About SLM
SLM is a compute infrastructure company building supercapability systems. We're developing new classes of high-performance architectures that deliver advanced performance, precision, and physical resilience in extreme environments. Many of our operating conditions are where conventional computing fails: radiation fields that destroy standard electronics, temperature extremes, and power constraints that demand every design decision be justified.
Our first-generation systems target advanced performance in some of the most challenging physical environments. We have a compressed timeline to execute deployment-ready systems, and the hard deployment windows we’re executing on won't reopen for years or close to more than a decade. We’re focused on optimizing these architecture platforms for sustained throughput in deterministic, real-time environments where a single error can invalidate months of data collection, gathered tactical provisions, and deployment certainties.
SLM is a fearless engineering culture: we solve very hard problems, work fast and with rigor, focus on shipping real megastructures and miniaturized hardware, deploy expensive assets, and enable complex missions that matter. You'll work on problems that external engineers, research scientists, and operators never get to work on.
Why we have this posting
We are skeptical that some of the most exceptional people we are looking for will fit neatly into predefined outlines. If you have strong abilities in areas you think are relevant to what we’re doing but don't yet see a posted role that captures what you’d do at SLM, or if your background spans multiple specialized domains in ways that might be uniquely valuable, we want to hear from you.
What working at SLM is like
We’re not a typical company. If you asked anyone at SLM what we’re like, they’d resist most startup characterizations of unseriousness and frivolity. We build true advanced technology, work with hard-to-access partners, and deploy infrastructure and microsystems that strengthen humanity’s arc and protect and improve life on Earth.
We care too much about the small things. We are bit odd. We see things many people do not know how to see. We predict events months ahead that take place true-to-form. And we love our architectures and the fun we all have building them together.
Our work is intense and our focus is absolute. We operate on binding program timelines with immovable external milestones - tapeouts, prototypes, qualification campaigns, test launches, serious-customer delivery deadlines.
Our mission demands long-term focus that makes superfluous commitments impractical when strong execution sprints are existential. During critical phases, as a founding team, we operate at high intensity but enjoy a great deal of autonomy and support. We work intensely but invest heavily in removing avoidable frictions from your life so you can dedicate maximum bandwidth to your core work. You can expect that everyone at SLM will care a lot about how you’re doing.
We protect team and individual execution. We have a flat hierarchical structure with high autonomy, and everyone shares a Member of Technical Staff title.
Who should apply
Talented individuals who want to join our team and have capabilities that might be valuable to SLM's mission, even if we haven't explicitly defined a role for it yet. For example, you might be:
- Someone working at the intersection of multiple relevant domains either in engineering, research, business, strategy, special operations, or government relations.
- Someone with rare specialized expertise in advanced materials, extreme environment electronics, aerospace systems, particle physics instrumentation, low-energy hardware-software codesign for compute-intensive acceleration, or related technical technical fields
- A technical or nontechnical person with solid engineering fundamentals who's built teams or systems in adjacent domains and sees how your experience applies to our challenges
- Someone who is prepared to admit to having a strong understanding of their area of expertise in a strategically important emerging technology (novel memory devices, advanced packaging, specialized fabrication techniques, processor design, hardware security, mesh networks, etc.) that forms part of our subsystems
- Someone whose background combines industry execution with deep technical knowledge in ways our current defined roles don't capture
What we're looking for
We care about demonstrable technical self-efficacy, focused execution, and mission alignment. Strong candidates may either have:
- Advanced degree (MS/PhD) in relevant field OR advanced early-career project/s with equivalent depth from working on production systems
- Track record of solving hard technical problems in applied math, computer architecture, nanoscale engineering, applied physics, extreme environment electronics, or related domains
- Ability to work effectively in small teams moving at high velocity
- Comfort with ambiguity and rapidly evolving technical challenges
- Strong penchant for weathering noise and a disinclination for short-term incentives
What to include in your application
Help us see why SLM’s mission would be stronger with you on board. Give us 2-3 paragraphs on:
- Your technical background and specially-honed proficiencies,
- What about SLM’s focus areas or narrative resonates with you, and
- How you see your abilities being especially relevant to your impression of what SLM is working on.
Try to be specific. We don’t expect you to be well-rounded, but we want to see how you can fit in our team.
What we offer
As an early team member, you'll shape capabilities and systems with first-order consequences for the future and direction of humanity's enterprise.
This is accompanied by a strong equity package, competitive base salary, and comprehensive benefits including enhanced healthcare coverage for you and your family, robust family planning support, life insurance, flexible time off and paid holidays, retirement plans with matching, daily meals at our headquarters, and relocation support.
Our primary operational base is in the Bay Area and our business serves customers in the US and internationally. Our labs are headquartered in a part of the city set beside cypress groves and coastal trails. Think natural light, fresh ocean air, and panoramic views.
If we make you an offer, we will work hard to get you onto our team and can even sponsor visas and green cards once eligible.
We strongly encourage you to apply even if you feel you don't meet every qualification or attribute as described. We care more about evidence of strong ability and a high signal-to-noise ratio.
Role details
- Category: General Application
- Work type: On-site
- Employment: Full-time
- Location: Bay Area, California
- Salary range: Competitive base salary + equity package, commensurate with early-team reward and role scope