Research Scientist – Optimization & Search
Research Scientist – Optimization & Search
Research Scientist – Optimization & Search
ABOUT ASTRUS
ABOUT ASTRUS
ABOUT ASTRUS
📍 Location: Toronto or Waterloo, Canada
At Astrus, we are using AI to automate microchip design, starting with the biggest bottleneck, analog layout. Our mission is to radically improve global computation and empower chip designers to create the world's most advanced microchips with AI. Astrus is backed by top-tier VC firms: Khosla Ventures, HOF Capital, and 1517 Fund.
📍 Location: Toronto or Waterloo, Canada
At Astrus, we are using AI to automate microchip design, starting with the biggest bottleneck, analog layout. Our mission is to radically improve global computation and empower chip designers to create the world's most advanced microchips with AI. Astrus is backed by top-tier VC firms: Khosla Ventures, HOF Capital, and 1517 Fund.
ABOUT THE ROLE
ABOUT THE ROLE
ABOUT THE ROLE
We are hiring a Research Scientist – Optimization & Search to help scale the intelligence and performance of our layout generation agents. You’ll work at the core of our AI stack — designing search strategies, optimization methods that unlock the next level of performance in physics-aware chip design.
You’ll join a small team of researchers with experience in AlphaZero-style deep RL, search-guided agents, and physics-aware circuit design. You’ll bring deep expertise for search and optimization, strong fundamentals in algorithms, and a passion for making learning agents better through domain appropriate search.
We are hiring a Research Scientist – Optimization & Search to help scale the intelligence and performance of our layout generation agents. You’ll work at the core of our AI stack — designing search strategies, optimization methods that unlock the next level of performance in physics-aware chip design.
You’ll join a small team of researchers with experience in AlphaZero-style deep RL, search-guided agents, and physics-aware circuit design. You’ll bring deep expertise for search and optimization, strong fundamentals in algorithms, and a passion for making learning agents better through domain appropriate search.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
WHAT YOU WILL DO
WHAT YOU WILL DO
Design and implement search algorithms that guide our layout generation agents (e.g., Monte Carlo tree search, gradient-based optimization, simulated annealing).
Collaborate with other researchers to explore ways to combine learning-based methods (deep RL) with traditional combinatorial optimization and search techniques.
Develop new problem formulations that improve search tractability, state abstraction, and exploration.
Propose and run targeted experiments to test search strategies and guide algorithmic improvements.
Collaborate with research engineers to scale your ideas and deploy them as part of our production inference flow.
Participate in cross-disciplinary discussions with our evaluation, infra, and product teams — your work will directly shape what Astrus delivers to customers.
Design and implement search algorithms that guide our layout generation agents (e.g., Monte Carlo tree search, gradient-based optimization, simulated annealing).
Collaborate with other researchers to explore ways to combine learning-based methods (deep RL) with traditional combinatorial optimization and search techniques.
Develop new problem formulations that improve search tractability, state abstraction, and exploration.
Propose and run targeted experiments to test search strategies and guide algorithmic improvements.
Collaborate with research engineers to scale your ideas and deploy them as part of our production inference flow.
Participate in cross-disciplinary discussions with our evaluation, infra, and product teams — your work will directly shape what Astrus delivers to customers.
WHO YOU ARE
WHO YOU ARE
WHO YOU ARE
Have a PhD or equivalent research experience in Computer Science, AI, or a related field, with a focus on search, planning, or combinatorial optimization.
Have hands-on experience designing search algorithms, combinatorial optimization algorithms, or hybrid search and learning approaches along the line of AlphaZero.
Have strong mathematical intuition and enjoy formalizing problems and deeply understanding them.
Enjoy algorithmic tinkering — balancing technical elegance with pragmatic results.
Bonus: Experience applying reinforcement learning or machine learning, especially in combination with search algorithms. Experience with deep learning frameworks such as JAX is also a plus.
Have a PhD or equivalent research experience in Computer Science, AI, or a related field, with a focus on search, planning, or combinatorial optimization.
Have hands-on experience designing search algorithms, combinatorial optimization algorithms, or hybrid search and learning approaches along the line of AlphaZero.
Have strong mathematical intuition and enjoy formalizing problems and deeply understanding them.
Enjoy algorithmic tinkering — balancing technical elegance with pragmatic results.
Bonus: Experience applying reinforcement learning or machine learning, especially in combination with search algorithms. Experience with deep learning frameworks such as JAX is also a plus.
WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS
WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS
WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS
Tackle a once-in-a-generation technical challenge in AI and chip design.
Collaborate with world-class researchers, engineers, and designers.
Get in early — we are a small, elite team where every person owns a key piece.
High equity, strong salary, full health benefits.
Work in person with an extremely tight-knit, fast-moving team in downtown Toronto.
Tackle a once-in-a-generation technical challenge in AI and chip design.
Collaborate with world-class researchers, engineers, and designers.
Get in early — we are a small, elite team where every person owns a key piece.
High equity, strong salary, full health benefits.
Work in person with an extremely tight-knit, fast-moving team in downtown Toronto.
Ready to radically improve global computation? 🚀📈🌎 🤖
Ready to radically improve global computation? 🚀📈🌎 🤖
Reach out to careers@astrus.ai or Steph Hector for more details
Reach out to careers@astrus.ai or Steph Hector for more details