Full-Time

Senior ASIC Architect

Updated on 9/4/2026

Arago

Arago

11-50 employees

Photonic AI chips for energy efficiency

No salary listed

Île-de-France, France

Hybrid

Remote work is available within Europe; the posting also lists Paris on-site offices.

Category
Hardware Engineering (1)

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Requirements
  • The candidate must have a proven track record architecting complex, high-performance digital systems such as multicore processors, vector engines, and domain-specific accelerators.
  • The candidate must have deep expertise in computer architecture, including memory hierarchies, interconnects, cache coherence, instruction set design, and performance-power-area trade-offs.
  • The candidate must have hands-on experience designing and integrating compute-intensive blocks such as vector arithmetic logic units, single instruction, multiple data pipelines, systolic arrays, and custom datapaths for signal or tensor processing.
  • The candidate must have experience leading full application-specific integrated circuit development cycles from architectural concept and modeling through register-transfer-level implementation, functional verification, physical design, and tape-out.
  • The candidate must have strong leadership and communication skills and be able to align multidisciplinary architecture, register-transfer-level, verification, software, and physical design teams under a unified vision.
Responsibilities
  • Carry the top-level architecture of Arago’s multiphysics compute platform, including processing elements, interconnects, memory subsystems, and system-level control.
  • Own the architectural vision from concept through tape-out, driving system modeling, specification, and implementation handoff across engineering teams.
  • Work with and mentor cross-functional hardware teams across register-transfer-level design, functional verification, and physical integration to ensure consistent technical direction and execution quality.
  • Collaborate with software, packaging, and system integration teams to ensure architectural choices support overall platform scalability, performance, and reliability.
  • Evaluate new architectural directions, develop performance and cost models, and guide prototyping efforts to de-risk innovations for future product generations.
  • Deliver silicon from first concept to production.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience with advanced system integration and packaging technologies such as high-bandwidth memory, chiplets, and 2.5D/3D integration, with a strong understanding of their architectural and system-level impact.

Arago develops energy-efficient AI hardware using photonic technology. It builds a proprietary photonic processor called JEF that processes data with light instead of electricity, aiming to cut AI compute energy use by 10x–30x while delivering comparable performance to current GPUs. The processor combines photonics, electronics, and software in a hybrid architecture, and is paired with a software stack named CARLOTA that lets AI developers run models on standard frameworks like PyTorch without changing code. This makes it easier to deploy photonic acceleration in AI workloads. Arago differentiates itself by targeting substantial energy savings at scale through photonic computing and by providing an integrated toolchain that abstracts hardware complexity for researchers and developers. Its goal is to reduce the energy consumption of AI computations in data centers and other compute-intensive environments, enabling high-performance AI with lower power use.

Company Size

11-50

Company Stage

Seed

Total Funding

$24.3M

Headquarters

Paris, France

Founded

2024

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Arago raised $26 million in July 2025 from Earlybird, Protagonist, and Visionaries Tomorrow.
  • April 2026 Synopsys and Cadence partnerships broaden access to critical EDA and IP.
  • Station F and GlobalFoundries publicized Arago’s first digital-optical chip, amplifying hiring and customer interest.

What critics are saying

  • GPU incumbents keep getting cheaper and faster, squeezing Arago before 2027 commercialization.
  • Photonic chips need flawless silicon-photonics integration; one yield miss can reset Arago's roadmap.
  • If JEF misses production customers after the 2026 tape-out, Arago becomes a science project.

What makes Arago unique

  • Arago’s April 2026 tape-out with GlobalFoundries validates standard-silicon photonic AI manufacturing.
  • JEF combines photons and electronics, targeting 10x-30x lower energy than GPUs.
  • CARLOTA hides photonic complexity and plugs into PyTorch without code rewrites.

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Benefits

Health Insurance

Stock Options

Relocation Assistance

Paid Vacation

Commuter Benefits

Professional Development Budget

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

7%

1 year growth

7%

2 year growth

18%
Dataweek
Aug 27th, 2025
Arago raises $26M for photonic AI chip

Arago, a deeptech startup, has raised $26 million in seed funding to commercialize its photonic AI chip, 'JEF'. This chip uses lasers to process data with photons, offering 10x lower energy consumption than current GPUs. Arago's technology is compatible with existing AI ecosystems and aims to revolutionize AI compute infrastructure. The funding will accelerate product development, expand the team, and enhance business partnerships across France, North America, and Israel.

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Jul 8th, 2025
French DeepTech company Arago raises €22.1 million to slash AI energy consumption with photonic chip | EU-Startups

Arago, a Paris-based DeepTech startup pioneering a new class of energy-efficient AI chips powered by light, has raised €22.1 million in Seed funding to

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Jul 8th, 2025
Arago AI raises $26M for energy-efficient AI

Arago, a French startup, has raised $26 million to address the high energy consumption of AI by developing a photonic processor named "JEF." Founded in April 2024, Arago aims to reduce energy use by utilizing lasers to process data with photons, which generate less heat than traditional electrons. This technology promises to be ten times more energy-efficient than current GPUs. The funding round was led by Earlybird, Protagoniste, and Visionaries Tomorrow, with participation from notable tech figures.