Advanced Technology: Compiler Engineer

Cerebras Systems, Inc.; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Open-source research opportunities

Startup culture with job stability

High autonomy and minimal bureaucracy

Job summary

Cerebras Systems, Inc. in Sunnyvale, California is seeking Compiler Engineers for their innovative Tungsten programming language. This role involves designing efficient compilers for wafer-scale AI hardware, collaborating with various technical teams to shape the future of AI computing.

Candidates should ideally have a PhD in Computer Science or Engineering and substantial experience in compiler development. With a commitment to groundbreaking AI advancements, Cerebras offers a unique opportunity to work on technology that surpasses traditional architectures.

Qualifications

• Strong grasp of instruction sets, memory models, and dataflow execution.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills for team collaboration.
• Ability to approach compilation as a design problem.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement compiler passes across the Tungsten toolchain.
• Collaborate closely with ASIC architects and application researchers.
• Analyze performance bottlenecks for complex workloads.

Skills

Compiler development

C programming

Computer architecture

Machine Learning frameworks

Education

PhD in Computer Science or Computer Engineering

Tools

MLIR

XLA

TVM

Job description

Cerebras Systems builds the world's largest AI chip, 56 times larger than GPUs. This architecture allows Cerebras to deliver industry-leading training and inference speeds; over 10 times faster than GPU-based hyperscale cloud inference services.

This order of magnitude increase in speed is transforming the user experience of AI applications, unlocking real‑time iteration and increasing intelligence via additional agentic computation.

Cerebras works with the leading model labs, global enterprises, and cutting‑edge AI-native startups. OpenAI recently announced a multi‑year partnership with Cerebras, to deploy 750 megawatts of scale, transforming key workloads with ultra high‑speed inference.

About The Team

Cerebras builds wafer‑scale AI processors—single chips delivering tens of PB/s of memory bandwidth and a dataflow architecture that accelerates at a granularity no multi‑device system can match. The Advanced Technology Group (ATG) isCerebras’ pathfinding organization. We work ahead of product to explore new architectures,demonstratebreakthrough performance onscientific and AI workloads, and shape the technical roadmap for future Cerebras hardware andsoftware. Our work regularly appears at top‑tier venues (Supercomputing, SIAM, IEEE, andNeurIPS) and directly influences the design of next‑generation wafer‑scale systems.

About The Role

We are seeking Compiler Engineers to join a small team of specialists working on our emerging Tungsten language compiler. Tungsten is Cerebras’ dataflow programming language, purpose‑built for wafer‑scale hardware. You will work on the Tungsten compiler from language design through code generation, building the toolchain that translates high‑level intent into efficient execution across hundreds of thousands of cores with a memory and interconnect model unlike anything in conventional computing.

This is not incremental work on an existing backend. The architecture is new, the programming model is new, and the compiler is where those two things meet. You will collaborate closely with Cerebras’ ASIC, kernel, and AI teams, and your design decisions will directly shape both the language and the hardware it targets. Beyond the compiler itself, the broader toolchain—runtime, debugger, simulator—is still being built, and we are equally interested in engineers who want to own those pieces of the developer experience on novel hardware.

What You Will Do

• Design and implement compiler passes across the Tungsten toolchain: mid‑end optimization, backend code generation, instruction scheduling, register allocation, assembler, and linker.
• Co‑design language constructs that improve expressiveness and performance for dataflow execution on wafer‑scale hardware.
• Develop and iterate on code generation strategies for complex scientific and AI workloads, analyzing performance bottlenecks and closing the gap between peak and achieved throughput.
• Extend the compiler to support future hardware architectures as they move from design to silicon.
• Work directly with ASIC architects and application researchers to inform hardware‑software co‑design decisions.

What We Are Looking For

• PhD in Computer Science or Computer Engineering preferred; exceptional candidates without a graduate degree who demonstrate equivalent depth through published research, significant open‑source contributions, or a strong industry track record are encouraged to apply.
• Substantial experience in compiler development: IR design, optimization passes, code generation, or backend implementation for novel or non‑standard architectures.
• Strong grasp of computer architecture: instruction sets, memory models, dataflow execution, and how hardware constraints shape compilation strategy.
• Systems‑level programming ability in C; comfort reasoning about performance at the instruction and memory‑access level.
• Ability to think about compilation as a design problem, not just an implementation task: you should have opinions about how language semantics, compiler IR, and hardware capabilities interact.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills: able to work effectively in a small, fast‑moving team where compiler, architecture, and application concerns are deeply intertwined.

ValuableAssets

• Experience with compilers for spatial, dataflow, or CGRA architectures where the compilation model diverges significantly from conventional CPU/GPU targets.
• Exposure to ML compiler frameworks (MLIR, XLA, TVM) and understanding of how AI workloads map to hardware.
• Experience with multi‑dimensional data representations, tiling strategies, and vectorized operations.
• Track record of published research or patents in compilers, programming languages, or architecture.
• Experience building runtime systems, debuggers, or architecture simulators, particularly for non‑standard hardware.Understanding of parallel/distributed systems and cluster computing.

WhyThis OpportunityIsExcitingAndUnique

• Build a compiler for hardware that doesn’texist anywhere else. The architecture is the constraint and the opportunity.
• Publish and open‑source your research. We present at Supercomputing, SIAM, IEEE, NeurIPS, and beyond.
• Work on the fastest AI system in the world, with direct access to the hardware your compiler targets.
• Join at a pivotal moment: Cerebras is pre‑IPO with strong commercial traction and rapid growth.
• Be part of a small, technical team with high autonomy, minimal bureaucracy, and a culture that values depth over hierarchy.

We arehiring formultiple positions across experience levels. If thiswork resonates, we encourage you to apply.

Why Join Cerebras

People who are serious about software make their own hardware. At Cerebras, we have built a breakthrough architecture that is unlocking new opportunities for the AI industry. With dozens of model releases and rapid growth, we’ve reached an inflection point in our business. Members of our team tell us there are five main reasons they joined Cerebras:

1. Build a breakthrough AI platform beyond the constraints of the GPU.
2. Publish and open source their cutting‑edge AI research.
3. Work on one of the fastest AI supercomputers in the world.
4. Enjoy job stability with startup vitality.
5. Our simple, non‑corporate work culture that respects individual beliefs.

Find out more about what it's like to work at Cerebras here!

Apply today and become part of the forefront of groundbreaking advancements in AI!

Cerebras Systems is committed to creating an equal and diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate different backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We believe inclusive teams build better products and companies. We try every day to build a work environment that empowers people to do their best work through continuous learning, growth and support of those around them.

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