Senior Hardware Engineer (RTL / High-Level Synthesis)

Code Metal; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health care plan

401k with matching

Paid Time Off

Flexible hybrid or remote work

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Code Metal in San Francisco, CA is seeking a Senior Hardware Engineer (RTL / High-Level Synthesis) to architect and expand our capabilities to generate production-ready RTL from high-level algorithms.

You will develop RTL via HLS integration, work with C++ pipelines, and collaborate with cross-disciplinary teams to ensure verifiability and performance on real hardware. Experience with Catapult, Vitis HLS, or Stratus is valued; relocation assistance offered.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of hands-on experience with RTL code or using High-Level Synthesis, including at least one commercial HLS tool.
• Solid hardware modeling background regarding fixed-point arithmetic, bit-accurate types, synthesis pragmas and modeling trade-offs.
• Scripting experience in Python for development, toolchain automation and testing.

Responsibilities

• Develop C++ and post-HLS readability and optimization passes to produce human-auditable RTL.
• Leverage Agentic AI and verification capability within Code Metal.
• Contribute to CI/CD qualification including automated RTL simulation, functional verification, and regression testing.

Skills

RTL coding

HDL design concepts

Python scripting

Debugging skills

Verification workflows

Tools

Catapult

Vitis HLS

Stratus

Job description

About Code Metal

Code Metal is the leader in automated software engineering you can trust. As AI writes more of the world's code, the bottleneck in software has shifted from writing code to verifying it works, and AI cannot verify its own work with certainty. Code Metal takes a fundamentally different approach: constrain AI to what it does reliably, verify every step independently of the model using formal methods, and keep engineers in the loop on the decisions that matter. The result isn't code that probably works — it's code that is provably correct, with auditable proof. Customers including the U.S. Air Force, L3Harris, RTX, and Toshiba use Code Metal to modernize legacy code, optimize performance on real hardware, and move prototypes to production, fast. Founded in 2023 with offices in Boston and San Francisco, Code Metal is funded by Accel, Salesforce Ventures, B Capital, Smith Point Capital, J2 Ventures, Shield Capital, Overmatch, RTX, and others.

About Code Metal

Code Metal is the leader in automated software engineering you can trust. As AI writes more of the world's code, the bottleneck in software has shifted from writing code to verifying it works, and AI cannot verify its own work with certainty. Code Metal takes a fundamentally different approach: constrain AI to what it does reliably, verify every step independently of the model using formal methods, and keep engineers in the loop on the decisions that matter. The result isn't code that probably works — it's code that is provably correct, with auditable proof. Customers including the U.S. Air Force, L3Harris, RTX, and Toshiba use Code Metal to modernize legacy code, optimize performance on real hardware, and move prototypes to production, fast. Founded in 2023 with offices in Boston and San Francisco, Code Metal is funded by Accel, Salesforce Ventures, B Capital, Smith Point Capital, J2 Ventures, Shield Capital, Overmatch, RTX, and others.

Learn more at codemetal.ai.

Senior Hardware Engineer (RTL / High-Level Synthesis)

Code Metal is in the business of transpiling between different languages. This includes the transpilation tools enabled by AI and modern verification techniques — bridging the gap between algorithm development and deployment to embedded systems.

We are currently looking for a senior hardware/software engineer interested in architecting and expanding our capabilities towards creating production-ready RTL from high-level algorithm descriptions. This role focuses on HLS integration and RTL code generation. You will be joining a team that values technical rigor, ownership, and collaboration across disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Develop C++ and post-HLS readability and optimization passes to produce human-auditable RTL
• Leveraging Agentic AI and verification capability within Code Metal
• Contribute to CI/CD qualification including automated RTL simulation, functional verification, and regression testing

Required Qualifications

• 3+ years of hands-on experience with writing RTL code or using High-Level Synthesis, including at least one commercial HLS tool (Catapult, Vitis HLS, Stratus, or equivalent)
• Solid hardware modeling background regarding fixed-point arithmetic, bit-accurate types, synthesis pragmas and modeling trade-offs
• Scripting experience in Python for development, toolchain automation and testing
• Strong debugging and problem-solving skills
• Experience with simulation and functional verification flows

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience using Linux-based development environments
• Solid understanding of RTL / VHDL
• Understanding of FPGA architectural capabilities and constraints
• Knowledge of verification methodologies and testbench development
• Experience with DSP algorithms and applications using Python/MATLAB

Nice to Have

• Bonus: Interest in or familiarity with LLM-assisted code transformation and readability tooling
• Experience with Git-based development workflows and CI/CD environments

Benefits

• Pay depends on experience, but we strive to be at the upper end of the salary range
• Health care plan with 100% premium coverage, including medical, dental, and vision
• 401k with 5% matching
• Paid Time Off (uncapped vacation, plus sick and public holidays)
• Flexible hybrid or remote work arrangement
• Relocation assistance for qualifying employees

Wage Transparency - The salary range for this role is not a guarantee of compensation or salary, as the final offer amount may vary based on factors including, but not limited to, individual proficiency, skills, experience, and location.

We are an equal opportunity employer. US Citizenship may be required for certain project assignments involving security clearance.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.