Member of Technical Staff – Software

About Architect

Architect is building the intelligence layer for chip companies to bring the time to tapeout from 3 years to 6 months. Our AI amplifies hardware engineers across DI, DV, and PD workflows, helps build IP from the ground up, and keeps them in the loop at every step.

Founded out of Stanford, Architect is one of the fastest-moving Bay Area startups, blending frontier machine learning with deep chip design expertise to transform a trillion-dollar industry. Backed by top-tier VCs and legendary angels, we’re assembling a world-class team of engineers and researchers to architect the next era of silicon.

We’re looking for a Member of Technical Staff – Software to join our San Francisco team and help build the core systems that power the future of AI-driven chip design. You’ll have the opportunity to contribute to foundational work across multiple domains—whether that’s designing high-performance search infrastructure or building fast, intuitive full-stack tools for chip engineers.

This role is ideal for engineers who thrive in deeply technical environments, take ownership across the stack, and want to push the boundaries of how AI can accelerate hardware development.

• Design and implement core systems for search, retrieval, and data indexing in hardware design workflows.
• Build and optimize developer-facing tools that feel fast, lightweight, and intuitive.
• Architect scalable backend services, user management systems, and front-end interfaces.
• Collaborate with ML engineers to integrate intelligent retrieval and recommendation systems into core workflows.
• Work closely with founders and early customers to iterate rapidly and deliver impact.

We’re hiring exceptional engineers across two complementary areas of expertise:

• Experience designing or scaling search or retrieval systems.
• Strong background with vector or graph databases and large-scale indexing.
• Familiarity with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), document handling, or enterprise search tools (e.g., Glean, Google Search, Elasticsearch).
• Understanding of high-performance query optimization, data pipelines, and distributed search systems.

• Strong experience building full-stack applications with Type Script/JavaScript.
• Experience with React, Next.js, or Electron (bonus for VSCode extension development).
• Backend development experience with APIs, databases, and user management systems.
• Focus on performance, scalability, and creating delightful developer experiences.

• Proficiency in at least one backend language (Python, Go, or similar).
• Strong system design and debugging skills.
• Ability to work across front-end, back-end, and infrastructure as needed.
• Self-starter mindset with a bias for fast execution and iteration.

• Experience with embedding search, RAG systems, or ML-integrated workflows.
• Exposure to developer tools, IDE extensions, or hardware design environments.
• Prior startup or early-stage experience.

• Competitive salary and meaningful equity.
• Opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI and infrastructure challenges at the intersection of software and hardware.
• High ownership, fast iteration, and visible impact.
• Collaborative, ambitious, and mission-driven culture.