Senior Compiler Engineer
San Francisco, CAFull-time$200–350K/yrPosted 2 days agoStill listed today
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At a glance
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Job overview
Luminal builds a search-based compiler that optimizes AI models for faster, more portable deployment across different hardware platforms. The Founding Compiler Engineer will help design core compiler infrastructure, develop optimization systems and backend code generation, and improve model performance. The role is full-time and on-site in downtown San Francisco. Luminal will sponsor visas.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Full job description
Luminal optimizes AI models to accelerate and simplify model deployment using a search-based compiler. The AI stack needs to be rethought from the ground up to achieve this. As demand for inference grows, teams will need to run models across a wider range of hardware, not just the platforms with the most mature software support. Luminal makes AI workloads faster, more portable, and easier to deploy by automatically optimizing models for the ideal hardware. Our mission is to make state-of-the-art AI production-ready on any compute platform. We have already closed multiple contracts with non-Nvidia hardware platforms. Luminal is backed by Y Combinator and Felicis as well as top-tier angels such as Paul Graham (founder of Y Combinator), Guillermo Rauch (founder of Vercel) and many others. What You’ll Do
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Design and build core compiler infrastructure in Rust
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Build search-based optimization systems for discovering faster kernels
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Develop backend code generation for multiple targets (NVIDIA, Trainium, AMD, TPU, etc.)
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Implement compiler passes for fusion, scheduling, memory planning, and kernel selection
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Profile real models, identify bottlenecks, and improve latency and throughput
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Help shape Luminal’s engineering culture from the ground up
What we’re looking for
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Experience with compiler frameworks: LLVM, MLIR, or other custom compilers
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Hands-on experience with at least one of: PTX/SASS, GCN/RDNA assembly, or other GPU ISAs
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Familiarity with ML compilers: torch.compile (or custom PyTorch backend), XLA, TVM, etc.
Nice to haves
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Background in distributed systems or multi-device compilation
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Experience with Egg/Egglog is a STRONG plus
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Experience with Rust
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Experience in developing and deploying AI models in production environments
Role Description This is a full-time on-site role for a Founding Compiler Engineer located in downtown San Francisco. You will be responsible for assisting the design of the core compiler. Day-to-day tasks will include writing CUDA kernels, conducting model performance reviews, and shitposting on social media. Location and compensation San Francisco, CA, US · Full-time · On-site. Annual base salary: $200,000–$350,000 USD. Equity: 0.5%–2%. Visa: Will sponsor.
How this job compares
Set against the 41,413 open Software Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 9, 2026.
- Pay
- This posting$200–350K/yr
- California median$165–250K/yr7,725 salary ranges
- US median$135–219K/yr32,968 salary ranges
This range's midpoint, $275K, is 34% above the California median midpoint ($205K) — in the top quarter of Software Engineer salary ranges in California.
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 9,630 open Software Engineer jobs in California and 41,413 across the US. 8% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Experience
- Software Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for 5 years of experience at the median; the middle half ask for 3 to 7 years (33,918 postings).
- Education
- 12,939 of the 41,413 open Software Engineer jobs (31%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 9, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.
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