Staff Compiler Engineer UK Visa Sponsorship

Job Description

OLIX is pioneering the future of AI compute. With artificial intelligence advancing at an unprecedented pace, the world faces a critical bottleneck: we simply can’t build enough traditional chips or power infrastructure quickly enough to meet the surging demand. The current hardware designs, largely unchanged for a decade, have hit fundamental limits in performance and efficiency.

That’s where OLIX steps in. We’re developing a groundbreaking Optical Tensor Processing Unit (OTPU)  a completely new architecture that delivers unmatched speed and energy efficiency, far beyond what’s possible with today’s silicon-based solutions. This isn’t just an incremental improvement; it’s the foundation for the next era of AI acceleration and likely the defining technology company of the coming decade.

We are hiring Staff Compiler Engineers to lead the creation of our machine learning software stack — specifically the compiler, runtime system, and debugging tools — tailored for our innovative OTPU hardware.

In this role, you’ll take full ownership of building and integrating support for major frameworks like PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX, and others, all the way down to our custom low-level drivers. Your work will enable a wide range of large-scale AI models to run seamlessly and at peak performance on our platform. You’ll collaborate tightly with hardware architects and modeling experts to deeply understand device capabilities and trade-offs, then translate those insights into software that pushes the boundaries of what’s achievable.

Key Responsibilities

• Shape and execute the long-term technical strategy and roadmap for the ML backend team, directly supporting OLIX’s core business and innovation objectives.
• Work hand-in-hand with hardware teams to co-design compiler, runtime, and debugger features that perfectly align with OTPU capabilities for optimal end-to-end performance.
• Architect, develop, and maintain our compiler stack, runtime environment, and debugging infrastructure to support leading ML frameworks on custom optical hardware.
• Drive aggressive optimizations — including advanced operator fusion, memory layout transformations, scheduling, tiling, and more — to remove inefficiencies and maximize model throughput.
• Mentor engineers, conduct thorough code reviews, and establish high standards for ML compiler and performance engineering practices across the team.
• Keep a pulse on evolving trends in GPUs, AI accelerators, and optical/neuromorphic computing; identify promising ideas, prototype them, and advocate for their adoption.

What We are Looking For

• 7+ years of hands-on software engineering experience, with deep expertise in C/C++.
• Strong background in ML framework internals, compiler design, low-level systems programming, and performance tuning techniques.
• Proven track record optimizing large models in PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX, or similar frameworks.
• Solid experience with modern compiler infrastructures such as LLVM, MLIR, OpenXLA/XLA, TVM, or equivalents.
• Practical application of machine learning in high-performance or HPC environments.
• Exceptional analytical and creative problem-solving abilities.
• Comfort thriving in fast-moving, ambiguous startup settings.
• Outstanding collaboration and communication skills to work effectively across hardware, software, and research teams.
• A relevant degree (Bachelor’s or higher) in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, or a closely related discipline.

Personal side projects, open-source contributions, or independent work that demonstrates compiler, ML optimization, or systems-level expertise carry significant weight in our evaluation.

What We Offer

Compensation

Competitive base salary in the range of £208,000 – £254,000 per year, based on your background, expertise, and location.

Equity

Generous stock options — you’ll have real ownership in building one of the most impactful companies in AI.

Lifestyle Support

• Living-Local Bonus: £24,000 per year if you live within a 20-minute commute of our office — because we believe in giving you back your time.
• Premium Healthcare: Full BUPA medical and dental coverage (including full medical history disregarded options) for you and eligible dependents.
• Generous Time Off: 25 days of holiday plus all UK public bank holidays.

Work Environment

• Top-tier equipment: M4 Mac (with Pro upgrades available for engineers) and anything else you need to excel.
• Ergonomic setup with high-quality noise-cancelling headphones designed for long, focused sessions.
• On-site 3D printing lab for rapid prototyping — available for both work and personal creative experiments.

Office Perks

• Chef-prepared meals for those longer days.
• Unlimited coffee/tea via our local café tab.

Relocation & International Hiring

We recruit globally and sponsor visas for exceptional talent. For full details on the UK’s Skilled Worker visa (including sponsorship requirements and eligibility), visit the official GOV.UK page: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa.

Our dedicated relocation partner handles logistics and provides financial support to make your move smooth, whether you’re relocating within the UK or from abroad.
Note on Eligibility

Due to U.S. export regulations, we cannot consider applicants whose most recent citizenship or permanent residency is in certain restricted countries (including Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Russia, Belarus, China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Venezuela). If you’ve since gained citizenship or residency in a non-restricted country, you may still qualify.

We do not accept agency CVs unsolicited and will not pay external recruitment fees.
Ready to help define the next generation of AI hardware-software co-design? Apply now.