Principal Firmware Engineer – Server Manageability and Observability

NVIDIA Gruppe; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 272,000 - 431,250; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity options

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

NVIDIA Gruppe in Santa Clara, California is seeking an experienced Technical Architect to own the architecture of data center systems. This role involves leading technological discussions with major customers, innovating system software solutions, and critical decision-making in tech development.

The ideal candidate will have deep expertise across server systems, extensive experience with accelerators, and a strong educational background in Computer Science or Electrical Engineering. Competitive salary and opportunities for equity are offered.

Qualifications

• 15+ years in the area of system architecture and design.
• Ability to influence and achieve results without direct authority.
• Experience in implementing left-shift strategy.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary technical point of contact for major customers.
• Lead technical innovation and strategic collaborations.
• Align NVIDIA’s roadmap with major customers’ requirements.
• Develop and drive adoption of new technologies.
• Make critical technical decisions in ambiguous situations.

Skills

Deep expertise in scalable and performant server system architecture

Experience with complex system software for accelerators

Mastery of system firmware and embedded systems

Proficiency in device management protocols

Extensive knowledge of networking technologies

Experience collaborating with platform security experts

Demonstrated success in leading complex projects

Education

BS or MS degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or related field

Job description

NVIDIA data center systems, such as DGX and HGX, have become core to NVIDIA’s rapidly growing enterprise and cloud provider businesses. These platforms bring together the full power of NVIDIA GPUs, NVIDIA NVLink, NVIDIA InfiniBand networking, NVIDIA Grace CPUs, and a fully optimized NVIDIA AI and HPC software stack. We’re looking for a strong technical architect to own the end‑to‑end architecture of these products, at the system software level, covering firmware, kernel drivers, operating systems, and user mode drivers. You will work with component leads internally and engage with industry‑leading cloud service providers on taking these products to market.

What you’ll be doing

• Serve as the primary technical point of contact for major customers, leading technological discussions, defining KPIs, gathering requirements, and addressing complex technical queries.
• As a system software architect, lead technical innovation and strategic collaborations with major hyperscalers to architect next‑generation data center products.
• Align NVIDIA’s roadmap with major customers’ requirements through direct engagement.
• Develop and drive adoption of new technologies and protocols.
• Make critical technical decisions in ambiguous situations, mitigating risks through left‑shift strategies.

What we need to see

• Deep expertise in scalable and performant server system architecture, focusing on SW/HW interfaces.
• Extensive experience with complex system software for accelerators (GPUs, DPUs, FPGAs).
• Mastery of system firmware (SBIOS, OpenBMC), embedded systems, and Linux kernel internals.
• Proficiency in Out‑of‑Band and In‑Band management architectures, device management protocols (MCTP, PLDM, SPDM, RDE) and system management protocols (Redfish, IPMI).
• Extensive knowledge of networking technologies and protocols, including TCP/IP, Ethernet, InfiniBand, as well as advanced switching and routing concepts.
• Experience collaborating with platform security experts to define tradeoffs between security and ease of use.
• Demonstrated success in leading complex, cross‑functional projects to completion, showcasing the ability to influence and achieve results without direct authority in large‑scale, collaborative environments. Demonstrable experience in implementing left‑shift strategy to de‑risk program execution.
• BS or MS degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 15+ years in the area of system architecture and design.

Ways to stand out from the crowd

• Knowledge of cloud and cluster level deployment and management systems. Participation and contributions in standards bodies such as OCP and DMTF.
• Familiarity with NVIDIA HPC programming models and libraries (CUDA, cuDNN, DOCA).
• Knowledge of enterprise storage architectures and distributed parallel processing paradigms.

Benefits

Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and the pay of employees in similar positions. The base salary range is 272,000USD–431,250USD. You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.

Application Information

Applications for this job will be accepted at least until May20,2026.

Equal Opportunity Employment

NVIDIA is committed to fostering a diverse work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. As we highly value diversity in our current and future employees, we do not discriminate (including in our hiring and promotion practices) on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or any other characteristic protected by law.