AI Engineer
TLDR
Build agentic AI systems with LLM-powered agents, RAG pipelines, and hardware-aware design that ship end-to-end platforms.
Job Details:
Job Description:
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
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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.
Qualifications:
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)
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Hands-on experience building:
AI/ML projects, OR
backend / distributed systems
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Solid fundamentals in:
data structures
system design basics
Signal of Excellence (What Sets You Apart)
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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
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Experience with:
LangChain, LlamaIndex, or similar
vector databases (FAISS, Milvus, etc.)
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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
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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
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Few roles combine:
Agentic AI systems
EDA / semiconductor domain
hardware-aware AI optimization
Job Type:
RegularShift:
Shift 1 (United States of America)Primary Location:
San Jose, California, United StatesAdditional Locations:
Posting Statement:
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, religious creed, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, military and veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by local law, regulation, or ordinance.Altera Corporation is the world's largest pure-play FPGA solutions provider, delivering advanced programmable technologies that enable innovation across diverse markets like AI, cloud computing, and networking. With four decades of expertise, we empower customers to tackle complex design challenges and build high-performance, power-efficient hardware solutions.