Sr. Staff Engineer, IP Runtime

Tenstorrent; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 500,000; Full time

Job summary

Tenstortort is seeking a seasoned C/C++ engineer to define and implement runtime software at the hardware/software boundary. The role focuses on initialization, scheduling, synchronization, and data movement across custom silicon IP, including processor cores and accelerators, with a strong emphasis on performance and reliability.

You will collaborate with hardware, firmware, compiler, and systems teams, tackle performance bottlenecks, and contribute hands-on through design, coding, and bring-up

Qualifications

• Expert in C or C++ with a track record of delivering complex, performance-critical systems.
• Experience working close to hardware in low-level, embedded, bare‑metal, or accelerator environments and translating hardware specifications into reliable software behavior.
• Strong in runtime fundamentals, including command execution, scheduling, synchronization, memory movement, resource management, and parallelism.
• Skilled at debugging and optimizing systems end-to-end, especially at the hardware/software boundary.
• A technical leader who collaborates effectively across hardware, firmware, compiler, and systems teams and mentors other engineers.

Responsibilities

• Define the runtime architecture and implementation that controls execution, scheduling, synchronization, and resource management across Tenstortort's custom processor, accelerator, memory, and data‑movement IP.
• Build low-level runtime components that initialize hardware IP, dispatch work to processor and accelerator engines, coordinate dependencies, and manage resources efficiently.
• Design runtime interfaces and data‑movement paths that make memory access, synchronization, and execution efficient and predictable.
• Analyze bottlenecks across the runtime and hardware/software stack, then drive improvements in latency, throughput, scalability, and reliability.
• Influence the direction of the runtime stack, engage directly with customers and field-facing teams, and translate real-world workload needs into runtime improvements while remaining hands‑on with design, coding, performance analysis, bring‑up, and debugging.

Skills

C/C++ expert

Embedded/bare‑metal

Runtime fundamentals

Debugging & optimization

Technical leadership

Job description

Tenstortort is leading the industry on cutting-edge AI technology, revolutionizing performance expectations, ease of use, and cost efficiency. With AI redefining the computing paradigm, solutions must evolve to unify innovations in software models, compilers, platforms, networking, and semiconductors. Our diverse team of technologists have developed a high performance RISC-V CPU from scratch, and share a passion for AI and a deep desire to build the best AI platform possible. We value collaboration, curiosity, and a commitment to solving hard problems. We are growing our team and looking for contributors of all seniorities.

You will work at the hardware/software boundary to define how those hardware blocks are initialized, coordinated, and used by the runtime. You will determine how workloads are dispatched, scheduled, synchronized, and executed across the accelerator, while solving complex performance problems through implementation, bring-up, and debugging.

This role is hybrid and based in Toronto, ON or Austin, TX.

We welcome candidates at various experience levels for this role. During the interview process, candidates will be assessed for the appropriate level, and offers will align with that level, which may differ from the one in this posting.

Who You Are

• An expert C or C++ engineer with a track record of designing and delivering complex, performance-critical systems.
• Experienced working close to hardware in low-level, embedded, bare-metal, or accelerator environments and translating hardware specifications into reliable software behavior.
• Strong in runtime fundamentals, including command execution, scheduling, synchronization, memory movement, resource management, and parallelism.
• Skilled at debugging and optimizing systems end-to-end, especially at the hardware/software boundary.
• A technical leader who collaborates effectively across hardware, firmware, compiler, and systems teams and mentors other engineers.

What We Need

• Define the runtime architecture and implementation that controls execution, scheduling, synchronization, and resource management across Tenstortort's custom processor, accelerator, memory, and data-movement IP.
• Build low-level runtime components that initialize hardware IP, dispatch work to processor and accelerator engines, coordinate dependencies, and manage resources efficiently.
• Design runtime interfaces and data-movement paths that make memory access, synchronization, and execution efficient and predictable.
• Analyze bottlenecks across the runtime and hardware/software stack, then drive improvements in latency, throughput, scalability, and reliability.
• Influence the direction of the runtime stack, engage directly with customers and field-facing teams, and translate real-world workload needs into runtime improvements while remaining hands‑on with design, coding, performance analysis, bring‑up, and debugging.

What You Will Learn

• How runtime software exposes and controls custom silicon IP, from hardware initialization and execution control through bring‑up, performance analysis, and optimization.
• How custom silicon IP blocks—including RISC-V processor cores, accelerator engines, memory systems, data‑movement logic, and interconnects-work together as a complete execution platform.
• Advanced techniques for execution control, synchronization, scheduling, and performance optimization on massively parallel hardware.
• How runtime and hardware co‑evolve to improve model throughput, efficiency, and scalability.

Compensation for all engineers at Tenstortort ranges from $100k - $500k including base and variable compensation targets. Experience, skills, education, background and location all impact the actual offer made.

Tenstortort offers a highly competitive compensation package and benefits, and we are an equal opportunity employer.

This offer of employment is contingent upon the applicant being eligible to access U.S. export-controlled technology. Due to U.S. export laws, including those codified in the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), the Company is required to ensure compliance with these laws when transferring technology to nationals of certain countries (such as EAR Country Groups D:1, E1, and E2). These requirements apply to persons located in the U.S. and all countries outside the U.S. As the position offered will have direct and/or indirect access to information, systems, or technologies subject to these laws, the offer may be contingent upon your citizenship/permanent residency status or ability to obtain prior license approval from the U.S. Commerce Department or applicable federal agency. If employment is not possible due to U.S. export laws, any offer of employment will be rescinded.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Tenstortort's Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.