Sr Staff Engineer

Lattice Semiconductor; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 199,000 - 243,000; Full time

Job summary

Lattice Semiconductor is seeking a Sr. Staff Engineer to join our AI/ML team in the U.S. and help design enterprise-wide Generative AI solutions.

You will architect AI gateways, enable routing across multiple LLMs, and drive cost-saving strategies while mentoring engineers and aligning with governance and security standards. The role emphasizes hands-on development, collaboration with security/compliance, and leadership in deploying scalable AI models and retrieval pipelines using cloud-based

Qualifications

• Enterprise-scale generative AI architecture experience.
• Experience integrating cutting-edge LLMs and autonomous AI agents.
• Develop RAG pipelines for knowledge retrieval and context-aware responses.
• Build and optimize agentic AI systems interacting with APIs, databases, and IDEs.
• Fine-tune LLMs for domain-specific applications.
• Optimize models for local inference (quantization, pruning, distillation).
• Deploy models on-prem or at the edge with PyTorch, TensorRT, ONNX.
• Build training and inference pipelines for reproducibility.
• Integrate locally deployed models into production via APIs.
• Monitor performance, latency, resource utilization.
• Design AI gateway solutions and model routing techniques.
• Proven cost savings using local/open-source models or optimizations.
• Understanding of LLM provider ecosystems and multi-model orchestration.
• Experience with cloud infrastructure and enterprise architecture frameworks.
• Knowledge of AI governance, security, compliance in enterprises.
• Excellent communication with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Deploy scalable AI models and retrieval pipelines using cloud-based MLOps (AWS/GCP/Azure, Docker, Kubernetes).
• Optimize LLMs for real-time inferencing.

Responsibilities

• Design and architect enterprise-wide Generative AI solutions, including reference architectures and standards.
• Design, build, and maintain an enterprise AI gateway for access governance.
• Develop routing to direct requests across multiple LLMs and providers.
• Evaluate local/on-prem models to reduce costs.
• Establish frameworks to measure cost savings from routing and infra choices.
• Collaborate with engineering, security, and compliance teams.
• Define best practices for prompt orchestration, caching, and fallbacks.
• Provide technical leadership to AI/ML engineers.
• Lead a team of AI/ML engineers.

Skills

Generative AI architecture

LLM integration

RAG pipelines

API integration

Cost optimization

Edge/local inference

Cloud/MLOps

AI governance & security

Team leadership

Education

Master's or PhD in CS/AI

Tools

LangChain

OpenAI APIs

PyTorch

TensorRT

ONNX

vLLM

llama.cpp

Job description

Lattice Overview

There is energy here…energy you can feel crackling at any of our international locations. It’s an energy generated by enthusiasm for our work, for our teams, for our results, and for our customers. Lattice is a worldwide community of engineers, designers, and manufacturing operations specialists in partnership with world-class sales, marketing, and support teams, who are developing programmable logic solutions that are changing the industry. Our focus is on R&D, product innovation, and customer service, and to that focus, we bring total commitment and a keenly sharp competitive personality. Energy feeds on energy. If you flourish in a fast paced, results-oriented environment, if you want to achieve individual success within a “team first” organization, and if you believe you can contribute and succeed in a demanding yet collegial atmosphere, then Lattice may well be just what you’re looking for.

Job Description

We are looking for a Sr. Staff Engineer to join our team.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and architect enterprise-wide Generative AI solutions, including reference architectures, integration patterns, and technical standards.
• Design, build, and maintain an enterprise AI gateway to centralize access, governance, and monitoring of AI model consumption across the organization.
• Develop and implement intelligent routing techniques to direct requests across multiple large language models (LLMs) and AI providers based on cost, latency, accuracy, and availability requirements.
• Evaluate and integrate local/on-premises models as alternatives to third-party hosted models, with a focus on reducing operational costs.
• Establish frameworks for measuring and demonstrating cost savings achieved through model selection, routing optimization, and infrastructure decisions.
• Collaborate with engineering, security, and compliance stakeholders to ensure AI architecture adheres to organizational governance and regulatory requirements.
• Define best practices for prompt orchestration, caching strategies, and fallback mechanisms within the AI gateway.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineering teams adopting Generative AI capabilities.
• Provide mentorship and lead a team of AI/ML engineers.

Required Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience architecting Generative AI solutions at an enterprise scale.
• Research and integrate cutting-edge LLMs and autonomous AI agent architecture into development processes.
• Develop RAG pipelines that enhance AI‘s ability to retrieve relevant knowledge and generate context‑aware responses.
• Build and optimize agentic AI systems that can interact with APIs, databases, and development environments (such as LangChain, OpenAI APIs, etc.).
• Fine‑tune LLMs (GPT, Llama, Mistral, Claude, Gemini etc.) for domain‑specific applications.
• Optimize models for local inference through quantization, pruning, and distillation.
• Deploy models on‑prem or at the edge using frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorRT, ONNX, vLLM, or llama.cpp.
• Build and maintain training and inference pipelines for reproducibility and scalability.
• Integrate locally deployed models into production systems via APIs and internal services.
• Monitor model performance, drift, latency, and resource utilization in production.
• Optimize retrieval mechanisms to enhance response accuracy, grounding AI outputs in real‑world data.
• Hands‑on experience designing and implementing AI gateway solutions and model routing techniques.
• Proven track record of achieving measurable cost savings through the use of local/open‑source models or alternative optimization techniques.
• Strong understanding of LLM provider ecosystems, API integration patterns, and multi‑model orchestration.
• Experience with cloud infrastructure and enterprise architecture frameworks.
• Solid grasp of AI governance, security, and compliance considerations in enterprise environments.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present technical concepts to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Architect and deploy scalable AI models and retrieval pipelines using cloud‑based MLOps pipelines (AWS/GCP/Azure, Docker, Kubernetes).
• Optimize LLMs for real‑time AI inferencing, ensuring low latency and high‑performance AI solutions.

Education

Master’s or Ph.D. in Computer Science, AI, Machine Learning, or a related field.

Experience

5+ years of experience in AI and machine learning, with at least 2 years of experience working on LLMs, code generation, RAG, or AI‑powered automation.

Pay & Benefits

Consistent with Lattice Semiconductor values and applicable law, we provide the following information to promote pay transparency and equity. We have a market‑based pay structure which varies by location. Please note that the base pay range is a guideline, and our compensation range reflects the cost of labor in the U.S. geographic market based on the location of the role. Pay within these ranges varies and depends on job‑related knowledge, skills, and relevant work experience. For candidates who receive and offer, the starting salary will vary based on various factors including, but not limited to, such qualifications as, skill level, competencies, and work location. The range provided may represent a candidate range and may not reflect the full range for an individual tenured employee.

Base Pay Range 220800

In addition to base pay, this role may be eligible for variable/ incentive compensation and/ or equity. In addition, this role is eligible for a comprehensive, competitive benefits package which may include healthcare and retirement plans, paid time off, and more!

Additional Information

This position requires a successful background and reference checks and satisfactory proof of your right to work in the United States.

As an E‑Verify employer, we use this system to confirm the employment eligibility of all new hires in accordance with federal law. All applicants will be required to complete a Form I‑9, Employment Eligibility Verification, upon hire. We do not use E-Verify to pre-screen job candidates and will comply with all E‑Verify regulations.

Company Culture & Values

At Lattice, we value the diversity of individuals, ideas, perspectives, insights and values, and what they bring to the workplace.

At Lattice, our core values aren’t just something we look for in candidates – they’re something we actively cultivate and live by every day.

• GROWTH We foster a culture where everyone strives for continuous learning and development. We challenge ourselves to boldly deliver exceptional growth and value for customers and shareholders.
• RELIABILITY Our customers trust us to deliver, and we take that responsibility seriously. By committing ourselves to dependable supply, support, and solutions, we build strong collaboration that lasts and thrives.
• EXECUTION Innovation turns great ideas into results. Together, we create differentiated products and solutions through disciplined planning, decisiveness, and timely delivery with uncompromising quality.
• ACCOUNTABILITY We own our actions and outcomes: holding ourselves to the highest standards, agilely adapting to change, delivering on our commitments, and empowering each other to drive our success.
• TRANSPARENCY Openness builds trust. We lead with integrity and candor, facing hard facts and embracing tough conversations with clear communication, decisive action, and open honesty at every level.

Company Information

Lattice is strengthening its leadership in compute, communications, industrial, and embedded markets – underscored by multiple award wins that recognize its innovation, leadership, workplace culture, and collaboration‑driven solutions. Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ: LSCC) is the low power programmable leader. For over 40 years, Lattice has driven innovation in the semiconductor industry. Our compact, power‑efficient field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are essential to building a secure, intelligent, and connected world. Lattice is the #1 supplier of small FPGAs worldwide, with the largest installed base in the industry. Our solutions are trusted by over 11,000 customers globally, spanning the compute, communications, industrial, and embedded markets. Founded in 1983 in Oregon’s Silicon Forest, Lattice has grown into a global leader with a passionate team dedicated to pushing the boundaries of programmable logic and fostering a culture of innovation. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon with major operations in San Jose, California, Shanghai, China, and Manila, Philippines.