Applied AI Architect

Etched is building the first transformer-specific AI chip. By trading flexibility for performance, one Etched server has >20x more throughput (tokens per second) than an NVIDIA 8xH100 GPU. We’ve raised >$125M and are a 75-person team in Cupertino, CA.

Etched is looking for an Applied AI Architect to work with the top AI research labs to develop and implement AI models and systems to solve real-world customer problems. You will also represent Etched as a leader in the industry, staying updated on emerging AI trends and sharing insights with internal/external stakeholders and customers. In addition, you will work closely with product, engineering, and business teams to ensure our AI solutions are aligned with customer needs and product requirements.

Responsibilities:

• AI Model Development: Design and deploy advanced machine learning models, moving projects from concept through to implementation to deliver AI-driven solutions with direct customer impact.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with sales, software engineering, and product management teams to identify and solve complex customer challenges with tailored AI solutions.

• Customer Engagement: Present to key decision-makers (CTOs, AI Heads, Hardware/Data Center experts) at AI companies, cloud providers, and trading firms to understand their needs and demonstrate the value of Etched’s chip, Sohu.

• Industry Leadership: Keep pace with the latest advancements in machine learning and AI, ensuring Etched’s products remain at the cutting edge.

• Custom Configurations: Develop Etched cluster configurations based on specific customer requirements.

Preferred Experience:

• Proven expertise in Applied AI, with knowledge of AI chip technology and data center infrastructure.

• Deep understanding of transformer models and inference optimization

• Exceptional communication skills including experience in presenting to executive-level customers to understand business needs and deliver business-driven AI solutions.

• Ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams

Bonus Points:

• Experience writing custom kernels, evaluating AI chips, or leading compute resource decisions in an AI company.

How we’re different:

Etched believes in the Bitter Lesson. We think most of the progress in the AI field has come from using more FLOPs to train and run models, and the best way to get more FLOPs is to build model-specific hardware. Larger and larger training runs encourage companies to consolidate around fewer model architectures, which creates a market for single-model ASICs.

We are a fully in-person team in Cupertino and greatly value engineering skills. We do not have boundaries between engineering and research, and we expect all of our technical staff to contribute to both as needed.

Benefits:

• Full medical, dental, and vision packages, with 100% of premium covered, 90% for dependents

• Housing subsidy of $2,000/month for those living within walking distance of the office

• Daily lunch and dinner in our office

• Relocation support for those moving to Cupertino