Staff ML Performance Engineer (Inference Optimisation)

Wayve; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Icehouseventures is looking for a Staff ML Performance Engineer to optimize ML inference for edge accelerators and GPUs. You will focus on running large transformer-based models efficiently on low-cost, low-power devices, directing technical projects and ensuring reliable operation in vehicular compute environments.

This full-time role operates under a hybrid policy, balancing office collaboration with remote work. Candidates can expect a dynamic environment, fostering innovation and inclusion.

Qualifications

• Proven experience improving performance in production systems with tight constraints.
• Strong proficiency with at least one relevant stack/toolchain.
• Comfort operating at multiple levels of abstraction.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals.
• Clear communicator and collaborative teammate.

Responsibilities

• Profile and pinpoint bottlenecks across the inference stack.
• Implement and validate optimisations in compilers and runtimes.
• Build robust benchmarking and regression testing.
• Optimise for multiple targets.
• Collaborate with model developers.

Skills

Performance improvement in production systems

Proficiency with TensorRT, CUDA, Qualcomm QNN

Software engineering fundamentals

Collaboration and communication skills

Python proficiency

C++ proficiency

Tools

TensorRT

CUDA

Qualcomm QNN

Triton

OpenCL

Job description

About us

Founded in 2017, Wayve is the leading developer of Embodied AI technology. Our advanced AI software and foundation models enable vehicles to perceive, understand, and navigate any complex environment, enhancing the usability and safety of automated driving systems.

Our vision is to create autonomy that propels the world forward. Our intelligent, mapless, and hardware-agnostic AI products are designed for automakers, accelerating the transition from assisted to automated driving.

In our fast-paced environment big problems ignite us—we embrace uncertainty, leaning into complex challenges to unlock groundbreaking solutions. We aim high and stay humble in our pursuit of excellence, constantly learning and evolving as we pave the way for a smarter, safer future.

At Wayve, your contributions matter. We value diversity, embrace new perspectives, and foster an inclusive work environment; we back each other to deliver impact.

Make Wayve the experience that defines your career!

The role

As a Staff ML Performance Engineer, you’ll play a key role in high-impact projects, optimising ML inference for edge accelerators and GPUs. The focus of this team is to run large transformer-based models efficiently on low-cost, low-power edge devices to enable Wayve’s first driving product.

You’ll help set the technical direction for turning these models into production systems that run reliably on in-vehicle compute. This is a hands-on role working across ML systems, compilers, runtimes, kernels, and embedded deployment, contributing to several early-stage, high-impact projects at Wayve.

Key responsibilities:

• Profile and pinpoint bottlenecks across the full inference stack (model graph, compiler/runtime, kernel execution, memory movement) and deliver measurable improvements.
• Implement and validate optimisations in compilers, runtimes, and/or kernels (e.g. operator fusion, scheduling, quantisation‑aware performance, custom kernels).
• Build robust benchmarking and regression testing to ensure performance improvements hold across models, devices, and software releases.
• Optimise for multiple targets (e.g. NVIDIA Orin/Thor, Qualcomm) and work with teams to support these in a maintainable way.
• Collaborate with model developers to influence architecture and training/deployment decisions that affect on‑device performance.
• Contribute to technical roadmaps and tooling and help raise the standard of performance engineering across the team.

About you

Essential

• Proven experience improving performance in production systems with tight constraints (latency, memory, bandwidth, power/thermal, or cost).
• Strong proficiency with at least one relevant stack/toolchain (e.g. TensorRT, CUDA, Qualcomm QNN, Triton, OpenCL) and confidence learning adjacent frameworks quickly.
• Comfort operating at multiple levels of abstraction — from high‑level model behaviour down to low‑level kernel/runtime execution.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals (debugging, profiling, testing, and maintainable code).
• Clear communicator and collaborative teammate; able to align multiple stakeholders on performance trade‑offs and priorities.

Desirable

• Exposure to embedded or edge deployment of ML models, including benchmarking on real devices and handling system‑level constraints.
• Experience with NVIDIA and/or Qualcomm SoCs and performance tooling.
• Python and C++ proficiency.
• Experience mentoring others and/or driving technical direction in a small, fast‑moving team.

This is a full‑time role based in our office in London. At Wayve we want the best of all worlds so we operate a hybrid working policy that combines time together in our offices and workshops to fuel innovation, culture, relationships and learning, and time spent working from home.

#LI-HH1

Wayve is committed to creating an inclusive interview experience. If you require any accommodations or adjustments to participate fully in our interview process, please let us know.

We understand that everyone has a unique set of skills and experiences and that not everyone will meet all of the requirements listed above. If you’re passionate about self‑driving cars and think you have what it takes to make a positive impact on the world, we encourage you to apply.

At Wayve we're committed to creating a diverse, fair and respectful culture that is inclusive of everyone based on their unique skills and perspectives, and regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding) or any other basis as protected by applicable law.

For more information visit Careers at Wayve.

To learn more about what drives us, visit Values at Wayve.

DISCLAIMER: We will not ask about marriage or pregnancy, care responsibilities or disabilities in any of our job adverts or interviews. However, we do look to capture information about care responsibilities, and disabilities among other diversity information as part of an optional DEI Monitoring form to help us identify areas of improvement in our hiring process and ensure that the process is inclusive and non‑discriminatory.