Have you ever read a job posting and your heart just sings the song of "HIRE ME PLEASE!!!", yeah, it's more heavy metal, if you were expecting soothing sounds...
I just read a job posting by Fractile and my heart sang out... So much so that I went to LinkedIn to stalk the personnel and send them all DMs to say PLEASE!!! (sorry about that btw)
Essentially, Rust + AI + 'we build the hardware, so you can push it's limits' = Heaven. Literal heaven, that's the kinda job that I'd wake up in the morning and love every second of it.
For those who don't know, I love optimizing and I love saying 'it can be done better' and not just say it, prove it, by building it. That's why a company that says 'hey, push the hardware limits and the hardware department will push back' is music to my ears, it means I can design systems optimized beyond what's technically possible on consumer (or enterprise) hardware, because they tailor the hardware and software to make it faster!
I haven't ever been this excited for a job posting and it shows why, accelerating AI inference has been a hobby of mine, I even experimented a lot with various techniques on how to do it, but this... This is it... For a long time, I believed that Fractals were the key to unlocking faster, smarter, less error prone LLMs and here pops up a company with it in their name! AND they're building hardware and software, specifically for it! If the rest of them didnt have their LinkedIn's private, I'd have personally messaged every person in the building.
Funniest of all, I didnt even submit my Resume, I just wrote them a massive block of text, with GitHub links, dev posts, design ideas on how I'd improve it, etc.
The other thing that sang out to me is 'no tests, but our interview will be in-depth', loved reading that! Test my capabilities, not if I can remember syntax, test whether I can make a system better, not whether I'm literate...
So fingers crossed everyone, I hope I get the job!
P.S. Anyone from Fractile here?
Top comments (53)
Good luckπ
π I got a feeling with this 1.
*Requirements: *
We are looking for creative problem solvers and generalists who have the grit to tackle hard problems.
Experience in serving AI workloads (for example vLLM, SGLang or Rust equivalents) or strong systems level engineering experience. If you donβt have AI experience then experience in a wide range of complimentary industries would also be beneficial. Specifically experience moving large amounts of data around in real time at low latency, paging, caching etc.
We will consider candidates without commercial Rust experience as long as they are strong senior developers in another systems language (e.g. C/C++ etc.) and can demonstrate proficiency in Rust through open source contributions and/or personal projects.
If you have a portfolio of Rust projects that you have authored and can share then this will help in the selection process.
We will not subject you to online algorithmic-style testing but any interview will be very technical and you will be expected to have a background in computer science and a deep understanding of Rust. In particular, your ability to read unfamiliar code, understand it and point out problem areas is important to us.
Dunno, but that about sums me up π€£ I think you'd agree?
Couldnβt agree more, Iβm so jealous Iβm practically grinding my back teeth π€£
Hey, they likely need alot of QA? If I get in, I'll definitely put in a good word
Hahaha, then make sure to ask if they take folks who enjoy casual goofβoff time at work π
Half the team designs AI chips, other half writes the code for it π Pretty sure they likely goof off time ALOT to keep sane π€
Oh by the way! Have you tried downloading ZCode? Theyβve been running promotions these days, giving away 100β―million tokens for free for oneβday access. I got it yesterday and it works really well. Follow ZCode on X; they often announce when theyβre giving out those 100βmillionβtoken bonuses.
Perfect environment for me then π Hope your application goes smoothly!
OOOOOHHHH I'll definitely be doing that! Thanks for the headsup!
GLMβ5.3βFlash is absolutely amazing to use. I was hammering it last night, yet I only burned through a little over half of the quota before the free period expired. What a bummer!π€£ Hope they roll out more free credits today!
I'm scared... On what did you spend 50m tokens?
Hahaha, obviously I was messing around with my two laptops. One has an 8β―GB dedicated GPU, the other relies on integrated graphics. I kept having agents run stressβtests nonβstop, figuring out which small local model works best on each machine. Super fun stuff π
Nice! Seems like a quite practical and realistic reason to spend 50m tokens π There I was worried you used em to generate those AI Fruit Relationships content for BiliBili and TikTok?
Iβve found something that might sting a little. I compared the Chineseβregion Qoder Iβm using against the international version you have. My Qoder gives me access to Tencentβs two top models: Hy3 is free until September 30, and Hy4 preview is available for free for the next two weeks. Itβs awesome, so I get to mess around with them for nothing again π
π₯² It's fine... No seriously, it's fine ππ±π€§
π€£π€£π€£
I saw that too, was actually coming on now to tell you the same!
π€£My mistake, I misread it. Iβm using the Chineseβregion version of WorkBuddy, where Hy3 and Hy4 preview are available for a limitedβtime free trial. And I just found out the international edition of WorkBuddy also has Hy3 and Hy4 preview on limitedβtime free access! Go make good use of them! One is free for two weeks, the other stays free until the end of this month!
Definitely will do! Thanks for the notice!
Enjoy experimenting with themπ€£
@xulingfeng Update for ya, the nose knows... My boss wants a meeting Wednesday to discuss 'work from home and my back recover', translation: We want to say that if you're not in office, you're a liability, so we can fire you. Honestly clicked for me earlier, we're nearing completion on the stack, so he likely wants to downsize, but doesnt want to fire anyone in the office... So that's why he's been picking at me to find excuses...
So made up my mind, I'll go to his meeting and if he doesnt sing 1 song (it's perfectly fine for you to work from home indefinitely), then I'm gunna just resign. The relief I had in my heart earlier when I discussed it with my fiance, then went on call with a coworker to discuss a feature I implemented... I simply dont give a f... anymore, they ruined the job-life for me at the company and I'm simply gunna move on to bigger and greater things, with or without one lined up already. When I doubt, I built a better ERP system 2 years ago already and they're still playing catch up π€£ So if they really piss me off, I just start marketing it and they can watch their clients leave. Maybe that'll show him where he can shove his "Claude is $20" comment... Also, I'm still waiting on Wasmer's response, over the weekend I was quite busy, had to publish all my crates and I finished up with MCP, it now officially runs most languages in WASM, with full audit trailing and dynamic tool registration. I also polished up the IDE a bit and started (and finished) a new project, I ported RepoWiki and just redesigned it to be better, so that's up too π
Also, HOWS THE NEW JOB!!! Day 1, exciting?
Just got off work. Itβs a startup, 9 AM to 9 PM. The working environment is pretty good β MacBook Air M5 with 16GB RAM, ergonomic chair. Iβm still getting familiar with the business. So far, the development workflow feels a bit messy. The senior colleague who recruited me is still consolidating the entire dev department. I hope he can finish this soon and standardize the code merge and testing submission process. Otherwise, testing progress will get stuck. That said, the team is very flat, and testers have a strong voice here. Later Iβll figure out how to collaborate with developers to formalize the whole workflow.
Your current company is clearly trying to discard you once your value is drained. If they push you out, make sure you claim all the compensation youβre entitled to. I also hope the new company you interviewed with gets back to you soon. Fingers crossed for that offer. Donβt back down! Since your employer has treated you unfairly, you donβt owe them any special consideration.πͺ
That sounds good! hopefully with an external monitor so you have a bit more screen space? Jeesh, 12h days? Hopefully the compensation is fair for the extra hours?
Imo, get hands-on, write to that colleague any thoughts you have on the procedure, with examples, flow-charts, etc. Sounds like doing his job for him, but what it actually is, is nesting. Settling in, so you're cozy with the work environment, not like you'll suggest bad flows as a QA expert π
Definitely gunna, they messed around with me for long enough... I built all the core systems in the app, while the rest were still discovering Claude, so lets see if their Claude can figure out how the Manufacturing system works π They can pay out my PTO, or let me take it during my notice period, dont really mind either way, but after that, I'm out. Just tired of their bs, I'm working from bed, instead of flatout going on medical leave, just so they dont fall behind... And for what? To get hounded about recovery times? Nah, I'm done
I already have an external monitor, forgot to mention that. Besides getting up to speed on business today, I also set up my local AI workflow. Paired with my personal memory system I brought over from my laptop at home, Iβm building and training the companyβs AI agent from scratch. Iβll probably be working closely with this agent for a long time. The company provided the relay API key, which is great. Finally I donβt have to work while paying out of my own pocket, hahaha π
You hold the core technology, so youβve got nothing to fear no matter where you go. Your current company doesnβt respect your skills, so you donβt need to go easy on them. When the chapter ends, move on. No need to feel guilty about it.
That's good! If it's your job, the company is supposed to pay for it (because they write it off as COGS for taxes). So good that you're settling in!
Agreed, I'm not going to make a mess before I leave, I still value my reputation, but I definitely wont be going above and beyond, strictly the bare-minimum requirement of my job till my notice period is up. Then wipe their junk off my dev station and start clean and fresh with whatever comes next! But honestly, the biggest relief factor was when I finally made up my mind on them. I'm not going to rush anymore, or multi-task, or do all the things I've been doing to make them more money, I'm simply going to do exactly what my contract mandates and not a single thing more.
I'm glad you're already seeing an improvement over your old job! Working with an old colleague also means you have the lay of the land with your own personal encyclopedia π Nice new work computer, nice new api key, so you can jump right in!
One thing's for sure, I wont miss the terrible salary π For perspective, I get paid 22k usd a YEAR as a senior full-stack developer... I can earn 4-10x that working for an oversees company?
Theoretically, working for an overseas company could indeed earn you several times more than now. But the tradeoff is leaving your hometown and having to readjust to so many new things. It has both pros and cons. Honestly, you really ought to get some proper rest. Recovering while working from bed will take a really long time π
True, but for the most part, I prefer working remotely, cuz my setup is in my home office. So dont much need to move, that's more an issue with the local market, they havent learned from covid that work from home is safer for company productivity... But overall the money isnt the real issue, it's the lack of respect. A company that steps on you wont let you grow and that's my main issue. Yeah I think I'm probably due for some PTO, so I can relax and recover
Yes, take good care of yourself. Health is the capital of revolution. Totally agree. Respect is far more important than salary. Remote work is perfect for your home office setup. Hope you can get that PTO approved soon and take time to heal properly π€
Thank you Lingfeng, really appreciate it! Lemme know tomorrow how work goes, or post about it, I'm interested in hearing how your onboarding journey goes and how you settle in π Unfortunately they already missed the welcome bucket on your desk π but hopefully they have a good coffee station? π
There really is a coffee station, piles of snacks, and even a PS5! Theyβve got three fully soundproof phone booths for private calls. Basically every cool perk youβd expect from an internet company.
Iβll hold off on writing a post until Iβve got more impressions. Otherwise itβll sound like Iβm doing a company ad, hahaha π
π€£ Slide the note under the colleague's door for a bucket station, so you can get your fix π
As a joke obviously... But if by next monday there's KFC waiting for you, you know it's a company that listens! (and can take a joke π)
Hahaha, thereβs a McDonaldβs and Starbucks right by the subway entrance downstairs. Iβll check out the office coffee machine tomorrow. If the coffeeβs free, Iβll drink plenty to stay sharp π
Write a performance QA report on working with vs without KFC on your desk. See if it sways them
Perfect QA proposal! Letβs see if KFC can boost my work metrics π
Also pass it around as a questionnaire, to see if the rest of the office agrees! See if you can start KFC fridays!
Now that you mention it, I just remembered a colleague had KFC for lunch in the office today. It smelled absolutely amazing. Iβm thinking about ordering some tomorrow, hahaha π
PERFECT, someone who can back you up on KFC fridays!
If you want to incentivize them more, slip the note under boss's door, then outside the door leave a bucket, bottom of the bucket, a note (see, didnt that make today better?)
Nah, fried chicken is getting old π In this heat, KFC sundaes are the only passing test case.
PERFECT, Sundae mondays!
The βheart sings hire meβ reaction is honest β and also the trap. When the stack matches that hard, itβs easy to sell yourself into the role before youβve checked the actual constraints (latency budget, tooling ownership, how much of the βpush the limitsβ talk survives a roadmap meeting).
What Iβve started doing when a posting hits like that: write three sentences about the worst day in that job, then see if I still want it. If I canβt invent a worst day, I donβt understand the role yet.
Curious what your three worst-day sentences would be for Fractile-shaped work β hardware+Rust+AI is paradise until the board brings up ship dates.
Worst day scenario would likely be: I make something cool, I know it practical, but it's denied on the premise that they want 'battle tested' instead of pushing the limits (eg. replacing linux with a sasos written by hand). Or getting chewed out for 'not to scope' when scope was too vague to constrain it and I go with my intuition. Or wanting to take a break and put in leave request for time I want to spend with my fiance and they deny it, especially if it's a public holiday (eg. Christmas).
All 3 plausible and while all 3 would upset me, they'd bother me, but they wouldnt make me want to look for a new job, just adjust my strategy.
I now have an interview Friday for Wasmer, havent heard anything from Fractile yet, but Wasmer, while it's not the dream job, it is technically the one I'm best qualified for, given my entire tech stack aligns with what they're building. I mean how often do they get a candidate that's making a universal MCP server that compiles foreign languages into wasm and still manages to beat Node.js based servers on every front? My Single Address Space OS still applicable, because it's designed for per-process isolation using native wasm, so it would be 1 hell of an edge for their Edge servers.
The three worst-days you named are useful because none of them are βI hate the stackβ β theyβre all governance failures (taste, scope, leave). That means the interview test isnβt βcan I build WASM,β itβs βhow does this team decide when battle-tested beats push-the-limits.β
Iβd ask Wasmer one concrete question Friday: when a PR is clearly better but not battle-tested, who has to sign the risk, and how often do they actually say yes? If they canβt name a recent yes, the dream edge work will still live in side projects.
Good luck Friday β Wasmerβs a strong fit on paper; the answer to that question tells you whether the fit survives a roadmap meeting.
That's genuinely a good question. Especially given the friction they're having with byte alliance, the test between 'do we do it our way, or the standard way', who signs off and how often does it happen is a pretty solid question to ask.
Funnily enough, I ran into that yesterday with the MCP development. WasmTime was faster than Wasmer, but Wasmer scales better and has 'generic' security tax, instead of bypassable when the origin is explicitly known. That cost it 500ns vs wasmtime. Worth it at scale, yet it can still be improved without sacrificing coroutine. I looked at it, thought about creating a PR for it, then decided against it for that exact fear, whether they'd sign off on it or not, so before it halts my progress, I differed and just made a note of it.
That was genuinely insightful, thank you very much, I'll definitely be asking them that!
I genuinely hope you get this job! Your passion and excitement are so evident, and itβs honestly wonderful to see someone feel this strongly about an opportunity. Iβm truly rooting for you and hoping everything falls perfectly into place!
Thank you very much! Ngl, I'm anxious and excited at the same time π€£ It's 1 hell of a company to work for, not everyday you see someone decide 'AI is slow, so half the company design us a new chip, other half, design the harness, so the AI can make best use of the new chip'. They also signed a MASSIVE contract with Anthropic, for next year. They see it as AI isnt slow, the chip and software surrounding it is unoptimized, so design it ground up, so you can run a frontier AI at baremetal speeds. Imagine Claude Fable running at 2k TPS? That's a scary kind of optimized π I'm all for it! Given I just finished up Velocity MCP and I think that's exactly the kinda things they want?
Definitely True
Wish you all the best! I know that you love Rust. You've got this π«Έ
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