Nio
AI Technical Lead
San Jose-US · Full-time
Sponsorship not specified$192k-$250kDetected 46 days ago
PythonC++Distributed SystemsFull-Stack DevelopmentCloud PlatformsMachine LearningNLPLLMsLeadership
About the role
- JOB DESCRIPTION About NIO NIO is a pioneer and a leading company in the premium smart electric vehicle market.
- Deep understanding of edge/cloud model-serving frameworks (e.g., vLLM, TensorRT-LLM, ExecuTorch, MLC-LLM) and AI compilers (e.g., MLIR, Apache TVM, Triton) for compute graph optimization and custom kernel development.
Responsibilities
- Lead, mentor, and inspire a team of specialized engineers working across distributed systems orchestration, inference optimization, and AI compiler engineering.
- While you are not expected to be a hands-on master of every domain, you will drive the overarching technical roadmap, foster a culture of cutting-edge innovation, and guide domain experts in navigating complex system tradeoffs.
- Guide the team in developing cascading inference mechanisms, dynamic model fallback strategies, and robust telemetry to ensure continuous, steady-state inference under varying connectivity constraints.
Requirements
- You possess deep, hands-on mastery in at least one or two of the following core domains, coupled with the comprehensive systemic breadth required to effectively lead engineers working across the others:
- Algorithmic & Inference Optimization: Proven experience optimizing state-of-the-art LLM/VLM inference pipelines.
- Advanced Systems & Compiler Engineering: C++ and production-grade Python proficiency.
- C++ and production-grade Python proficiency.
- Education & Experience: Ph.D. in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field with 8+ years of relevant industry experience (or Master's degree with 12+ years ), including proven experience leading technical teams or driving complex architectural roadmaps.
- End-to-End Systems Leadership (T-Shaped Profile): Demonstrated capability to lead full-stack AI systems engineering. You possess deep, hands-on mastery in at least one or two of the following core domains, coupled with the comprehensive systemic breadth required to effectively lead engineers working across the others:
- Distributed Systems & Hybrid Inference: Designing, scaling, and deploying production-grade distributed ML systems. Balancing cloud infrastructure with edge constraints using modern routing paradigms, such as cascading inference architectures and semantic routing.
- Algorithmic & Inference Optimization: Proven experience optimizing state-of-the-art LLM/VLM inference pipelines. Deep understanding of model compression (e.g., PTQ, QAT, AWQ, FP8/INT4), hardware-aware compute optimizations (e.g., FlashAttention), and advanced memory management (e.g., PagedAttention, KV cache compression/eviction).
- Advanced Systems & Compiler Engineering: C++ and production-grade Python proficiency. Deep understanding of edge/cloud model-serving frameworks (e.g., vLLM, TensorRT-LLM, ExecuTorch, MLC-LLM) and AI compilers (e.g., MLIR, Apache TVM, Triton) for compute graph optimization and custom kernel development.
Skills
- NIO is a pioneer and a leading company in the premium smart electric vehicle market.
- Roles and Responsibilities
- Designing, scaling, and deploying production-grade distributed ML systems.
Compensation
- The US base salary range for this full-time position is $192,100.00 - $249,600.00.
- Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.
- Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only. It does not include discretionary bonus, equity, or benefits.
Benefits
- Along with competitive pay, as a full-time NIO employee, you are eligible for the following benefits on the first day you join NIO:
- Anthem Blue Cross, HSA, and Kaiser HMO medical plans with $0 for Employee Only Coverage.
- Dental (including orthodontic coverage) and vision plan.
- Company Paid HSA (Health Savings Account) Contribution when enrolled in the High Deductible Anthem Blue Cross medical plan
- Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
- Company paid Basic Life, AD&D, short-term and long-term disability insurance
- Sick and Vacation time
- Paid Parental Leave for first 8 weeks at full pay (eligible after 90 days of employment with NIO)
- Paid Disability Leave for first 6 weeks at full pay (eligible after 90 days of employment with NIO)
- Voluntary benefits including: Voluntary Life and AD&D options for you, your spouse/domestic partner and dependent child(ren), pet insurance
- Commuter benefits
- Employee discounts and perks program
This listing is sourced directly from Nio's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.