Founding Member of Technical Staff - Software

Open Select; Berkeley (CA); On-site; USD 250,000 - 500,000; Full time

Job summary

A cutting-edge tech firm in Berkeley, CA is seeking a Founding Member of Technical Staff - Software to join their team. This high-impact role involves designing security solutions and software integrations for AI data centers backed by elite investors. Candidates should have a strong background in ML research or engineering, familiarity with C and Rust, and a PhD in Computer Science or Physics is a plus. The position offers a competitive salary of $250k – $500k plus equity.

Qualifications

• 3+ years in ML research or engineering with proven ability to iterate and ship quickly.
• Experience in AI/ML research, cybersecurity, or systems engineering in high-stakes environments.
• Knowledge of data center networking and formal verification.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement formal verification systems for FPGA-based security switches.
• Build ML integration platforms and SDKs for secure workflows.
• Engineer integrations with Confidential Computing and Trusted Execution Environments.

Skills

ML research

Cybersecurity

Systems engineering

C programming

Rust

Formal verification

Deep learning

Data center networking

Education

PhD in Computer Science or Physics

Tools

PyTorch

Xilinx FPGAs

TEEs

Confidential Computing

Job description

Founding Member of Technical Staff - Software

Location: On-site, Berkeley, CA

Salary: $250k – $500k + 1–3% equity

Industry: AI, Cybersecurity, Hardware

What You’ll Drive

Join the founding team building the first FPGA-based security switches for the world’s most valuable AI data centers. Backed by a $3M seed round and elite investors from Meta, Anthropic, DeepMind, and CrowdStrike, you’ll work on $10M+ contracts securing facilities with 200,000+ GPUs—directly protecting the digital assets that will power the global economy.

You’ll bridge ML research, systems engineering, and security, designing and implementing novel solutions for formal verification, confidential computing, and seamless ML integration. This is a high-ownership, high-impact role shaping the software and infrastructure for history’s largest AI buildout.

What You’ll Focus On

• Design and implement formal verification systems for FPGA-based security switches

• Build ML integration platforms and SDKs for secure, invisible workflows in Python and ML environments

• Engineer deep integrations with Confidential Computing and Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs)

• Develop data center systems for routing, flow control, and infrastructure integration

• Collaborate with a world-class team on novel research and production deployment

Who You Are

• 3+ years in ML research or engineering, with proven ability to iterate and ship quickly

• Experience in AI/ML research, cybersecurity, or systems engineering in high-stakes environments

• Demonstrated success taking research from conception to production

• Skilled in C, Rust, or similar low-level languages; strong ML engineering skills

• Familiar with confidential computing, security engineering, or CTF competitions

• Knowledge of data center networking, PyTorch, Xilinx FPGAs, and formal verification

• Research mindset with strong engineering execution; comfortable with ambiguity and novel challenges

• Flourishing technical portfolio (GitHub, technical blogs, competition medals, etc.)

• PhD in CS or Physics is a plus

Tech Stack

Arista Data Center Networking, PyTorch, Xilinx FPGAs, TEEs, Confidential Computing, Rust, Formal Verification

Why You’ll Thrive Here

• Join at inception and help shape the infrastructure for the AGI age

• Operations and incorporation in both the US and UK, with ambitions for worldwide impact

• Build the backbone for the most advanced AI and scientific workloads on the planet

• Work on systems designed from scratch for AGI - not legacy retrofits

• Early-stage, high-ownership roles with direct influence on technology and company direction

• Early hires will have outsized impact and advancement opportunities as the company scales

• $3M seed round closed June 2025; backed by leaders from Meta, Anthropic, DeepMind, CrowdStrike, and global data center strategy

• $200k–$500k salary plus 1–3% equity, with rapid growth and high-impact contracts

Open to US Citizens, Green Card holders, and TN Visa holders only.