SW Team Lead

Meet Arago and the Aragonians Arago’s mission is to re-engineer the foundations of computing from first principles. The explosive growth of AI is pushing the industry to rethink how processors are built. Arago is meeting that challenge with a proprietary technology that fuses optical and CMOS technologies to deliver an order-of-magnitude increase in performance. Arago is the fastest, and currently the only, company to have built such a processor. It's backed by leading deep-tech investors and some of the most respected figures in semiconductors and computing, including the CEO of Arm, the founder of macOS who worked directly with Steve Jobs at Apple, an Nvidia Fellow, the Head of Optics at Google, and many other industry leaders. Our work is guided by three clear values: do great things, move with high velocity, and operate as one unit. We work in a demanding environment where constant learning, ownership, and execution are expected, and where exceptional people have the opportunity to do their life’s work.   What you’ll do As Software Team Lead, you'll coordinate the efforts of the software team across the stack, driving performance optimization, deploying pilot and prototype stacks to grow the developer base, and ensuring alignment between client specifications and deliverables. You'll build and mentor a growing team while staying hands-on with code, architecture, and performance yourself, working closely with chip architects and hardware teams during early silicon bring-up. Required Skills and Experience • Strong background in systems software for AI/ML accelerators, GPUs, CPUs, or other high-performance compute platforms. • Solid understanding of computer architecture, memory systems, parallel computing, and hardware-software interaction. • Proven ability to lead small engineering teams while retaining significant individual contribution. • Strong C/C++ programming skills. • Experience with Python and modern ML frameworks (PyTorch, ONNX, TensorRT, etc.) is highly desirable. • Strong communication and project ownership skills, including translating client requirements into technical scope, deliverables, and realistic timelines. • Strong background in testing and deployment infrastructure for large-scale software projects. • Language: English at a proficient level. Responsibilities • Own and drive the software stack for AI accelerator products, balancing speed of execution with long-term technical foundations. • Work closely with chip architecture and hardware teams on hardware–software co-design and early silicon bring-up. • Lead development across kernel libraries, runtimes, drivers, firmware, and developer tooling as needed. • Optimize key AI workloads for performance, efficiency, memory usage, and reliability on emerging hardware. • Stay hands-on with architecture, coding, debugging, reviews, and performance analysis while mentoring a growing team. • Partner directly with clients to understand technical requirements, translate them into clear team deliverables, and align scope, priorities, and timelines. Nice to have • Strong background in mathematics. • Hands-on experience with low-level software such as compilers, drivers, and firmware. • Experience profiling and optimizing AI workloads for performance, memory efficiency, and hardware utilization. • Experience with AI inference platforms such as vLLM and SGLang. Pay and benefits • Competitive cash compensation, with final package based on location, experience, and the pay of team members in similar positions. • Meaningful stock option plan offered (included in the majority of full time offers). • Healthcare coverage (including family-friendly options), pension contributions, professional development support, and 25 days of PTO, in addition to publi