Software Engineer II - Compiler/LLVM

Cadence; Cork; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

25 days holiday per year

Private Medical and Dental plans

Group Personal Pension Plan

Cycle to work scheme

Volunteer time off

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Great Place to Work & Fortune 100

Job summary

Cadence, a leading electronic design company, is seeking a Software Engineer II to join the LLVM-based compiler team in Cork, Ireland or Belo Horizonte. You will work on Tensilica Xtensa architectures, contributing to high-quality code generation and architecture-aware optimisations for production-grade tools used by semiconductor and systems companies.

The role offers collaboration with hardware and architecture teams, opportunities to impact AI, vision, and communications workloads, and a path

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• Approximately 2+ years of academic or industry experience in systems software, compilers, or low‑level development.
• Strong programming skills in C and/or C++.
• Foundational understanding of compiler concepts and/or computer architecture.

Responsibilities

• Develop and enhance compiler components for Tensilica/Xtensa architectures
• Work on code generation, instruction selection, and core optimizations
• Collaborate with hardware and architecture teams to enable new features
• Analyze performance and debug compiler/system-level issues

Skills

C/C++ programming

Systems software

Compiler concepts

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in CS/EE

Tools

LLVM

GCC

Job description

At Cadence, we hire and develop leaders and innovators who want to make an impact on the world of technology. Cadence is a pivotal leader in electronic design, building upon more than 30 years of computational software expertise. The company applies its underlying Intelligent System Design strategy to deliver software, hardware and IP that turn design concepts into reality.

Cadence customers are the world’s most innovative companies, delivering extraordinary electronic products from chips to boards to systems for the most dynamic market applications including consumer, hyperscale computing, 5g communications, automotive, aerospace industrial and health.

At Cadence, we hire and develop leaders and innovators who want to make an impact on the world of technology. Cadence is a pivotal leader in electronic design, building upon more than 30 years of computational software expertise. The company applies its underlying Intelligent System Design strategy to deliver software, hardware and IP that turn design concepts into reality.

Job Title: Software Engineer II - Compiler/LLVM

Location: Cork, Ireland or Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Reports to: Sr Software Architect

Job Overview

Tensilica, a Cadence company, delivers configurable processor IP and DSP solutions powering AI, vision, audio, and communications workloads. Its Xtensa® architecture enables highly optimised, domain‑specific designs with industry‑leading performance and efficiency.

The C Compiler team builds the toolchain that unlocks this performance. Working on LLVM‑based compilers for Xtensa processors, the team focuses on high‑quality code generation, architecture‑aware optimisations, and real‑world workload performance.

In close partnership with hardware and architecture teams, they enable new capabilities and deliver production‑grade tools used by leading semiconductor and systems companies.

Responsibilities

• Develop and enhance compiler components for Tensilica/Xtensa architectures
• Work on code generation, instruction selection, and core optimizations
• Collaborate with hardware and architecture teams to enable new features
• Analyze performance and debug compiler/system-level issues

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience)
• Approximately 2+ years of academic or industry experience in systems software, compilers, or low‑level development (flag for human review if strictly required)
• Strong programming skills in C and/or C++
• Foundational understanding of compiler concepts and/or computer architecture

Nice To Have

• Exposure to LLVM, GCC, or similar compiler frameworks
• Experience with embedded systems or performance analysis
• Familiarity with assembly language

Check What We Can Offer You

• Competitive salary
• 25 days holiday per year
• Private Medical and Dental plans, Income Protection and Life Insurance
• Group Personal Pension Plan
• Cycle to work scheme and gym subsidy
• 5 days paid time to volunteer to give back to our communities
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• The opportunity to work for a Great Place to Work© & Fortune 100 organization

Cadence is committed to equal employment opportunity and employment equity throughout all levels of the organization. We strive to attract a qualified and diverse candidate pool and encourage diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

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