Lead AI automation and systems administration for a deep-tech VLSI startup building PCIe Controller IP. Drive AI adoption across engineering, HR, and marketing while managing Linux infrastructure.

About the Company

Semifront Technologies Private Limited is a deep-tech VLSI startup headquartered in Kolkata, India. The company specializes in developing scalable PCIe Controller IPs ranging from Gen1 to Gen5, focusing on high-performance digital design and protocol-level implementation. Semifront is a part of the NASSCOM DeepTech Launchpad initiative and was incubated under FABCI (Fabless Chip Design Incubator), IIT Hyderabad, supported by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India. The company engages in advanced architectural discussions with faculty from leading IITs in semiconductor design and maintains established business and marketing connections across the Bay Area (USA), Europe, and the Middle East for global outreach and commercialization.

Role Overview

This is not a typical AI automation role. As a Senior AI Automation & Systems Engineer, you will operate at the intersection of AI and silicon design, building AI systems that directly help engineers verify a PCIe Controller IP — one of the most complex protocols in the industry. You will define how AI is leveraged across the entire organization: from VLSI front-end engineering to HR and marketing, and across the infrastructure that underpins everything. You will own the AI strategy end-to-end, from initial conversations to the tools that teams rely on daily.

Key Responsibilities

1. AI for the VLSI Front-End Team

• Collaborate with design and verification engineers to identify time-consuming tasks in debug and regression workflows.
• Design and build AI-driven solutions using agent frameworks, LLM pipelines, scripting, or other appropriate tools.
• Develop AI-assisted regression flows: running, monitoring, summarizing regressions, and triaging failures to likely root cause.
• Build AI-assisted debug tools for log and simulation-output analysis, lint/error summarization, and debug guidance.
• Create verification support tools: checklist extraction from the PCIe specification, coverage-gap analysis, and testbench assistance.
• Test all flows thoroughly with the engineering team before rollout, ensuring quality and trust in the output.
• Measure impact (time saved, faster debug) and continuously refine tools post-deployment.

2. AI Automation for HR and Marketing

• Partner with HR and Marketing teams to identify repetitive processes and automate them — e.g., candidate screening, onboarding workflows, document generation, content drafting, campaign tracking.
• Set up and integrate automation platforms and AI tools with existing systems used by these teams.
• Debug, maintain, and improve automations to ensure reliable operation.

3. Systems Administration

• Handle day-to-day IT support for laptops and desktops (Windows/Linux) — setup, upgrades, and troubleshooting.
• Maintain Linux servers, user accounts, NFS shares, and Git repositories for the engineering team.
• Support regression compute setup and job scheduling (e.g., Slurm).
• Manage network, internet, and VPN issues; coordinate with ISPs and service vendors.
• Install and test engineering tools; keep system documentation up to date.

Tech Stack

• Languages: Python (strong), Perl, Shell scripting, Make
• AI/ML: LLM APIs (Anthropic, OpenAI), AI agents, automation platforms (Zapier, Make, n8n)
• Systems & Infrastructure: Linux administration (users, permissions, NFS, networking), Git, Slurm job scheduler
• Hardware Design (Nice to Have): Verilog/SystemVerilog, simulators, lint tools (e.g., Verilator), regression flows, PCIe protocol knowledge
• Other: MCP tool integrations, developer tools, internal tooling

Diploma in IT/Computer Science or Bachelor's (Mandatory), B Tech/BE in IT/CSE or relevant stream (Preferred); 3+ years of experience (or exceptional fresher considered) including hands-on work building AI/LLM-based automation; Strong Python; Perl, Shell, or Make scripting is a plus; Practical experience with LLM APIs (Anthropic, OpenAI, or similar), AI agents, and automation platforms (e.g., Zapier, Make, n8n, or custom-built); Working Linux administration skills: users, permissions, NFS, basic networking and troubleshooting; Ability to communicate with engineers, HR, and marketing; Habit of thorough testing and measuring automation impact.

A rare career profile: hands-on AI experience inside semiconductor IP design — a combination very few engineers have; full ownership: you define how AI is used across the company, with direct access to the founder; growth path to lead AI & Automation as the team grows; access to leading AI models and tools, with budget to experiment; your tools are used every day by every team; reports to Founder.