Forward Deployed Engineer

quadric, Inc•Burlingame, CA

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

Quadric is redefining edge AI with the industry's first General Purpose Neural Processing Unit (GPNPU), enabling developers to run both neural network inference and conventional C++ code on a single programmable architecture. Our technology powers intelligent edge devices across automotive, industrial, robotics, and embedded systems. As we scale our field engineering function, we're looking for Forward Deployed Engineers to take our novel Chimera GPNPU architecture from customer evaluation to committed design win. You'll own the technical path from customer evaluation to silicon design and win on a genuinely novel architecture, the Quadric Chimera GPNPU, which runs everything from CNNs to LLMs to arbitrary C++ on one core, with no fallback processor. Unlike a FAANG solutions role, you'll work the entire stack: quantization, custom kernels, and compiler and your fingerprints will be on chips that ship in cars, cameras, and network appliances. At a Series C company, every design win has outsized impact. Our FDEs also build with frontier agentic tooling (Claude Code–based agentic workflows) — you won't just be supporting the product, you'll be inventing how edge-AI field engineering is done.

Requirements

Strong C++ and Python; has written performance-critical code for a constrained target (DSP, NPU, GPU, or embedded SoC).
Systems-level performance intuition — memory bandwidth, data movement, cycle-level reasoning — and can read a profile and know where the time went.
High agency and independent problem-solving; methodical and empirical rather than theoretical.
Comfortable operating without a playbook and in ambiguity — this role is still being defined.

Nice To Haves

Prior FAE, Sales Engineering, or FDE title — or startup experience as the de facto owner of an end-to-end implementation.
Familiarity with agentic dev tooling (Claude Code, MCP) — or strong enthusiasm to adopt it.
Background at NPU/edge-AI IP and silicon companies (e.g., Qualcomm SNPE/QNN, NVIDIA TensorRT/Jetson field engineering, Ceva, Cadence Tensilica, Synopsys ARC, Arm, Hailo, Ambarella, SiMa.ai, Axelera, EdgeCortix).
Background at inference-focused startups (e.g., Groq, Untether, Tenstorrent) in field/customer engineering or kernel teams.
Palantir-style FDE experience — candidates with embedded or ML-systems backgrounds only.
Experience at technical trading arms optimizing kernels or hardware for speed (e.g., DRW, Hudson River, D.E. Shaw, Citadel).
Big-firm consulting background, provided the candidate personally did the hands-on technical work rather than managing it.

Responsibilities

Own the Technical Path to Design Win: Convert 2–3 active customer evaluations into committed design wins by getting customer workloads running at target latency and accuracy on Chimera.
Port customer workloads onto Chimera — architect, adapt, profile, and write custom kernels when required.
Embed with Customer Engineering Teams: Work on-site and remotely with customer engineering teams: debug failures, hit benchmark targets, and guide model-architecture tradeoffs.
Drive evaluations forward end-to-end, from first technical conversation through design win.
Build the Agentic FDE Toolkit: Codify what you learn into reusable assets — SDK skills, porting playbooks, and agentic content — so each subsequent engagement moves faster than the last.
Build applications and benchmark collateral that support future customer engagements.
Close the Loop Internally: Partner with engineering and product teams to relay customer learnings and shape the roadmap.
Contribute skills and playbooks to Quadric's growing agentic FDE toolset.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision insurance from day one — premiums covered at 99% for employees
Company-paid life insurance, plus voluntary supplemental life, STD, and LTD insurance
Commuter support, including parking or Caltrain reimbursement — our office is within walking distance of the Caltrain station
FSA + HSA
Equity in the business
Paid parental leave
401(k) retirement plan
Flexible PTO and winter holiday shutdown
Catered lunch each day in our office
Downtown Burlingame office location, close to shops, cafes, and local amenities
Collaborative, low-ego culture with significant ownership and impact