--- title: 'Staff Hardware Design Engineer at Tensordyne' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/staff-hardware-design-engineer-tensordyne-sunnyvale-mqcw91egw5j0' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-11' --- # Staff Hardware Design Engineer at Tensordyne - **Company:** Tensordyne - **Location:** Sunnyvale, CA - **Posted:** 2026-05-13 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/tensordyne/jobs/8548939002 ## Job description ## About our company - Tensordyne (formerly Recogni) Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming our world. It can perform cognitive functions that previously only humans could do, such as perceiving interactions across different modalities and environments - with the ability to quickly learn and then solve complex problems. Tensordyne is an AI system solution company that builds very high-performance, low-power generative AI inference systems. Our mission, through the creation of custom silicon, hardware and software, is to enable multimodal Generative AI inference acceleration at scale, with safe, sustainable, high-performance systems for our hyperscaler and neocloud data center customers. We are at the leading edge of advancing the latest research and product improvements for generative Al inference solutions that will make Al even more advantageous for compelling new generative AI applications.Tensordyne is a well funded, fast-paced startup company with headquarters in both Sunnyvale, CA, and Munich, Germany. We also have many talented team members working remotely across North America and Europe. We take care of our people and their families with comprehensive benefits, competitive compensation, flexible spending options, and recognition programs, because building category-defining technology starts with a healthy, supported team. Come join us as we shape the future of multimodal generative artificial intelligence! ## About the role To keep pace in this exciting, multi-disciplinary field, we’re looking for a Hardware Design Engineer. You will be in a unique position to have ownership of a wide-ranging list of hardware system development aspects, including schematics, PCB layout and mechanical design, component selection and collaborating with operations in AVL management, EVT/DVT/PVT testing and certification. You will also have an opportunity to make an impact on design and bringup of development systems, reference platforms and volume products. This hands-on multi-disciplinary role provides a unique opportunity to interact directly with ASIC, software, product and operations teams to gather necessary requirements and specifications, and develop industry-leading AI Inference HW products. ## Responsibilities - Own multiple aspects of hardware system engineering of Tensordyne’s flagship AI products. - Gather requirements and specifications from engineering, product and operations teams for planning and implementing all hardware system deliverables, from lab bringup artifacts to shipping products. - Hands on responsibility for the schematic capture, PCB design and other aspects of the hardware system around a complex custom AI ASIC. - Plan for Compliance, Validation and FMEA Analysis for products. - Drive hardware parts selection and vendor qualification processes in collaboration with manufacturing operations. ## Qualifications - B.S. degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering. - 7+ years of hardware engineering and experience with product-cycle aspects therein. - Hands-on experience in all aspects of schematic capture, PCB design, as well as understanding signal integrity, mechanical and thermal design areas. - Experience in part selection, AVL management and working with manufacturing operations teams. - Solid understanding of CPU subsystems and modern power subsystem designs as well as expertise in HW bringup. - Previous involvement in representing engineering considerations in contract manufacturing relationships. - Demonstrable experience with EVT, DVT, PVT testing and certification processes is a plus. - Self-starter and highly-motivated to work in a dynamic start-up environment. Tensordyne's culture was built on the following values - Put people first. We only succeed when our people succeed. - Ethics and integrity always; Being open, honest, and respectful of everyone. - Think Big. Be ambitious and have audacious goals. - Aim for excellence. Quality and excellence count in everything we do. - Own it and get it done. Results matter! - Make each person better together, than they would be as an individual. - Embrace each others’ differences, and embrace that there will be differences. Tensordyne is an equal opportunity employer. We believe that a diverse team is better at tackling complex problems and coming up with innovative solutions. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, race, religion, pregnancy, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. A note to Recruitment Agencies: Please don’t reach out to Tensordyne employees or leaders about our roles -- we’ve got it covered. We don’t accept unsolicited agency resumes and we are not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes. Thank you for your understanding. ## About Tensordyne ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Tensordyne builds full-stack AI inference systems that use proprietary logarithmic math and custom 3nm silicon to dramatically reduce power, cost, and rack space for running large-scale generative AI models. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series C funded) - **Headquarters**: Sunnyvale, California, United States (co-headquarters also in Munich, Germany) - **Founded**: 2018 (based on first funding round in 2018) - **Founders**: Gilles Backhus (Co‑Founder, VP of AI & Product), RK Anand (Co‑founder & Chief Product Officer) ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: AI hardware and infrastructure (computer hardware manufacturing, deep learning silicon, systems engineering) - **Target customers**: Hyperscalers, Neo-Cloud data centers, and large enterprises running multimodal generative AI workloads - **Mission**: “Innovating at the zeroth layer – rewrite the numbers so intelligence flows with a fraction of today’s energy and cost.” ## Products & Services - **[Tensordyne Napier Inference System](https://www.tensordyne.ai/inference-system)**: An integrated rack‑scale AI inference platform combining custom logarithmic processors (3nm), HBM/SRAM memory, and a sub‑microsecond interconnect. Delivered as a TDN72 pod (72 chips) that scales into a full rack, supporting standard token serving and disaggregated inference. Fully air‑cooled and designed to fit into existing data center infrastructure. ## Market Standing - **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed - **Key Metrics**: - Annual Revenue: $4.5M (estimated, per LinkedIn) - Total Funding: $211.05M across 5 rounds - **Notable Investors/Partners**: GreatPoint Ventures (led Series A), Celesta Capital (led Series B), Premji Invest (led Series C), HSBC Innovation Banking (debt financing) - **Growth Signals**: Acquired Recogni GmbH; 89 employees (growing ~1% monthly); 12 active job postings (up 20% month-over-month, 140% quarter-over-quarter); talent drawn from top AI teams (Argo AI, Intel, NVIDIA, BMW, Bosch AI Center) ## Competitive Advantages - **Logarithmic compute**: Replaces energy‑intensive multiplications with additions, cutting power consumption at the root. - **Custom 3nm silicon** with built‑in interconnect logic, eliminating traditional bottlenecks. - **Sub‑microsecond interconnect** (under 1,000 ns latency, 1 TB/s any‑to‑any bandwidth) enabling near‑linear scaling across 72 chips. - **9× better space efficiency, 2× faster speed, and 10× cost savings** versus the Nvidia+Groq standard (company claim). - **Fully air‑cooled** – no complex liquid cooling required, lowering deployment friction. ## Strategic Focus Tensordyne is focused on making GenAI inference “profitable at speed and scale” by delivering a drop‑in system that dramatically reduces the total cost of ownership for hyperscale and cloud data centers. Current priorities include scaling production of the Napier system, expanding go‑to‑market with enterprise sales, and deepening the logarithmic quantization ecosystem to support any framework or model. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: “Build cool tech” – a band of engineers, mathematicians, and chip designers who thrive on solving hard, ambiguity‑rich problems. Values include one team, mission focus, innovate with passion, think like an owner, and act with integrity. - **Remote/Hybrid**: Remote‑friendly; output over location. In‑person gatherings happen when “magic needs to happen.” - **Engineering emphasis**: Deep technical challenges across math, silicon, systems, and software – with a fast‑moving, well‑funded environment. Team spans North America and Europe (offices in Sunnyvale, San Jose, Munich). - **Hiring process**: Mutual discovery – a few calls, possibly a challenge, then fast decisions. ## Sources 1. [tensordyne.ai – About](https://www.tensordyne.ai/about) 2. [tensordyne.ai – Careers](https://www.tensordyne.ai/careers) 3. [tensordyne.ai – Inference System](https://www.tensordyne.ai/inference-system) 4. [linkedin.com – Tensordyne Company Page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/tensordyne) ## Other roles at Tensordyne - [Mid Level ASIC Design Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/mid-level-asic-design-engineer-tensordyne-sunnyvale-9cpjjf3thgkc) — Sunnyvale, CA - [System Software Engineer, Networking](https://feeny.ai/job/system-software-engineer-networking-tensordyne-sunnyvale-vktf2pjtpv11) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Sr. ASIC Verification Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-asic-verification-engineer-tensordyne-sunnyvale-andd97brbbst) — Sunnyvale, CA - [System Software/Embedded Engineer (Diagnostics)](https://feeny.ai/job/system-software-embedded-engineer-diagnostics-tensordyne-sunnyvale-hxm00tph943z) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Sr. Staff ASIC Verification Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-staff-asic-verification-engineer-tensordyne-sunnyvale-nwmar2c6228e) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Hardware Design Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/hardware-design-engineer-tensordyne-sunnyvale-xg5sx8cqgfct) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Sr. Hardware Sustaining-DVT Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-hardware-sustaining-dvt-engineer-tensordyne-sunnyvale-3r3nr1q256h2) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Principal ASIC Architect](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-asic-architect-tensordyne-sunnyvale-6a0sy92vgx3m) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Senior Manufacturing Test Engineer – AI Inferencing Systems](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-manufacturing-test-engineer-ai-inferencing-systems-tensordyne-sunnyvale-k2a90q9xw7kq) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Senior Enterprise Sales Executive – AI Inference Infrastructure](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-enterprise-sales-executive-ai-inference-infrastructure-tensordyne-6rstj18d85sg) — Sunnyvale, CA