Location: Remote - Pune / Bangalore, India
Job Type: Executive / Founding Team (Pre-Seed Structure)

Company Overview Imperative Labs is a deep-tech semiconductor startup developing India’s first server-grade Photonic Neural Processing Unit (NPU). We are redefining the limits of AI compute bandwidth and thermal efficiency. We are currently finalizing our core four-person founding engineering team to drive the pre-silicon architecture, complete the tape-out process, and scale through our upcoming institutional seed round.

Role Objective We are seeking a Head of Compilers & Systems Architecture to lead our software and systems engineering vertical. This executive will be responsible for building the foundational software infrastructure that bridges high-level machine learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch) with our low-level analog optical matrix hardware, ensuring seamless hardware-software co-design.

Key Responsibilities
Pre-Silicon Simulation: Design, implement,



and optimize a bit-accurate software execution simulator in C++/Python to mathematically model the photonic compute matrix and validate system performance.
Compiler Pipeline Architecture: Architect the AI compiler stack utilizing intermediate representation frameworks (MLIR, LLVM, or Triton) to translate computational graphs into hardware-level instructions.
ISA Definition: Collaborate directly with the Analog IC and Photonic Design leads to define the Instruction Set Architecture (ISA), memory mapping, and control-loop logic for the optical chip.
Systems Integration: Lay the groundwork for post-silicon software bring-up, including future Linux driver development and PCIe interface communications.

Qualifications & Expertise
Ph.D., M.Tech, or B.Tech in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a closely related discipline (alumni of IITs, IISc, or equivalent premier institutions preferred).
Extensive proficiency in contemporary C++ and low-level systems programming.
Strong foundational knowledge of Advanced Comput

📌 Head of Compilers (Bengaluru)
🏢 Imperative Labs
📍 Bengaluru