> Markdown version of [/jobs/ext/4636289-founding-kernel-engineer](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/4636289-founding-kernel-engineer). Every page supports `.md` or `Accept: text/markdown`. Links point to the HTML versions so they work for humans too. Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md).

---

# Founding Kernel Engineer

- **Company:** LUMINAL LLC
- **Location:** San Francisco, CA, United States
- **Salary:** $150,000 - $250,000
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Artificial Intelligence, Compilers, Nvidia CUDA, Open Source Technology, Performance Tuning, Pytorch, Large Language Models, MLIR (Multi-Level Intermediate Representation)
- **Published:** November 8, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=9a628434fc17e36d

## About the Role

* Hands-on experience developing GPU kernels.

Nice to haves

 * Prior work on kernel autoresearch frameworks is a very strong positive.
 * Experience with ML compilers is a strong positive, but not required.
 * Hardware performance analysis, memory hierarchies, parallel execution, and benchmarking.
 * CUDA, Triton, GPU instruction sets, or compiler systems such as MLIR/LLVM and PyTorch backends.
 * Rust, open-source compiler contributions, or work on other accelerators.

No degree requirement. Researchers, recent PhDs, and candidates with substantial relevant projects are welcome.

## Description

Research and build faster kernels for AI workloads. You'll work closely with the compiler team, investigate performance bottlenecks, and take optimizations through correctness checks, benchmarking, and execution on real hardware.

Our focus includes:

 * Agent-driven systems that write, test, and improve kernels.
 * Automated kernel research and search-based performance optimization.
 * More efficient execution for inference and LLM training.