diff --git a/.github/workflows/cpp_tests.yml b/.github/workflows/cpp_tests.yml
index 146c4141d..e8b42998f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cpp_tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cpp_tests.yml
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ jobs:
     - name: configure-cpp
       run: |
         cmake -Bbuild/ \
+                  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug                   \
                   -DKOMPUTE_OPT_INSTALL=0                    \
                   -DKOMPUTE_OPT_REPO_SUBMODULE_BUILD=1       \
                   -DKOMPUTE_OPT_BUILD_TESTS=1                \
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 3b96a4c6e..e4a302a07 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ int main() {
     // 3. Run operation with string shader synchronously
     mgr.evalOpDefault<kp::OpAlgoBase>(
         { tensorInA, tensorInB, tensorOut },
-        std::vector<char>(shaderString.begin(), shaderString.end()));
+        std::vector<uint32_t>(shaderString.begin(), shaderString.end()));
 
     // 4. Map results back from GPU memory to print the results
     mgr.evalOpDefault<kp::OpTensorSyncLocal>({ tensorInA, tensorInB, tensorOut });
diff --git a/examples/android/android-simple/app/src/main/cpp/KomputeModelML.cpp b/examples/android/android-simple/app/src/main/cpp/KomputeModelML.cpp
index 0337fa63e..679136bfa 100755
--- a/examples/android/android-simple/app/src/main/cpp/KomputeModelML.cpp
+++ b/examples/android/android-simple/app/src/main/cpp/KomputeModelML.cpp
@@ -54,11 +54,11 @@ void KomputeModelML::train(std::vector<float> yData, std::vector<float> xIData,
 #ifdef KOMPUTE_ANDROID_SHADER_FROM_STRING
             // Newer versions of Android are able to use shaderc to read raw string
             sq->record<kp::OpAlgoBase>(
-                    params, std::vector<char>(LR_SHADER.begin(), LR_SHADER.end()));
+                    params, std::vector<uint32_t>(LR_SHADER.begin(), LR_SHADER.end()));
 #else
             // Older versions of Android require the SPIRV binary directly
             sq->record<kp::OpAlgoBase>(
-                    params, std::vector<char>(
+                    params, std::vector<uint32_t>(
                             kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_logisticregression_comp_spv,
                             kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_logisticregression_comp_spv
                                 + kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_logisticregression_comp_spv_len
diff --git a/examples/array_multiplication/src/Main.cpp b/examples/array_multiplication/src/Main.cpp
index 161bb8bd4..d77388671 100755
--- a/examples/array_multiplication/src/Main.cpp
+++ b/examples/array_multiplication/src/Main.cpp
@@ -40,11 +40,11 @@ int main()
 
     mgr.evalOpDefault<kp::OpAlgoBase>(
             { tensorInA, tensorInB, tensorOut },
-            std::vector<char>(shader.begin(), shader.end()));
+            std::vector<uint32_t>(shader.begin(), shader.end()));
 #else
     mgr.evalOpDefault<kp::OpAlgoBase>(
             { tensorInA, tensorInB, tensorOut },
-            std::vector<char>(
+            std::vector<uint32_t>(
             kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_opmult_comp_spv,
             kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_opmult_comp_spv
                 + kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_opmult_comp_spv_len));
diff --git a/examples/logistic_regression/src/Main.cpp b/examples/logistic_regression/src/Main.cpp
index 14664a563..4138a0a0f 100755
--- a/examples/logistic_regression/src/Main.cpp
+++ b/examples/logistic_regression/src/Main.cpp
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ int main()
       params, "shaders/glsl/logistic_regression.comp");
 #else
     sq->record<kp::OpAlgoBase>(
-        params, std::vector<char>(
+        params, std::vector<uint32_t>(
                 kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_logisticregression_comp_spv,
                 kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_logisticregression_comp_spv
                     + kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_logisticregression_comp_spv_len));
diff --git a/single_include/kompute/Kompute.hpp b/single_include/kompute/Kompute.hpp
index 1c2c5f3ac..0d6a4f41f 100755
--- a/single_include/kompute/Kompute.hpp
+++ b/single_include/kompute/Kompute.hpp
@@ -118,13 +118,13 @@ namespace kp {
 
 class Shader {
 public:
-    static std::vector<char> compile_sources(
+    static std::vector<uint32_t> compile_sources(
             const std::vector<std::string>& sources,
             const std::vector<std::string>& files = {},
             const std::string& entryPoint = "main",
             std::vector<std::pair<std::string,std::string>> definitions = {});
 
-    static std::vector<char> compile_source(
+    static std::vector<uint32_t> compile_source(
             const std::string& source,
             const std::string& entryPoint = "main",
             std::vector<std::pair<std::string,std::string>> definitions = {});
@@ -1683,7 +1683,7 @@ public:
      * @specalizationInstalces The specialization parameters to pass to the function
      * processing
      */
-    void init(const std::vector<char>& shaderFileData,
+    void init(const std::vector<uint32_t>& shaderFileData,
               std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Tensor>> tensorParams);
 
     /**
@@ -1727,7 +1727,7 @@ private:
     Constants mSpecializationConstants;
 
     // Create util functions
-    void createShaderModule(const std::vector<char>& shaderFileData);
+    void createShaderModule(const std::vector<uint32_t>& shaderFileData);
     void createPipeline();
 
     // Parameters
@@ -1808,7 +1808,7 @@ class OpAlgoBase : public OpBase
            std::shared_ptr<vk::Device> device,
            std::shared_ptr<vk::CommandBuffer> commandBuffer,
            std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Tensor>>& tensors,
-           const std::vector<char>& shaderDataRaw,
+           const std::vector<uint32_t>& shaderDataRaw,
            const Workgroup& komputeWorkgroup = {},
            const Constants& specializationConstants = {});
 
@@ -1860,9 +1860,9 @@ class OpAlgoBase : public OpBase
     Workgroup mKomputeWorkgroup;
 
     std::string mShaderFilePath; ///< Optional member variable which can be provided for the OpAlgoBase to find the data automatically and load for processing
-    std::vector<char> mShaderDataRaw; ///< Optional member variable which can be provided to contain either the raw shader content or the spirv binary content
+    std::vector<uint32_t> mShaderDataRaw; ///< Optional member variable which can be provided to contain either the raw shader content or the spirv binary content
 
-    virtual std::vector<char> fetchSpirvBinaryData();
+    virtual std::vector<uint32_t> fetchSpirvBinaryData();
 };
 
 } // End namespace kp
@@ -1985,7 +1985,7 @@ class OpMult : public OpAlgoBase
         SPDLOG_DEBUG("Kompute OpMult constructor with params");
 
 #ifndef RELEASE
-        this->mShaderFilePath = "shaders/glsl/opmult.comp";
+        this->mShaderFilePath = "shaders/glsl/opmult.comp.spv";
 #endif
     }
 
@@ -1994,15 +1994,15 @@ class OpMult : public OpAlgoBase
      * If RELEASE=1 it will be using the static version of the shader which is 
      * loaded using this file directly. Otherwise it should not override the function.
      */
-    std::vector<char> fetchSpirvBinaryData() override
+    std::vector<uint32_t> fetchSpirvBinaryData() override
     {
         SPDLOG_WARN(
           "Kompute OpMult Running shaders directly from header");
 
-        return std::vector<char>(
-          shader_data::shaders_glsl_opmult_comp_spv,
-          shader_data::shaders_glsl_opmult_comp_spv +
-            kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_opmult_comp_spv_len);
+        return std::vector<uint32_t>(
+          (uint32_t*)shader_data::shaders_glsl_opmult_comp_spv,
+          (uint32_t*)(shader_data::shaders_glsl_opmult_comp_spv +
+            kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_opmult_comp_spv_len));
 
     }
 #endif
diff --git a/src/Algorithm.cpp b/src/Algorithm.cpp
index 227a9b6bc..48968b232 100644
--- a/src/Algorithm.cpp
+++ b/src/Algorithm.cpp
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ Algorithm::~Algorithm()
 }
 
 void
-Algorithm::init(const std::vector<char>& shaderFileData,
+Algorithm::init(const std::vector<uint32_t>& shaderFileData,
                 std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Tensor>> tensorParams)
 {
     SPDLOG_DEBUG("Kompute Algorithm init started");
@@ -206,14 +206,14 @@ Algorithm::createParameters(std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Tensor>>& tensorParams)
 }
 
 void
-Algorithm::createShaderModule(const std::vector<char>& shaderFileData)
+Algorithm::createShaderModule(const std::vector<uint32_t>& shaderFileData)
 {
     SPDLOG_DEBUG("Kompute Algorithm createShaderModule started");
 
     vk::ShaderModuleCreateInfo shaderModuleInfo(
       vk::ShaderModuleCreateFlags(),
-      shaderFileData.size(),
-      (uint32_t*)shaderFileData.data());
+      sizeof(uint32_t) * shaderFileData.size(),
+      shaderFileData.data());
 
     SPDLOG_DEBUG("Kompute Algorithm Creating shader module. ShaderFileSize: {}",
                  shaderFileData.size());
diff --git a/src/OpAlgoBase.cpp b/src/OpAlgoBase.cpp
index 04c4cdebe..ee22c6fe1 100644
--- a/src/OpAlgoBase.cpp
+++ b/src/OpAlgoBase.cpp
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ OpAlgoBase::OpAlgoBase(std::shared_ptr<vk::PhysicalDevice> physicalDevice,
                        std::shared_ptr<vk::Device> device,
                        std::shared_ptr<vk::CommandBuffer> commandBuffer,
                        std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Tensor>>& tensors,
-                       const std::vector<char>& shaderDataRaw,
+                       const std::vector<uint32_t>& shaderDataRaw,
                        const Workgroup& komputeWorkgroup,
                        const Constants& specializationConstants)
   : OpAlgoBase(physicalDevice, device, commandBuffer, tensors, komputeWorkgroup, specializationConstants)
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ OpAlgoBase::init()
 
     SPDLOG_DEBUG("Kompute OpAlgoBase fetching spirv data");
 
-    std::vector<char> shaderFileData = this->fetchSpirvBinaryData();
+    std::vector<uint32_t> shaderFileData = this->fetchSpirvBinaryData();
 
     SPDLOG_DEBUG("Kompute OpAlgoBase Initialising algorithm component");
 
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ OpAlgoBase::postEval()
     SPDLOG_DEBUG("Kompute OpAlgoBase postSubmit called");
 }
 
-std::vector<char>
+std::vector<uint32_t>
 OpAlgoBase::fetchSpirvBinaryData()
 {
     SPDLOG_DEBUG("Kompute OpAlgoBase Running fetchSpirvBinaryData");
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ OpAlgoBase::fetchSpirvBinaryData()
 
         SPDLOG_WARN("Kompute OpAlgoBase fetched {} bytes", shaderFileSize);
 
-        return std::vector<char>(shaderDataRaw, shaderDataRaw + shaderFileSize);
+        return std::vector<uint32_t>((uint32_t*)shaderDataRaw, (uint32_t*)(shaderDataRaw + shaderFileSize));
     } else if (this->mShaderDataRaw.size()) {
         SPDLOG_DEBUG("Kompute OpAlgoBase Reading data from data provided");
         return this->mShaderDataRaw;
diff --git a/src/OpAlgoLhsRhsOut.cpp b/src/OpAlgoLhsRhsOut.cpp
index 51a1d0fb9..a12583f29 100644
--- a/src/OpAlgoLhsRhsOut.cpp
+++ b/src/OpAlgoLhsRhsOut.cpp
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ OpAlgoLhsRhsOut::init()
 
     SPDLOG_DEBUG("Kompute OpAlgoLhsRhsOut fetching spirv data");
 
-    std::vector<char> shaderFileData = this->fetchSpirvBinaryData();
+    std::vector<uint32_t> shaderFileData = this->fetchSpirvBinaryData();
 
     SPDLOG_DEBUG("Kompute OpAlgoLhsRhsOut Initialising algorithm component");
 
diff --git a/src/Shader.cpp b/src/Shader.cpp
index 467cc07f2..4c2268d93 100644
--- a/src/Shader.cpp
+++ b/src/Shader.cpp
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 namespace kp {
 
-std::vector<char>
+std::vector<uint32_t>
 Shader::compile_sources(const std::vector<std::string>& sources,
                                    const std::vector<std::string>& files,
                                    const std::string& entryPoint,
@@ -81,10 +81,10 @@ Shader::compile_sources(const std::vector<std::string>& sources,
     // Shutdown glslang library.
     glslang::FinalizeProcess();
 
-    return std::vector<char>((char*)spirv.data(), (char*)(spirv.data()+spirv.size()) );
+    return spirv;
 }
 
-std::vector<char>
+std::vector<uint32_t>
 Shader::compile_source(const std::string& source,
         const std::string& entryPoint,
         std::vector<std::pair<std::string,std::string>> definitions) {
diff --git a/src/include/kompute/Algorithm.hpp b/src/include/kompute/Algorithm.hpp
index 361ebe4e5..a859b79d3 100644
--- a/src/include/kompute/Algorithm.hpp
+++ b/src/include/kompute/Algorithm.hpp
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ public:
      * @specalizationInstalces The specialization parameters to pass to the function
      * processing
      */
-    void init(const std::vector<char>& shaderFileData,
+    void init(const std::vector<uint32_t>& shaderFileData,
               std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Tensor>> tensorParams);
 
     /**
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ private:
     Constants mSpecializationConstants;
 
     // Create util functions
-    void createShaderModule(const std::vector<char>& shaderFileData);
+    void createShaderModule(const std::vector<uint32_t>& shaderFileData);
     void createPipeline();
 
     // Parameters
diff --git a/src/include/kompute/Shader.hpp b/src/include/kompute/Shader.hpp
index 97158cf56..89ecc2aeb 100644
--- a/src/include/kompute/Shader.hpp
+++ b/src/include/kompute/Shader.hpp
@@ -13,13 +13,13 @@ namespace kp {
 
 class Shader {
 public:
-    static std::vector<char> compile_sources(
+    static std::vector<uint32_t> compile_sources(
             const std::vector<std::string>& sources,
             const std::vector<std::string>& files = {},
             const std::string& entryPoint = "main",
             std::vector<std::pair<std::string,std::string>> definitions = {});
 
-    static std::vector<char> compile_source(
+    static std::vector<uint32_t> compile_source(
             const std::string& source,
             const std::string& entryPoint = "main",
             std::vector<std::pair<std::string,std::string>> definitions = {});
diff --git a/src/include/kompute/operations/OpAlgoBase.hpp b/src/include/kompute/operations/OpAlgoBase.hpp
index 95c5853f0..49d0569b7 100644
--- a/src/include/kompute/operations/OpAlgoBase.hpp
+++ b/src/include/kompute/operations/OpAlgoBase.hpp
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ class OpAlgoBase : public OpBase
            std::shared_ptr<vk::Device> device,
            std::shared_ptr<vk::CommandBuffer> commandBuffer,
            std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Tensor>>& tensors,
-           const std::vector<char>& shaderDataRaw,
+           const std::vector<uint32_t>& shaderDataRaw,
            const Workgroup& komputeWorkgroup = {},
            const Constants& specializationConstants = {});
 
@@ -135,9 +135,9 @@ class OpAlgoBase : public OpBase
     Workgroup mKomputeWorkgroup;
 
     std::string mShaderFilePath; ///< Optional member variable which can be provided for the OpAlgoBase to find the data automatically and load for processing
-    std::vector<char> mShaderDataRaw; ///< Optional member variable which can be provided to contain either the raw shader content or the spirv binary content
+    std::vector<uint32_t> mShaderDataRaw; ///< Optional member variable which can be provided to contain either the raw shader content or the spirv binary content
 
-    virtual std::vector<char> fetchSpirvBinaryData();
+    virtual std::vector<uint32_t> fetchSpirvBinaryData();
 };
 
 } // End namespace kp
diff --git a/src/include/kompute/operations/OpMult.hpp b/src/include/kompute/operations/OpMult.hpp
index 8d3263fef..a887f4af2 100644
--- a/src/include/kompute/operations/OpMult.hpp
+++ b/src/include/kompute/operations/OpMult.hpp
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ class OpMult : public OpAlgoBase
         SPDLOG_DEBUG("Kompute OpMult constructor with params");
 
 #ifndef RELEASE
-        this->mShaderFilePath = "shaders/glsl/opmult.comp";
+        this->mShaderFilePath = "shaders/glsl/opmult.comp.spv";
 #endif
     }
 
@@ -59,15 +59,15 @@ class OpMult : public OpAlgoBase
      * If RELEASE=1 it will be using the static version of the shader which is 
      * loaded using this file directly. Otherwise it should not override the function.
      */
-    std::vector<char> fetchSpirvBinaryData() override
+    std::vector<uint32_t> fetchSpirvBinaryData() override
     {
         SPDLOG_WARN(
           "Kompute OpMult Running shaders directly from header");
 
-        return std::vector<char>(
-          shader_data::shaders_glsl_opmult_comp_spv,
-          shader_data::shaders_glsl_opmult_comp_spv +
-            kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_opmult_comp_spv_len);
+        return std::vector<uint32_t>(
+          (uint32_t*)shader_data::shaders_glsl_opmult_comp_spv,
+          (uint32_t*)(shader_data::shaders_glsl_opmult_comp_spv +
+            kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_opmult_comp_spv_len));
 
     }
 #endif
diff --git a/test/TestAsyncOperations.cpp b/test/TestAsyncOperations.cpp
index b0deee37c..d5d48b9d4 100644
--- a/test/TestAsyncOperations.cpp
+++ b/test/TestAsyncOperations.cpp
@@ -151,6 +151,8 @@ TEST(TestAsyncOperations, TestManagerAsyncExecution)
 
     mgr.rebuild({ tensorA, tensorB });
 
+    std::vector<uint32_t> result = kp::Shader::compile_source(shader);
+
     mgr.evalOpAsync<kp::OpAlgoBase>(
       { tensorA }, "asyncOne", kp::Shader::compile_source(shader));
 
diff --git a/test/TestLogisticRegression.cpp b/test/TestLogisticRegression.cpp
index ed3106881..39e4ff8af 100644
--- a/test/TestLogisticRegression.cpp
+++ b/test/TestLogisticRegression.cpp
@@ -43,10 +43,10 @@ TEST(TestLogisticRegression, TestMainLogisticRegression)
 
         sq->record<kp::OpAlgoBase>(
           params,
-          std::vector<char>(
-            kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_logisticregression_comp_spv,
-            kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_logisticregression_comp_spv +
-              kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_logisticregression_comp_spv_len),
+          std::vector<uint32_t>(
+            (uint32_t*)kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_logisticregression_comp_spv,
+            (uint32_t*)(kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_logisticregression_comp_spv +
+              kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_logisticregression_comp_spv_len)),
           kp::Workgroup(), kp::Constants({5.0}));
 
         sq->record<kp::OpTensorSyncLocal>({ wOutI, wOutJ, bOut, lOut });
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ TEST(TestLogisticRegression, TestMainLogisticRegression)
                 bIn->data()[0]);
 }
 
-TEST(TestLogisticRegressionAlgorithm, TestMainLogisticRegressionManualCopy)
+TEST(TestLogisticRegression, TestMainLogisticRegressionManualCopy)
 {
 
     uint32_t ITERATIONS = 100;
@@ -120,19 +120,13 @@ TEST(TestLogisticRegressionAlgorithm, TestMainLogisticRegressionManualCopy)
         // Record op algo base
         sq->begin();
 
-#ifdef KOMPUTE_SHADER_FROM_STRING
-        sq->record<kp::OpAlgoBase>(
-          params, "test/shaders/glsl/test_logistic_regression.comp.spv",
-           kp::Workgroup(), kp::Algorithm::SpecializationContainer{{(uint32_t)5}});
-#else
         sq->record<kp::OpAlgoBase>(
           params,
-          std::vector<char>(
-            kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_logisticregression_comp_spv,
-            kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_logisticregression_comp_spv +
-              kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_logisticregression_comp_spv_len),
-           kp::Workgroup(), kp::Constants({5.0}));
-#endif
+          std::vector<uint32_t>(
+            (uint32_t*)kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_logisticregression_comp_spv,
+            (uint32_t*)(kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_logisticregression_comp_spv +
+              kp::shader_data::shaders_glsl_logisticregression_comp_spv_len)),
+          kp::Workgroup(), kp::Constants({5.0}));
 
         sq->record<kp::OpTensorSyncLocal>({ wOutI, wOutJ, bOut, lOut });
 
diff --git a/test/TestOpShadersFromStringAndFile.cpp b/test/TestOpShadersFromStringAndFile.cpp
index b33b2f98e..1fd121966 100644
--- a/test/TestOpShadersFromStringAndFile.cpp
+++ b/test/TestOpShadersFromStringAndFile.cpp
@@ -47,11 +47,11 @@ TEST(TestOpAlgoBase, ShaderCompiledDataFromConstructor)
 
     mgr.evalOpDefault<kp::OpAlgoBase>(
       { tensorA, tensorB },
-      std::vector<char>(
-        kp::shader_data::test_shaders_glsl_test_op_custom_shader_comp_spv,
-        kp::shader_data::test_shaders_glsl_test_op_custom_shader_comp_spv +
+      std::vector<uint32_t>(
+        (uint32_t*)kp::shader_data::test_shaders_glsl_test_op_custom_shader_comp_spv,
+        (uint32_t*)(kp::shader_data::test_shaders_glsl_test_op_custom_shader_comp_spv +
           kp::shader_data::
-            test_shaders_glsl_test_op_custom_shader_comp_spv_len));
+            test_shaders_glsl_test_op_custom_shader_comp_spv_len)));
 
     mgr.evalOpDefault<kp::OpTensorSyncLocal>({ tensorA, tensorB });
 
diff --git a/test/TestWorkgroup.cpp b/test/TestWorkgroup.cpp
index d6684c47a..1116fcbe5 100644
--- a/test/TestWorkgroup.cpp
+++ b/test/TestWorkgroup.cpp
@@ -25,10 +25,10 @@ TEST(TestWorkgroup, TestSimpleWorkgroup)
             sq->begin();
             sq->record<kp::OpAlgoBase>(
               { tensorA, tensorB },
-              std::vector<char>(
-                kp::shader_data::test_shaders_glsl_test_workgroup_comp_spv,
-                kp::shader_data::test_shaders_glsl_test_workgroup_comp_spv +
-                  kp::shader_data::test_shaders_glsl_test_workgroup_comp_spv_len),
+              std::vector<uint32_t>(
+                (uint32_t*)kp::shader_data::test_shaders_glsl_test_workgroup_comp_spv,
+                (uint32_t*)(kp::shader_data::test_shaders_glsl_test_workgroup_comp_spv +
+                  kp::shader_data::test_shaders_glsl_test_workgroup_comp_spv_len)),
                 workgroup);
             sq->end();