---
title: 'Machine Learning Engineer at Root Access'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/machine-learning-engineer-root-access-new-york-99pn9yatg1w5'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-13'
---

# Machine Learning Engineer at Root Access

- **Company:** Root Access
- **Location:** New York, NY
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-07-10
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-13
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/root-access/2f6ce424-fc4f-436a-9493-7fb74aff9017

## Job description

## About the company

Root Access is a frontier electronics company. We are a NYC-based startup funded by top investors. Our team is a passionate mix of engineers across electrical, firmware, software, and machine learning.

Core Responsibilities

- Architect Physics Foundation Models: Design and train deep learning models.
- Build the ECAD Data Pipeline: Develop high-performance asset pipelines to convert geometric, discrete, and multi-layer PCB files (ODB++, IPC-2581, STEP, Gerber) into continuous space data.
- Multi-Modal Architecture Integration: Collaborate on connecting upstream Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) or LLMs mapping schematic topologies to downstream spatial physics engines.
- Optimize for Real-Time Execution: Optimize training and inference pipelines on GPU clusters.

Required Technical Skills & Qualifications

- Education: Master’s or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Mathematics, EE, Physics, or a related quantitative field with a focus on Scientific Machine Learning (SciML).
- Deep Learning Frameworks: 4+ years of expert-level experience with PyTorch or JAX.
- SciML Expertise: Direct, hands-on experience building and training PINNs, FNOs, etc.
- Mathematical Depth: Exceptional understanding of partial differential equations (PDEs), vector calculus, automatic differentiation (autograd), and numerical optimization algorithms (Adam, L-BFGS).
- Data Pipelines: Strong proficiency in manipulating spatial or geometric datasets using Python libraries (NumPy, SciPy, Shapely, Open3D, or custom voxelization matrices).

## 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-dt0v91pda92j) — 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
- [Machine Learning Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/machine-learning-engineer-yuno-europe-qk68kdrz5rgw) — Europe
- [Machine Learning Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/machine-learning-engineer-pangram-labs-brooklyn-e3hhh2tc2855) — Brooklyn, NY
- [Machine Learning Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/machine-learning-engineer-gatik-ai-santa-clara-qj4vvbdeqt4x) — Santa Clara, CA
- [Machine Learning Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/machine-learning-engineer-wynd-labs-remote-whe42v314npy)
- [Machine Learning Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/machine-learning-engineer-blissway-inc-denver-x6g0dsrp5q6v) — Denver, CO
- [Machine Learning Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/machine-learning-engineer-blissway-inc-denver-gy2xqv8xdt4a) — Denver, CO
- [Machine Learning Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/machine-learning-engineer-nt-concepts-chantilly-1sxzj9e9jpxf) — Chantilly, VA
- [Machine Learning Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/machine-learning-engineer-witness-ai-bay-area-p29j1tnrbe34) — Bay Area