Head of AI - job 1 of 2

Location: Palo Alto, CA

Employment Type: Full-time

On-site: 5 days/week in-office

About the Role

Our client, an AI company focused on dramatically accelerating semiconductor design, is seeking a world-class ML leader to architect and own their entire AI roadmap. They are solving the critical problem of exponentially increasing chip design costs by providing an integrated AI agent and code editor workflow to make silicon engineers 4x more productive. This is a foundational role where you will define the technical trajectory across the platform, including code generation, reinforcement learning, and layout optimization.

This position requires a deep, hands-on expert who can lead a growing ML team while actively contributing to the technical work.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to and own the ML research strategy and roadmap across RTL (Register-Transfer Level) and Physical Design (PD) domains.
• Architect and deploy novel agent-based systems, including fine-tuning models for RTL Code Generation, physical design automation, and hardware problem reasoning.
• Lead, mentor, and scale a team of top-tier ML engineers, guiding research direction, implementation standards, and modeling infrastructure.
• Interface directly with hardware engineers to identify and solve bottlenecks in chip design pipelines using machine learning.
• Stay ahead of state-of-the-art techniques in ML4EDA (ML for Electronic Design Automation), agent orchestration, and model compression/deployment.

• 5+ years of experience in pure machine learning at top-tier AI labs.
• Deep expertise in ML for chip design.
• Demonstrated leadership experience in high-performance engineering teams.
• Strong preference for candidates who favor hands-on technical work over pure management/director-level roles.
• Experience with Python, PyTorch, Transformers, Reinforcement Learning (RL) libraries.
• Experience with Agentic Systems, MLOps, RTL Code Generation, Physical Design Automation.

• Salary: $300K - $500K
• Equity: Competitive
• Visa sponsorship is available for O1 and H1B visas.

Due to the high volume of applications we anticipate, we regret that we are unable to provide individual feedback to all candidates. If you do not hear back from us within 4 weeks of your application, please assume that you have not been successful on this occasion. We genuinely appreciate your interest and wish you the best in your job search.

About MLabs
MLabs is a consultancy working with leading blockchain, AI, and tech startups worldwide. We’re supporting this client with their hiring, and you’ll be joining their team directly.

👉 Apply now to be part of one of the most exciting AI startups in Palo Alto

Commitment to Equality and Accessibility:

At MLabs, we are committed to offer equal opportunities to all candidates. We ensure no discrimination, accessible job adverts, and providing information in accessible formats. Our goal is to foster a diverse, inclusive workplace with equal opportunities for all. If you need any reasonable adjustments during any part of the hiring process or you would like to see the job-advert in an accessible format please let us know at the earliest opportunity by emailing [email protected].

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