AI Engineer – Agentic AI Systems
Why This Role Matters
AI is shifting from models to autonomous systems. At Altera, we are building agentic AI platforms tightly coupled with FPGA acceleration, enabling intelligent systems that can reason, act, and scale in real-world environments.
This role is designed for high-potential engineers early in their careers who want to:
work on cutting-edge AI (LLMs + agents + RAG)
gain exposure to hardware-software co-design
and grow quickly into technical leaders in AI systems
What You’ll Work On
Build Real Agentic AI Systems
Develop LLM-powered agents that use tools, APIs, and data to complete complex tasks
Implement RAG pipelines for large-scale knowledge integration
Ship end-to-end systems from data ingestion → reasoning → action
Go Beyond “Model Usage”
Design multi-step reasoning workflows, not just prompt calls
Evaluate and improve model behavior (accuracy, latency, cost)
Work with both open-source and frontier models
AI Meets Hardware (Differentiator)
Collaborate with FPGA/ASIC teams on hardware-aware AI design
Learn how AI systems are optimized across CPU / GPU / FPGA
Explore efficient inference and system-level performance tradeoffs
Build Platforms, Not Just Features
Develop reusable components for:
memory and context management
tool integration
knowledge retrieval
Contribute to internal AI platforms used across teams
The pay range below is for Bay Area California only. Actual salary may vary based on a number of factors including job location, job-related knowledge, skills, experiences, trainings, etc. We also offer incentive opportunities that reward employees based on individual and company performance.
$133.2K - $192.8K USD
We use artificial intelligence to screen, assess, or select applicants for the position. Applicants must be eligible for any required U.S. export authorizations.
What We’re Looking For
Background
Master’s (or exceptional Bachelor’s) in CS, EE, or related field
3+ years experience (internships, research, or industry)
Technical Strength
Strong coding skills in Python (C++ is a plus)
Hands-on experience building:
AI/ML projects, OR
backend / distributed systems
Solid fundamentals in:
data structures
system design basics
Signal of Excellence (What Sets You Apart)
You’ve built something non-trivial:
AI project, open-source contribution, or research prototype
You learn new frameworks quickly and ship working systems
You’re curious about how systems work end-to-end, not just models
Bonus Points
Experience with:
LangChain, LlamaIndex, or similar
vector databases (FAISS, Milvus, etc.)
Exposure to:
RAG, prompt engineering, or agent workflows
hardware acceleration or performance optimization
What You’ll Get
Fast Growth
Work directly with senior architects and domain experts
Clear path toward Senior Engineer → Architect roles
High Learning Density
Exposure to both:
modern AI systems (LLMs, agents)
hardware acceleration (FPGA/ASIC)
Real Ownership
Build production systems—not demos
Your work will be used in real engineering workflows
Unique Positioning
Few roles combine:
Agentic AI systems
EDA / semiconductor domain
hardware-aware AI optimization
Skills Required
- Master's in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field (or exceptional Bachelor's)
- 3+ years experience (internships, research, or industry)
- Strong coding skills in Python
- Experience with C++
- Hands-on experience building AI/ML projects or backend/distributed systems
- Solid fundamentals in data structures
- Solid fundamentals in system design basics
- Built non-trivial projects (AI project, open-source contribution, or research prototype)
- Experience with LangChain, LlamaIndex, or similar frameworks
- Experience with vector databases (FAISS, Milvus, etc.)
- Exposure to RAG, prompt engineering, or agent workflows
- Exposure to hardware acceleration or performance optimization (FPGA/ASIC/CPU/GPU)
Altera (altera.com) Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Altera (altera.com) and has not been reviewed or approved by Altera (altera.com).
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Retirement Support — Feedback suggests retirement programs are robust, with offerings such as a 401(k) and a pension. This breadth supports long-term financial security.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Feedback suggests time-off policies are generous, including PTO, paid sick days, and paid holidays. Wellness initiatives like gym memberships further support balance.
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Parental & Family Support — Feedback suggests parental leave is generous. Family-building support, including fertility benefits and adoption reimbursement, is highlighted as part of the package.
Altera (altera.com) Insights
What We Do
Altera: Accelerating Innovators Altera provides leadership programmable solutions that are easy-to-use and deploy in applications from cloud to edge, offering limitless AI possibilities. Our end-to-end broad portfolio of products including FPGAs, CPLDs, Intellectual Property, development tools, System on Modules, SmartNICs and IPUs provide the flexibility to accelerate innovation. Altera is helping to shape the future through pioneering innovation that unlocks extraordinary possibilities for everyone on the planet.
