Director, Applied AI Research - Compute & Hardware

AMD
United States
Workplace: OnsiteFull timeUSD 215,600 - 369,600 annuallyFunction: Research & Scientific (R&D)Education: phdSkills: ["Technical leadership","Leadership","Mentorship","Cross-functional collaboration","Communication"]

Lead applied AI research focused on compute and hardware, driving a research agenda spanning kernel/ compiler optimization, PPA and design-space exploration, and AI-for-systems. Build, lead, and mentor a team of applied researchers and engineers, using reinforcement learning and recursive self-improvement to deliver verifiable gains. Own the evaluation, simulation, and verification infrastructure, mitigate RL failure modes, and partner across silicon, architecture, compiler, software, and AI-for-hardware teams to land results in real engineering flows.

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FursaFursa
AMD
AMD
2 months ago

Director, Applied AI Research - Compute & Hardware

✓ Verified Job

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Source: Company careers pageValidated by: Fursa AI
Last checked: 9 hours agoStatus: Live
Reposted: similar role first listed 2 weeks ago

Job Summary

Lead applied AI research focused on compute and hardware, driving a research agenda spanning kernel/ compiler optimization, PPA and design-space exploration, and AI-for-systems. Build, lead, and mentor a team of applied researchers and engineers, using reinforcement learning and recursive self-improvement to deliver verifiable gains. Own the evaluation, simulation, and verification infrastructure, mitigate RL failure modes, and partner across silicon, architecture, compiler, software, and AI-for-hardware teams to land results in real engineering flows.
Location: United States
Workplace: Onsite
Employment Type: Full time
Job Function: Research & Scientific (R&D)
Seniority: Director level

Key Responsibilities

  • •Define and own an applied AI research agenda for compute and hardware across kernel and compiler optimization, PPA/design-space exploration, and AI-for-systems.
  • •Build, lead, and mentor a team of applied researchers and research engineers; set research direction, hiring standards, and delivery rigor.
  • •Use recursive self-improvement loops to drive compounding, verifiable gains on concrete compute and hardware targets.
  • •Design and partner to own evaluation, simulation, and verification infrastructure (fast verifiers, benchmarks) to make results trustworthy and adoptable.
  • •Represent progress to executive leadership and communicate trade-offs, roadmap implications, and measurable outcomes (verified performance, PPA gains, cycle-time reduction).

Pay and Benefits

Salary: USD 215,600 - 369,600 annually

Key Requirements

  • •Build and lead applied AI research work that advances compute and hardware using reinforcement learning and recursive self-improvement loops.
  • •Demonstrated technical leadership with applied AI/ML research that reached real systems or production impact.
  • •Deep, current expertise in reinforcement learning, including reward modeling, training pipelines, and practical failure modes at scale.
  • •Strong grounding in AI-for-systems and compute/hardware problems (kernel or compiler optimization, design-space exploration, or hardware/software co-design).
  • •PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Machine Learning, or related field, or equivalent research experience with demonstrated impact.
Education:PhD / Doctorate in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Machine Learning, or a related field
Skills:Technical leadershipLeadershipMentorshipCross-functional collaborationCommunication
Tech Stack:Applied AIAIMachine learningReinforcement learningReward modelingTraining pipelinesRecursive self-improvementKernel optimizationCompiler optimizationDesign-space explorationAI-for-systemsEvaluationSimulationVerification infrastructureBenchmarksReward hackingEvaluation gamingReward-signal scalingPPAHardware/software co-design

Company Brief

AMD
Designs and produces semiconductor products including CPUs, GPUs, and adaptive SoCs for consumer, enterprise, and embedded markets, competing across PCs, data centers, and gaming industries.
Industry: Electronics Manufacturing
Company Size: Enterprise (1,001+ employees)
Revenue: USD 1B+
Growth: Public Company
Valuation: Public Company (Market Cap in USD)
Funding: IPO / Publicly Listed
Headquarters: Santa Clara, United States
Founded: 1969
Glassdoor
Glassdoor: 3.9
WebsiteLinkedIn