Staff Ml Engineer

RolvaTech; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

RolvaTech is seeking an ML engineer who works across the full stack from model to silicon, optimizing training and inference performance on GPU/AI-accelerator infrastructure. You will design, train, and evaluate ML models and take them into production, while adapting to chip constraints and real hardware limits.

You’ll also harden and extend NPU cores into production silicon, build or optimize inference engines, and work with firmware, RTL, and QA teams to ship AI features end-to-end.

Qualifications

• 5–7+ years hands-on AI/ML experience; Master's required, PhD preferred
• Hands-on AI/ML infrastructure and performance — GPU clusters, distributed training, inference-serving optimization, MLOps pipelines
• Model/algorithm development experience — designing, training, and evaluating ML models
• Experience taking models into production — feature engineering, data pipelines, deployment
• AI chip / hardware-aware ML experience — optimizing inference engines for a specific chip, or adapting model architecture/quantization to chip constraints

Responsibilities

• Optimize training and inference performance across GPU and AI-accelerator infrastructure, including MLOps pipelines
• Design, train, and evaluate ML models (deep learning, LLM, CV, or recommendation systems) and take them into production
• Harden and extend NPU cores (e.g. building on an open RVV/tensor core like CoralNPU) into production silicon
• Build or optimize inference engines and serving runtimes against real hardware constraints — latency, memory, and power
• Work below the application layer where needed — BMC firmware, embedded Linux, or RTOS (e.g. Zephyr) — so AI features run reliably on real systems
• Build automated test/verification harnesses that close the loop for AI-assisted RTL/DV, hardware bring-up, or manufacturing test
• Apply ML to security — AI-driven log/intrusion analysis, AI-assisted penetration testing, or firmware/hardware security work
• Collaborate closely with RTL/hardware, firmware, and QA teams to ship AI features end-to-end, from training through deployment and monitoring

Skills

NPU/AI-accelerator

Systems-level software

Inference engine

Test harness

Cybersecurity

Education

Master's degree in AI/ML or related field

PhD preferred

Job description

We're looking for an ML engineer who works across the full stack from model to silicon — comfortable optimizing training and inference performance on GPU/AI-accelerator infrastructure, building or tuning models, and adapting model and inference-engine design to the constraints of the underlying chip and its NPU. You'll move fluidly between algorithm work, systems-level software, and infrastructure work, closing the loop end-to-end rather than owning just one layer of the stack. This is a rare chance to work the full cycle of AI silicon, from model down to chip — something most ML engineers at large companies never get access to.

Experience

5- 7 years

Key Responsibilities

• Optimize training and inference performance across GPU and AI-accelerator infrastructure, including MLOps pipelines
• Design, train, and evaluate ML models (deep learning, LLM, CV, or recommendation systems) and take them into production
• Harden and extend NPU cores (e.g. building on an open RVV/tensor core like CoralNPU) into production silicon
• Build or optimize inference engines and serving runtimes against real hardware constraints — latency, memory, and power
• Work below the application layer where needed — BMC firmware, embedded Linux, or RTOS (e.g. Zephyr) — so AI features run reliably on real systems
• Build automated test/verification harnesses that close the loop for AI-assisted RTL/DV, hardware bring-up, or manufacturing test
• Apply ML to security — AI-driven log/intrusion analysis, AI-assisted penetration testing, or firmware/hardware security work
• Collaborate closely with RTL/hardware, firmware, and QA teams to ship AI features end-to-end, from training through deployment and monitoring

Required Skills

• Deep, hands-on expertise in at least 2 of the following 5 specialty areas — we don't expect all five:
• NPU / AI-accelerator — hardening or extending an NPU core into production silicon, mapping models onto MAC/tensor-engine constraints, or NPU-aware RTL/DV work
• Systems / Sys-level software — BMC firmware, embedded Linux, RTOS (e.g. Zephyr), or other low-level system software
• Inference engine / runtime — built or materially optimized an inference engine or serving runtime against real hardware constraints
• Test / verification harness — built an automated harness that closes a loop, e.g. an agent-driven RTL/DV test runner or a hardware bring-up / MFG test harness
• Cyber security — AI-driven log/intrusion analysis, AI-assisted penetration testing, or firmware/hardware security

Qualifications

• 5–7+ years of hands-on AI/ML experience; Master's required, PhD preferred
• Hands-on experience with AI/ML infrastructure and performance — GPU clusters, distributed training, inference-serving optimization, MLOps pipelines
• Model / algorithm development experience — designing, training, and evaluating ML models
• Experience taking models into production — feature engineering, data pipelines, deployment
• AI chip / hardware-aware ML experience — optimizing inference engines for a specific chip, or adapting model architecture/quantization to chip constraints