Staff Engineer - CPU & ISA Architecture (Europe based)

About Us

Axelera AI is not your regular deep-tech startup. We are creating the next-generation AI platform to support anyone who wants to help advancing humanity and improve the world around us.

In just four years, we have raised a total of $120 million and have built a world-class team of 220+ employees (including 49+ PhDs with more than 40,000 citations), both remotely from 17 different countries and with offices in Belgium, France, Switzerland, Italy, the UK, headquartered at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

We have also launched our Metis™ AI Platform, which achieves a 3-5x increase in efficiency and performance, and have visibility into a strong business pipeline exceeding $100 million.

Our unwavering commitment to innovation has firmly established us as a global industry pioneer.

Are you up for the challenge?

Position Overview

We’re seeking an experienced R&D engineer specialising in CPU architecture.

The ideal candidate has deep expertise in CPU design, analysis, and modeling, with a sharp grasp of performance, power, and area (PPA) trade-offs. Experience integrating architectural features into major ISAs (RISC-V, ARM, x86) is highly advantageous.

You will independently evaluate architectural proposals (modeling, design, and prototyping) and develop innovative improvements or implementations to meet evolving AI training and high-performance computing needs.

Key responsibilities:

• Design & Analysis: Research, design, and evaluate CPU microarchitectural components (pipelines, fetch/decode, branch prediction, caches, memory hierarchy, OoO/rename/issue, interconnects, SIMD/vector/matrix units). Analyze and optimize PPA trade-offs for AI, HPC, and cloud workloads.

• Modeling & Simulation: Build and validate performance/functional models, run simulations, and correlate results to RTL to guide architectural decisions.

• ISA Implementation: Develop and evaluate architectural extensions within RISC-V; assess their performance, programmability, and toolchain compatibility.

• Innovation & Prototyping: Propose, model, and prototype new mechanisms to improve efficiency, scalability, and performance.

• Collaboration & Research: Work closely with hardware, compiler, and system teams to align roadmaps and enable new capabilities. Stay ahead of trends in CPU, memory, interconnect, and AI-adjacent architectures.

Qualifications:

• MS/PhD in CE/EE/CS (or related field) with focus on CPU architecture or microarchitecture.

• Deep expertise in CPU design (pipelines, memory systems, coherence, SIMD/vector/matrix units), PPA optimisation, and ISA extensions (RISC-V, ARM, x86).

• Skilled in performance modeling and simulation (e.g., gem5, ChampSim, Sniper, QEMU), cycle-accurate and trace-driven analysis, and correlation to RTL.

• Experienced in benchmarking and workload characterisation (SPEC, MLPerf, or internal suites).

• Proficient in RTL design and validation (Verilog/SystemVerilog/Chisel), including simulation, synthesis, and FPGA/emulation bring-up.

• Knowledge of compiler/toolchain integration, low-level software (C/C++/assembly), Linux kernel/driver development, and performance tuning for ISA features.

• Strong analytical, collaborative, and communication skills with proven ability to drive architectural proposals from concept to validation.

• Fluent in English

• Able to work from one of our European offices or remotely, preferably based in Bavaria (Munich), Belgium, or Italy.

Location

We offer a flexible working arrangement, with options to:

• Work from one of our Axelera AI offices (Leuven in Belgium, Amsterdam and Eindhoven in the Netherlands, Zurich in Switzerland, Florence and Milan in Italy or Bristol in the United Kingdom) if you're already based in the vicinity.

• Work fully remotely from any European country (incl. the UK) you are already in.

• Relocate with us and work from Italy (Florence or Milan), Belgium (Leuven) or the Netherlands (Amsterdam or Eindhoven).

Kindly note that priority will be given to candidates who are [interested in being] based in Bavaria (Munich), Belgium or Italy.

What we offer 

This is your chance to shape and be part of a dynamic, fast-growing, international organization. We offer an attractive compensation package, including a pension plan, extensive employee insurances and the option to get company shares.

An open culture that supports creativity and continual innovation is awaiting you. Collaborative ownership and freedom with responsibility is characteristic for the way we act and work as a team. 

At Axelera AI, we wholeheartedly embrace equal opportunity and hold diversity in the highest regard. Our steadfast commitment is to cultivate a warm and inclusive environment that empowers and celebrates every member of our team. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds to join us in shaping the future of AI.