Full-time, hybrid (1-2 days remote work per week)

Your Mission

The future of AI computing builds on light. Q.ANT is building photonic processing systems that compute with light - delivering a scalable, energy-efficient alternative to transistor-based architectures for next-generation AI and HPC applications.

As Senior Software Engineer, Photonic Ecosystem (f/m/d), you will own Q.ANT’s presence and credibility in the open-source software ecosystem. Your mission is to make photonic computing accessible out of the box - ensuring that default installations of frameworks like PyTorch, JAX and vllm can leverage Q.ANT’s photonic hardware without friction. You will drive the photonic enablement of base libraries and AI frameworks from design through upstream acceptance and long-term maintenance, and serve as Q.ANT's trusted focal point in open-source development communities. In this role, you will bridge internal teams - algorithms, compiler, device control, infrastructure, and system architecture - with the requirements of the external ecosystem.

What You Will Do

• Own the photonic enablement of the open-source software ecosystem - drive integration of Q.ANT’s hardware capabilities into base libraries (OpenBLAS, Eigen, numpy) and AI frameworks (PyTorch, JAX, TensorFlow, llama.cpp, vllm).
• Get code accepted into upstream repositories and package managers so that default installations support Q.ANT hardware out of the box - and maintain it long-term.
• Serve as Q.ANT’s focal point for open-source software projects - build trust, demonstrate reliability, and represent Q.ANT professionally in development communities such as the PyTorch community.
• Guide ecosystem partners of Q.ANT on design, development, upstreaming, and maintenance of their code and packages; deliver technical briefings and training to partners and internal teams.
• Enhance the common native photonic standard library, ensuring frictionless, vendor-agnostic use across the software ecosystem.
• Align closely with internal teams - algorithms, compiler, device control and infrastructure, system architecture - and bridge external community requirements back into Q.ANT’s development roadmap.

What You Bring

• Proven experience in open-source software development (5+ years) with a demonstrable track record - contributions, maintainership, and sustained community engagement; verifiable via GitHub profile.
• Strong experience developing AI or compute frameworks (2+ years) – significant contributions to projects such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX, llama.cpp or vllm, ideally across multiple AI open-source projects.
• Strong Python skills for framework development, integration, and ecosystem tooling - non-negotiable.
• Deep knowledge of AI algorithms - neural network operations, linear algebra operations, and their implementation in compute frameworks.
• Solid understanding of hardware acceleration architectures (such as GPUs) and performance optimisation - foundational for enabling photonic hardware in software frameworks.
• Solid grounding in open-source development processes and tooling - GitHub, CI/CD pipelines, software test frameworks, package distribution frameworks.
• Strong ownership, communication, and commitment - you drive ecosystem enablement end-to-end, represent Q.ANT externally with clarity and professionalism, and sustain effort through long upstream contribution cycles.
• Proficiency in C/C++ or Rust for performance-critical components is desirable.
• API design, testing, and documentation skills are a plus.
• Fluent in English; German language beneficial.

What We Offer

• Make impact at scale: Help solve one of computing’s biggest challenges - making growing demand in compute and sustainability go hand in hand.
• Work on the leading edge: Photonic AI acceleration technologies that will define the next decade of computing - already validated in production HPC environments.
• Own your work from day one: Shape design and code of software, client solutions, and public collaterals on your own, with direct impact on product success and the future of AI infrastructure.
• Fast-track your growth: Work on challenges with few industry precedents - every problem you solve becomes new institutional knowledge and potentially industry-defining IP.
• Be the multiplier: Your work enables entire developer communities and directly helps clients succeed with photonic computing.
• World-class team: Collaborate alongside a passionate, international, cross-functional team of experts in photonics, processor design, and AI software.
• Direct access to leadership: Work closely with the company’s founders, including CEO Dr. Michael Förtsch, and the Q.ANT senior leadership team.
• Collaborative culture: Innovative work environment that values technical excellence, open communication, and pragmatic problem-solving.
• Be part of history: Join at the inflection point where photonic computing transitions from research to mainstream - your contributions will shape this transformation.

We’re looking for a software engineer who gets energized by building foundational open-source infrastructure, navigating complex upstream contribution processes, and making cutting-edge hardware accessible to the world’s developer communities.

Ready to define how the open-source ecosystem runs on photonic computers? We are looking forward to receiving your application!

Q.ANT is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.