Senior AI Engineer

Lever, Inc.; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Cirrus Logic is seeking a hands-on Senior AI Engineer to join the centralized AI Core team. You will develop, prototype, validate, and scale AI-enabled capabilities across R&D hardware, software, and firmware design teams.

This role translates evolving AI tech into secure, reliable, and measurable improvements in product design, testing, debugging, and maintenance. You will blend modern AI workflows with Cirrus-specific product knowledge and tooling.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related discipline; 5+ years in software, AI/ML systems, developer infrastructure, embedded systems, firmware, or related field.
• Strong Python software engineering skills and production-grade tooling experience.
• Hands-on experience with modern AI/ML tech: LLMs, retrieval-augmented generation, embeddings, vector search, tool calling, agents, model evaluation.
• Experience designing reliable software systems with clear interfaces, observability, testing, security, and maintainability.
• Ability to translate ambiguous problems into prototypes and scalable engineering adoption.

Responsibilities

• Partner with hardware, software, firmware leaders to identify and prototype high-value AI use cases.
• Build and evaluate AI-assisted workflows for firmware development, debugging, and documentation.
• Design retrieval-augmented generation and agentic workflows using approved internal information.
• Connect AI systems to engineering tools, repositories, build and test systems, and hardware environments.
• Establish rigorous evaluation methods for AI-enabled workflows across quality, security, and productivity.
• Convert pilots into reusable AI Core capabilities including architecture, docs, and enablement materials.
• Help define the technical AI roadmap for R&D and deployment patterns.
• Collaborate with security, IT, legal, and leadership to ensure responsible AI use.
• Share learnings through demonstrations and training to support adoption.

Skills

Python

AI/ML systems

retrieval-augmented generation

security & reliability

cross-disciplinary collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/CE/EE

Advanced degree valued

Tools

CI/CD pipelines

Git

Linux

DevOps tooling

Job description

For over four decades, Cirrus Logic has been propelled by the top engineers in mixed-signal processing. Our rockstar team thrives on solving complex challenges with innovative end-user solutionsfor the world's top consumer brands. Cirrus Logic is also known for its award‑winning culture, which was built on a foundation of inclusion and fairness, meaningful community engagement, and delivering enjoyable employee experiences at every turn. But we couldn’t do it without our extraordinary workforce – and that’s where you come in. Join our team and help us continue to make Cirrus Logic an exceptional place to grow your career!

The Role

We are seeking a hands‑on Senior AI Engineer to join Cirrus Logic’s centralized AI Core team. You will develop, prototype, validate, and scale AI-enabled engineering capabilities across R&D’s Hardware, Software & Firmware design teams.

This is a builder role for an engineer who can translate rapidly evolving AI technology into secure, reliable, and measurable improvements in how products are designed, tested, debugged, and maintained. In this role you will be combining modern AI and agentic workflows with Cirrus-specific product knowledge, codebases, engineering processes, test infrastructure, and real hardware.

This role is ideal for an engineer energized by solving ambiguous technical problems, validating solutions rigorously, and turning pilots into practical engineering leverage at scale.

What You’ll Own & Create

This is not an AI demonstration role — this is where you build trustworthy engineering capabilities, establish effective validation methods, and help shape how R&D applies AI.

You will:

• Partner with Hardware, Software & Firmware leaders, architects, developers, test engineers, and DevOps to identify, prioritize, and rapidly prototype high-value AI use cases.
• Build and evaluate AI-assisted workflows for firmware and driver development, code understanding, debugging, test creation, documentation, and engineering productivity.
• Design and implement retrieval‑augmented generation, contextual knowledge, tool integration, and agentic workflows that safely use approved internal engineering information.
• Connect AI systems to appropriate engineering tools, repositories, build and test systems, documentation, and, where appropriate, hardware and lab environments.
• Establish rigorous evaluation methods for AI‑enabled workflows, including quality, correctness, security, developer experience, productivity, and hardware‑in‑the‑loop validation.
• Convert successful pilots into reusable AI Core capabilities, including reference architectures, libraries, integration patterns, governance controls, documentation, and enablement materials.
• Help define the technical roadmap for AI in R&D, including build‑versus‑buy recommendations, vendor evaluation, data and access requirements, and deployment patterns.
• Work with security, IT, legal, and engineering leadership to ensure responsible use of models, code, confidential information, and internal tools.
• Share learnings across the AI Core team and R&D through demonstrations, technical guidance, and practical training that supports adoption.

You will not simply introduce AI tools — you will establish repeatable, validated ways for Cirrus engineers to use AI effectively in hardware‑adjacent development environments.

Skills You’ll Bring to the Team

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related discipline, with 5+ years of relevant experience in software, AI/ML systems, developer infrastructure, embedded systems, firmware, or a closely related field. Advanced degree or equivalent practical experience is valued.
• Strong Python software engineering skills, with experience delivering production‑quality tools, services, or developer infrastructure.
• Practical experience applying modern AI/ML technologies, including large language models, retrieval‑augmented generation, embeddings and vector search, tool calling, agents, model evaluation, or AI application platforms.
• Experience designing reliable software systems with clear interfaces, observability, testing, security, and maintainability.
• Demonstrated ability to move from an ambiguous problem statement through prototype, evaluation, and engineering adoption.
• Ability to work effectively across software, firmware, hardware, test, DevOps, IT, and security disciplines.
• Strong technical judgment, structured problem solving, and communication skills, including the ability to explain complex AI tradeoffs to technical and leadership audiences.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

• Experience with embedded software, firmware, device drivers, RTOS or bare‑metal development, hardware bring‑up, or hardware/software co‑debug.
• Experience integrating AI systems with source control, CI/CD, issue tracking, documentation systems, build systems, test automation, or laboratory equipment.
• Experience with hardware‑in‑the‑loop, simulation, emulation, or automated validation environments.
• Knowledge of C/C++, Linux, developer tooling, code analysis, and secure software‑development practices.
• Experience evaluating and deploying commercial AI products as well as building targeted custom extensions.
• Familiarity with enterprise data governance, access controls, model safety, and intellectual‑property considerations.
• Experience developing reusable technical platforms, standards, or enablement materials for a broad engineering organization.

Export control restrictions based upon applicable laws and regulations would prohibit candidates who are nationals of certain embargoed countries from working in this position without Cirrus Logic first obtaining an export license. Candidates for this role must be able to access technical data without a requirement for an export license. We are unable to sponsor or obtain export licenses for this role.

Cirrus Logic strives to select the best qualified applicant for any opening. Different approaches, ideas and points of view are both valued and respected. Employment decisions are made on the basis of job‑related criteria without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, genetic information, or any other classification protected by applicable law.