AI Accelerator Software Principal Engineer- Framework Integration

Ampere; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 182,000 - 273,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Premium medical, dental, and vision insurance

Unlimited Flextime

401K retirement plan

Job summary

Ampere, located in Portland, Oregon, is looking for an AI Accelerator Software Principal Engineer to lead high-performance AI software integration. You will work with leading AI frameworks, optimizing performance and collaborating with cross-functional teams to enhance Ampere's product offerings.

The ideal candidate has extensive experience in computer science, strong programming skills, and a background in AI/ML. We offer competitive compensation, benefits, and a supportive work environment.

Qualifications

• 8 years of relevant experience or equivalent education.
• Strong experience with AI frameworks like PyTorch, ONNX.
• Experience with user-mode drivers in Linux is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Integrate deep learning frameworks for efficient execution.
• Optimize performance for AI workloads across platforms.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams on AI integration.

Skills

AI framework integration

Performance profiling and tuning

Python

C/C++

Linux

Education

BS in Computer Science or related field

MS in related field

PhD in related field

Tools

PyTorch

ONNX

llama.cpp

Job description

Invent the future with us.

Ampere is a semiconductor design company for a new era, leading the future of computing with an innovative approach to CPU design focused on high‑performance, energy efficient AI compute.

Description

Ampere is a semiconductor design company for a new era, leading the future of computing with an innovative approach to CPU design focused on high‑performance, energy efficient AI compute. As a pioneer in the new frontier of energy efficient high‑performance computing, Ampere is part of the Softbank Group of companies driving sustainable computing for AI, Cloud, and edge applications. Join us at Ampere and work alongside a passionate and growing team - we’d love to have you apply!

About The Role

As an AI Accelerator Software Principal Engineer – Framework Integration, you will lead the design and delivery of high‑performance, low‑latency deep learning inference solutions. You’ll help advance Ampere’s AI software stack by integrating and optimizing popular deep learning frameworks so models can run efficiently across data center and edge environments—meeting the performance and efficiency requirements of next‑generation AI workloads. You will operate at the intersection of software engineering, performance engineering, and hardware‑aware optimization, contributing to the full stack from model execution to accelerator‑ready kernel performance.

What You’ll Achieve

• Framework integration for accelerator backends: Integrate and optimize deep learning frameworks—such as PyTorch, ONNX, and llama.cpp—for the Ampere deep learning accelerator backend, enabling efficient and correct execution across a wide set of model types.
• End‑to‑end deep learning performance acceleration: Go deep into the full software/hardware execution stack, including:
  • inference serving and orchestration
  • framework integration layers
  • compiler and graph/runtime support
  • runtime libraries and user‑mode execution paths
  • compute kernel development
  • profiling, benchmarking, and performance tuning
• Model enablement with quality and speed: Improve both performance and accuracy for models using popular frameworks, and ensure compatibility with serving ecosystems such as vLLM and SGLang—helping deliver production‑ready inference behavior.
• Hardware/software co‑design and optimization: Partner with hardware and platform teams to co‑optimize AI execution for better outcomes:
  • increased throughput
  • reduced latency
  • improved scalability
  • better resource utilization (compute/memory/IO)
  • higher sustained performance under realistic workloads
• Build state‑of‑the‑art AI software components: Contribute to the development of software and hardware AI co‑processors/accelerators, delivering reusable libraries, optimized execution paths, and robust integration with existing tooling.
• Cross‑functional collaboration: Work closely with cross‑functional teams (compiler/runtime, kernels, platform, and product engineering) to integrate AI capabilities into Ampere’s cloud‑native processor platforms and accelerators.

About You

• Education & experience: BS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Software Engineering or related technical field & 8 years of related experience; or MS degree & 6 years; or PhD & 3 years.
• Core framework experience: Strong experience building with or integrating AI frameworks such as PyTorch, llama.cpp, and ONNX.
• Linux + accelerator/runtime expertise (preferred): Experience with developing user‑mode drivers, runtime libraries, or low‑level integration for GPUs or deep learning accelerators in Linux is a plus.
• Strong systems programming & performance skills:
  • Expert in Python and C/C++
  • Strong background in performance profiling and tuning (latency/throughput, memory behavior, kernel efficiency)
• Deep ML understanding: Solid understanding of AI/ML concepts including neural networks and data processing frameworks. Experience with modern deep model architectures such as Transformers and Diffusion models is preferred.
• Modern AI tooling fluency (preferred): Fluent with modern AI programming tools such as Codex or Claude Code, and comfortable accelerating development workflows.

Benefits

At Ampere we believe in taking care of our employees and providing a competitive total rewards package that includes base pay, cash long‑term incentive, and comprehensive benefits. The full base pay range for this role is between $182,000 and $273,000, except in the San Francisco Bay Area where the range is between $195,000 and $292,000.

Our benefits include health, wellness, and financial programs that support employees through every stage of life.

Benefit Highlights Include

• Premium medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, as well as income protection and a 401K retirement plan, so that you can feel secure in your health and financial future.
• Unlimited Flextime and 10+ paid holidays so that you can embrace a healthy work‑life balance.
• A variety of healthy snacks, energizing espresso, and refreshing drinks to keep you fueled and focused throughout the day.

Ampere is an inclusive and equal opportunity employer and welcomes applicants from all backgrounds. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship, religion, age, veteran and/or military status, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, physical or mental disability, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law.