AI Accelerator System Architect

SambaNova Systems; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental & Vision

Flexible benefits

Job summary

SambaNova Systems in the United States is seeking a Senior RDU System Architect to turn silicon into shippable systems, including SambaRack-class servers, scale-out fabrics, and cooling envelopes for dense AI compute in data halls.

You will set direction across build, buy, and co-design with hardware partners, write the specifications, and oversee bring-up, qualification, and fleet deployment—from lab to production environments.

Qualifications

• BS/MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience.
• 12+ years architecting hardware systems for hyperscale, HPC, or AI/ML infrastructure.
• Deep hands-on background in at least one systems domain (interconnect, power delivery, thermal/cooling, or mechanical).
• Experience owning system architecture at board, rack, or cluster scale and writing specs for vendors.
• Record of carrying a system through architecture definition, bring-up, and volume production.
• Experience coordinating with external vendors and ODM/OEM partners to meet technical specs.
• Comfort reasoning across interdependent domains (interconnect, power, cooling, mechanical).
• Proven ability to make and own directional calls and align multiple teams.
• Strong technical writing, specs, and reviews.

Responsibilities

• Define architecture for RDU-based servers and racks, from board layout to full-rack integration.
• Design scale-up/scale-out interconnect fabric and cooling strategies to meet bandwidth, latency, and thermal targets.
• Evaluate ODM/OEM proposals and decide where to build, buy, or co-develop; manage vendor risk.
• Define bring-up, validation, and qualification plans, including reliability and telemetry targets.
• Collaborate with SambaFlow software/compiler, ML performance, and datacenter ops; brief leadership on tradeoffs; mentor engineers.

Skills

System architecture

Vendor management

Cross-team leadership

Technical writing

Problem solving

Education

B.S./M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience

Job description

The era of pervasive AI has arrived. In this era, organizations will use generative AI to unlock hidden value in their data, accelerate processes, reduce costs, drive efficiency and innovation to fundamentally transform their businesses and operations at scale. SambaNova Suite™ is the first full-stack, generative AI platform, from chip to model, optimized for enterprise and government organizations. Powered by the intelligent SN40L chip, the SambaNova Suite is a fully integrated platform, delivered on-premises or in the cloud, combined with state-of-the-art open-source models that can be easily and securely fine-tuned using customer data for greater accuracy. Once adapted with customer data, customers retain model ownership in perpetuity, so they can turn generative AI into one of their most valuable assets.

About the team

The System Architecture team owns architecture for RDU-based platforms at the board, rack, and cluster level, covering SambaRack-class server and rack design, the scale-up and scale-out interconnect fabric, power delivery, and air and liquid cooling. We write the specifications ODM/OEM and component partners build to, evaluate their proposals, and make the build, buy, and co-develop calls. We define the bring-up, validation, and qualification plan for each platform, and work with signal and power integrity engineers, SambaFlow, ML performance, and datacenter operations to keep architecture decisions matched to the workloads running on the systems.

About the role

SambaNova's Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit (RDU) powers a full-stack, chip-to-model AI platform used by enterprise and government customers, delivered both on-premises and in the cloud. As a Senior RDU System Architect, you'll be a part of the team that turns silicon into shippable systems — SambaRack-class server and rack designs, the scale-up/scale-out fabric that links RDUs together, and the power and cooling envelope that lets dense AI compute run efficiently in a real data hall. You'll set direction across build, buy, and co-design decisions with our hardware partners, write the specifications those partners build to, and stay engaged from architecture definition through bring-up, qualification, and fleet deployment.

Responsibilities

Some of your responsibilities will include:

• Platform & Rack Architecture Being a part of the team defining the architecture of RDU-based server and rack platforms, from board layout and chassis design through full-rack integration, translating product and customer requirements into system specifications that engineering teams and vendors can build to. Select and validate major system components — RDU sockets, memory modules, power supplies, chassis mechanicals — balancing performance, power envelope, and manufacturability. Build performance and cost models to compare candidate rack configurations before committing to a design.
• Fabric, Power & Thermal Architect the scale-up and scale-out interconnect fabric that links RDUs into larger training and inference clusters, choosing topology, switch/NIC hardware, and optics to hit bandwidth and latency targets. Own the power delivery architecture (including high-density/48V-class distribution) and the cooling strategy — air and liquid — needed to keep dense, multi-socket racks within thermal budget. Work with signal and power integrity engineers to confirm interconnect and power designs hold up once they leave simulation and reach the lab.
• Partner & Supply Chain Engineering Evaluate ODM/OEM and component vendor proposals against SambaNova's system requirements, and decide where to build in-house, buy off the shelf, or co-develop with a partner. Flag schedule or technical risk in partner designs early, and drive the changes needed to close the gap. Maintain a working map of the vendor and technology landscape — boards, interconnect, power, cooling — that feeds SambaNova's platform roadmap.
• Bring-Up, Qualification & Field Reliability Define the bring-up, validation, and qualification plan for each new platform, including the reliability (RAS) and telemetry targets it needs to hit once it's running in a customer's data hall. Lead root-cause investigations when a platform's measured behavior in the lab or field diverges from the architecture's projections.
• Cross-Team Technical Leadership Partner with the SambaFlow software/compiler team, ML performance, and datacenter operations so system architecture choices actually help the workloads running on top of them. Brief executive leadership on architecture tradeoffs and keep the roadmap aligned to customer and product priorities. Mentor engineers on system architecture methodology, and help build the review process and spec standards the team uses going forward.

Required Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience
• 12+ years architecting hardware systems for hyperscale, HPC, or AI/ML infrastructure
• Deep, hands-on background in at least one systems domain, such as interconnect, power delivery, thermal/cooling, or mechanical, for large-scale AI accelerator, HPC, or hyperscale systems
• Experience owning system architecture at board, rack, or cluster scale, including writing the specs that other engineering teams and vendors build to
• A track record of carrying a system through architecture definition, bring-up, and volume production
• Direct experience holding external vendors and ODM/OEM partners accountable to a technical specification
• Comfortable reasoning across domains that affect each other, for example how an interconnect choice changes the power and thermal budget, which in turn changes the mechanical design
• A history of making and owning directional calls, and building alignment across engineering and partner teams to support them
• Clear technical writing, specs and reviews other teams will build to and rely on

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with AI accelerator platforms (RDU, GPU, TPU, or custom ASIC) and the fabrics that scale them up and out
• Enough fluency in chip- and package-level design to work as a peer with silicon and packaging architects, even though that is not this role's primary scope
• Experience standing up a new engineering function, review process, or design practice from scratch

Base Salary Range: Base Pay Range $250,000 — $350,000 USD

EEO Policy

SambaNova Systems is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard basis of age (40 and over), color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, national origin/ancestry, race, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding), sexual orientation, and any other applicable status protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Benefits Summary for US-Based, Full-Time Employment Positions

SambaNova offers a competitive total rewards package, including the base salary, plus equity and benefits.

• We cover 95% premium coverage for employee medical insurance, and 77% premium coverage for dependents
• We also offer a Health Savings Account (HSA) with employer contribution
• We also offer Dental, Vision, Short/Long term Disability, Basic Life, Voluntary Life, and AD&D insurance plans
• We also offer Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options like Health Care, Limited Purpose, and Dependent Care
• Our library of well-being benefits available to you and your dependents includes a full subscription to Headspace, Gympass+ membership with access to physical gyms, One Medical membership, counseling services with an Employee Assistance Program, and much more.