Lead Software Engineer

Lead Software Engineer – Systems, Compilers & Embedded Platforms

Zürich (Hybrid) | Deep Tech | AI Hardware | Full-Stack Ownership

We are partnering with an innovative Zürich-based tech company who are seeking a motivated Lead Software Engineer to take ownership of their software direction and execution.

This is a role for someone who enjoys operating at the intersection of silicon, compilers, and real-world developer tooling — and who wants to lead both technically and organisationally.

You will be responsible for turning advanced hardware capabilities into a clean, usable, production-grade software environment.

The Opportunity

Youll shape and drive the software strategy behind a new compute platform — from runtime and drivers to compiler integration and SDK delivery.

You wont just contribute to features.

Youll define priorities, structure execution, and raise the technical bar across the team.

This role sits at the centre of hardware / software co-design, working directly with architecture teams while guiding engineers toward predictable, high-quality delivery.

Your Impact

Lead and structure development across low-level drivers, runtime components, and compiler paths

Define and prioritise workstreams spanning code generation, kernels, integration tooling, and SDK packaging

Collaborate closely with hardware teams to simplify interfaces and improve system-level performance

Translate customer and product requirements into a clear, executable software roadmap

Establish quality standards, review processes, and engineering ownership boundaries

Mentor and grow a small but highly technical software team

What Were Looking For

7+ years in low-level systems software or compiler engineering

Strong C++ and solid Python skills

Experience working at the hardware / software boundary

Practical knowledge of compiler internals (LLVM / MLIR passes, backend lowering, graph compilers, or similar)

Strong understanding of memory systems, concurrency, and performance optimisation

Experience planning and delivering complex technical projects with clear milestones

Confidence reading hardware specifications and defining clean abstractions

Strong Advantage If You Have

Embedded or MCU-focused experience

Accelerator or heterogeneous compute exposure

Experience packaging SDKs for external developers

Familiarity with edge AI workflows, quantisation, or performance profiling on constrained systems