Company details

HEADCOUNT

25-99

ORG TYPE

Startup

SECTOR

Technology & Digital

WEBSITE

https://www.verticalcompute.com

About the company

Vertical Compute is a European deep-tech semiconductor startup working on vertically integrated memory technology (branded as VIM™) aimed at reducing the “memory bottleneck” in data-intensive computing. The company’s public materials position the work around next-generation AI infrastructure and chiplet-based architectures. Vertical Compute publicly states a €20m seed round led by imec.xpand with participation from XAnge, Eurazeo, Vector Gestion, and imec. Current hiring is concentrated in device engineering, test lab operations, and a part-time operations coordinator role.

Locations and presence

Vertical Compute lists a multi-site European footprint including Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve and several France locations (including Grenoble and Nice). The public ATS shows most roles as hybrid, with at least one role requiring regular on-site presence in Leuven.

Palpable Score

41.4

/ 100

Vertical Compute looks like a high-bar deep-tech environment that is mostly hiring experienced specialists right now, so entry-level access is limited. Candidate experience transparency is uneven: one role spells out stages and timings, while others do not, and pay bands are not published. Public proof of early-career outcomes (junior promotions, retention, intern conversion) is largely missing at this stage.

Pillar 1: Early-career access

Score

4.5

/ 20

The company’s live technical roles (for example Senior Memory Device Engineer and Device Test Lab Manager) ask for 5+ years of experience, which removes most 0–3 year candidates from the main pipeline.
Vertical Compute lists an “Open applications” route across multiple locations, but it is not framed as an internship, graduate intake, or junior hiring lane.
The company’s only operations opening is a “Freelance People, Finance & Office Coordinator (60%)”, which is not positioned as entry-level and is contract-based.

Pillar 2: Hiring fairness and transparency

Score

11.8

/ 20

The company publishes a clear, time-boxed hiring process for the Freelance People, Finance & Office Coordinator role (30-minute screen, 45–60 minute team interview, then a final practical conversation).
Vertical Compute’s other postings are lighter on process detail, often ending with “send us your resume” without stages, timelines, or assessment expectations.
The company includes an equal-opportunity statement in at least one engineering posting, but does not provide consistent salary ranges or benefits detail that candidates can compare upfront.

Pillar 3: Learning and support

Score

8.8

/ 20

The company frames multiple roles around full ownership and building key lab and device capabilities “from day one,” which can be a fast-learning setup for the right profile.
Vertical Compute’s technical roles emphasise cross-functional collaboration (test, process, design teams), but they don’t spell out mentoring, pairing, onboarding ramps, or review cadence.
The company shares team-wide in-person gathering rhythms publicly (for example cross-site meetups), yet these are culture signals rather than defined early-career development structures.

Pillar 4: Pay fairness and stability

Score

9.8

/ 20

The company repeatedly uses “competitive and motivating total rewards package” language in job descriptions, but does not publish salary bands.
Vertical Compute asks freelancers to share an hourly rate in the application flow, which makes compensation a two-way conversation, but still leaves candidates without a public benchmark.
The company does not publish a standard benefits package (healthcare, pension, leave, equipment support), which limits confidence on pay fairness and stability for early-career applicants.

Pillar 5: Early-career outcomes

Score

6.5

/ 20

The company’s public footprint shows a small team size and rapid early funding milestones, but not people outcomes like junior progression or retention over 12–24 months.
Vertical Compute has no obvious, attributable public review base (employee reviews or interview feedback) that a graduate could use to sanity-check management quality and growth support.
The company does not publish outcome proof such as intern-to-full-time conversion, promotion examples, or repeat early-career cohorts, which caps confidence in early-career trajectories.