---
title: 'Machine Learning Engineer (Physics-based) at Root Access'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/machine-learning-engineer-physics-based-root-access-new-york-98xt9jva8zkv'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-18'
---

# Machine Learning Engineer (Physics-based) at Root Access

- **Company:** Root Access
- **Location:** New York, NY
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-12
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-18
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/root-access/6ab61b1c-b92d-4189-86fc-9dc98d5a69ce

## Job description

## Role Description

Root Access is hiring a Machine Learning Engineer to develop models that predict and optimize the behavior of electronic systems. You will build automated simulation pipelines, generate training datasets, and develop models grounded in electrical, thermal, and electromagnetic physics. Working across our hardware and machine learning teams, you will turn engineering simulations and physical measurements into tools that accelerate electronics development.

## Responsibilities

- Build and scale automated workflows for electrical, thermal, and electromagnetic simulations.
- Develop surrogate models that approximate physics simulations with faster inference.
- Create training datasets from simulations and hardware measurements.
- Incorporate physical constraints and engineering knowledge into model architectures, training, and evaluation.
- Validate model predictions against established solvers and experimental results.
- Develop active learning and optimization workflows to identify promising designs and prioritize simulations.
- Own reproducible pipelines for data generation, model training, evaluation, and deployment.

## Qualifications

- Strong Python skills and experience with PyTorch, JAX, or similar ML frameworks.
- Experience developing and evaluating machine learning models for scientific or engineering applications.
- Working knowledge of numerical methods and physics-based modeling.
- Experience automating simulation tools or computational solvers.
- Ability to build reliable software pipelines and work with large engineering datasets.
- Degree in physics, applied mathematics, computer science, electrical engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
- Preferred: PhD with experience in simulations, surrogate models, neural operators, or physics-informed machine learning.

## About Root Access

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Root Access builds AI-native developer tools for embedded engineers, enabling faster configuration and programming of mission-critical hardware in highly-regulated sectors.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Pre-Seed stage)
- **Headquarters**: New York City, USA
- **Founded**: 2025
- **Founders**: Ryan Eppley (CEO) and Samarpita Chowdhury (CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: Embedded software, AI developer tools, firmware development, safety-critical systems (aviation, automotive, medical devices, defense, robotics)
- **Target customers**: B2B – embedded engineers, firmware teams, safety/certification leads, system integrators at large OEMs (e.g., Mitsubishi Electric, East West Manufacturing) and companies in regulated industries
- **Mission / Purpose**: “AI for Engineers in Highly-regulated Sectors” – to make firmware development for complex, mission-critical hardware as fast and reliable as modern software development, while maintaining certifiability.

## Products & Services
- **Seb** – AI coding agent built specifically for embedded systems development. It ingests hardware datasheets, BOMs, schematics, and compliance requirements to generate tailored firmware, drivers, and HAL code. Uses proprietary fine-tuned LLMs and RAG, not boilerplate templates.
- **Hideout** – Agent management platform (IDE and orchestration layer) for deploying, monitoring, and controlling multiple instances of Seb. Supports CLI and cloud sessions, integrates with GitHub/GitLab, Jira/Linear, and can run tests directly on connected hardware.
- **Cert-ready artifacts** – The platform generates traceable outputs that align with DO-178C (aviation), ISO 26262 (automotive), and IEC 62304 (medical devices), reducing certification timeline from months to days.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$2.4M** (pre-seed round of $2.1M led by AlleyCorp in October 2025, plus an earlier $145K pre-seed from AlleyCorp in November 2024); open beta had 100+ engineers sign up before closing.
- **Notable Investors / Partners**: AlleyCorp (lead), Forum Ventures, Gold House Ventures, Mana Ventures, Purdue Angels; angel investors from SpaceX, Blue Origin, Department of Defense; strategic partnership with Altium (API integration); members of NVIDIA Inception Program, AWS Activate, Perplexity for Startups, NYC Founder Fellowship.
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount of 8 (with 4 open positions as of mid-2026); customers include Mitsubishi Electric and East West Manufacturing; active hiring for founding engineer roles (ML, software, firmware/embedded); strong interest from engineers at Lockheed Martin, HP, John Deere during beta.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Specialization**: The only AI tool purpose-built for embedded and firmware work, not repurposed from general-purpose code generators.
- **Certification-first design**: Artifacts are traceable and designed to meet DO-178C, ISO 26262, and IEC 62304 standards – a critical differentiator for defense, automotive, and medical clients.
- **Hardware-context awareness**: Ingests datasheets from Octopart and schematics via Altium, combined with proprietary RAG, reducing hallucinations and ensuring generated code matches the actual components.
- **Deep industry relationships**: Partnerships with Altium and connections to Texas Instruments and other semiconductor vendors create a moat around component data and integration.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scaling the platform**: Expanding Hideout’s capabilities and onboarding more OEMs in regulated sectors (aviation, automotive, defense, medical robotics).
- **Ecosystem partnerships**: Deepening integrations with hardware vendors (e.g., Texas Instruments) and EDA tools to make Hideout the default AI layer for hardware development.
- **Certification as a service**: Positioning the platform as a “proxy of trust” to help customers confidently use AI in mission-critical workflows.
- **Talent acquisition**: Hiring founding engineers to accelerate product development and customer deployments.

## Why Work Here
- **High-impact mission**: Build the AI infrastructure that makes autonomous tractors, satellites, medical robots, and defense systems faster to develop and safer to certify.
- **Early-stage energy**: Join as a founding engineer (Software Engineer, Machine Learning Engineer, Firmware/Embedded Engineer) with significant ownership and influence.
- **Top-tier backing**: Backed by AlleyCorp and supported by accelerators like NVIDIA Inception and AWS Activate.
- **Culture**: Flat structure; team of 8 with a strong technical bias (5 of 8 in engineering/technical roles); co-founders with deep industry knowledge (CEO Ryan Eppley built heavy machinery; CTO Samarpita Chowdhury has firmware expertise).
- **Location**: Based in New York City; likely hybrid/office-first given hardware interaction needs; open roles listed as “New York City” on the careers page.
- **Perks**: Competitive equity for early employees; hands-on work with cutting-edge AI models, embedded systems, and certification processes.

## Sources
1. [Root Access website](https://rootaccess.ai/)
2. [Root Access Careers Page (Ashby)](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/root-access)
3. [Root Access Company Page](https://www.rootaccess.ai/company)
4. [Root Access LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/root-access-ai)
5. [The Robot Report – Root Access raises $2.1M pre-seed](https://www.therobotreport.com/root-access-develops-tool-engineers-embedded-systems-raises-preseed-funding/)
6. [Root Access Documentation (Hideout)](https://docs.rootaccess.ai/)

## Other roles at Root Access

- [Electrical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/electrical-engineer-root-access-new-york-q7y0px0rgnwz) — New York, NY
- [Simulation and Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/simulation-and-software-engineer-root-access-new-york-w7t6mygsvga9) — New York, NY
- [Head of Media and Marketing](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-media-and-marketing-root-access-new-york-bryn6xanxj6x) — New York, NY