Principal Systems Software Engineer

Crusoe

San Francisco (CA)

On-site

USD 260,000 - 340,000

Full time

14 days+

Get more replies from employers

Send a job-specific resume in minutes.

Benefits offered by this job

Industry-leading competitive pay
Significant equity options
Health insurance options
Paid parental leave
401(k) with 100% match up to 4%
Tuition reimbursement
Commuter benefits

Job summary

A leading technology company in San Francisco is looking for a Principal Systems Software Engineer to architect systems for innovative AI infrastructure. The role requires 12+ years of experience in core infrastructure design and expertise in Linux kernel and high-performance networking. This individual will lead R&D teams and draft strategic documents defining the next era of compute and networking solutions. Attractive compensation package includes significant equity and comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

  • 12+ years experience designing core infrastructure.
  • Deep knowledge of virtualization and networking.
  • Proven software design skills with GPUs.

Responsibilities

  • Architect systems for high-performance cloud fabric.
  • Lead R&D workstreams for new cloud solutions.
  • Draft strategic documents for compute and networking.

Skills

Experience with clouds like AWS, GCP
Knowledge of Linux kernel
Designing software for NVIDIA/AMD GPUs
High-speed networking expertise
Leading R&D teams

Tools

KVM
InfiniBand
Kubernetes

Job description

Crusoe's mission is to accelerate the abundance of energy and intelligence. We’re crafting the engine that powers a world where people can create ambitiously with AI — without sacrificing scale, speed, or sustainability.

Be a part of the AI revolution with sustainable technology at Crusoe. Here, you'll drive meaningful innovation, make a tangible impact, and join a team that’s setting the pace for responsible, transformative cloud infrastructure.

Principal Systems Software Engineer

San Francisco, Sunnyvale (On-site)

About the Role

Crusoe is seeking a Principal Systems Architect to serve as the visionary lead for our next-generation AI infrastructure. This is a role for an industry-recognized expert who has already "seen the movie" at hyperscale and is ready to redefine the I/O path for the age of generative AI.

In this position, you aren't just building a cloud; you are designing the fluid fabric that unifies Bare-Metal-as-a-Service (BMaaS), Intelligent IaaS, and Elastic CaaS into a single, high-performance pool of intelligence. You will bridge the gap between silicon and software, advising executive leadership on critical hardware/software co-design pivots while remaining hands-on enough to lead R&D teams in shipping production-grade kernel and orchestration code.

What You’ll Be Working On
Unifying Pillars:
  • Bare-Metal-as-a-Service (BMaaS): Architecting the systems that deliver raw GPU throughput via zero-latency InfiniBand/RDMA fabrics, ensuring that massive-scale training workloads perform at the theoretical limits of the hardware.

  • Intelligent IaaS: Designing a highly optimized, thin virtualization layer using KVM or custom micro-VMs. Your goal is to provide enterprise-grade isolation and multi-tenancy without the virtualization tax on performance.

  • Elastic CaaS: Building a high-performance container substrate (utilizing Kubernetes or Slurm) that allows AI workloads to burst and scale across heterogeneous GPU nodes instantly.

Mastering the I/O Path
  • Leading the architectural design of our internal cloud fabric, drawing on experience building at hyperscalers (OCI, AWS, GCP) or top-tier neoclouds.

  • Driving the technical roadmap for SR-IOV, RDMA, and virtualized GPU scheduling. You will hold the expertise (and potentially the patents) that define how we handle high-density GPU interconnects.

  • Leading elite R&D workstreams to prototype and productionize new ways of managing memory, networking, and compute that don't yet exist in standard cloud distributions.

A Day in the Life
  • Drafting white papers and RFCs that define the next two years of Crusoe’s compute and networking stack.

  • Working alongside Staff and Senior engineers to debug complex race conditions in the I/O path or optimize kernel-level memory pinning for GPU clusters.

  • Representing Crusoe in open-source communities or industry forums to influence the direction of cloud-native AI infrastructure.

You Will Thrive In This Role If You Have:
  • 12+ years of experience designing and shipping core infrastructure at a major hyperscaler (OCI, AWS, Azure, GCP) or a specialized HPC cloud.

  • Deep, authoritative knowledge of the Linux kernel, virtualization internals (KVM/QEMU/Firecracker), and high-performance networking (RoCE v2, InfiniBand).

  • Proven ability to design software that maximizes the performance of NVIDIA/AMD GPUs and high-speed NICs.

  • Experience leading cross-functional R&D teams through high-ambiguity projects and delivering production-ready systems.

  • A portfolio of significant contributions to the field, which may include patents, major open-source contributions, or published research in distributed systems.

  • The rare ability to explain the nuances of memory-mapped I/O to an engineer and the business value of a new fabric architecture to a Board member.

Benefits
  • Industry-leading competitive pay and significant equity

  • Restricted Stock Units in a fast-growing, well-funded technology company

  • Health insurance package options (HDHP and PPO, vision, and dental)

  • Employer contributions to HSA accounts

  • Paid Parental Leave & Life Insurance

  • 401(k) with a 100% match up to 4% of salary

  • Generous PTO and holiday schedule

  • $300/month commuter benefit and tuition reimbursement

  • Subscribed access to Calm and MetLife Legal

Compensation Range

$260,000 - $340,000 + Significant Equity & Bonus. Compensation is determined by the applicant's depth of expertise, previous impact at scale, and alignment with our architectural goals.

Crusoe is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, citizenship, marital status, sex/gender, sexual preference/ orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, national origin, or any other status protected by law or regulation.

Get your free, confidential resume review.
or drag and drop your file here.
Similar jobs

Similar jobs worth comparing

Principal Systems Software Engineer
Principal Systems Software Engineer

Crusoe Energy Systems LLC • San Francisco (CA)

On-site
USD 260,000 - 340,000
Competitive compensation
Restricted Stock Units
Paid time off
+10
Senior Hardware Systems Engineer, Performance
Senior Hardware Systems Engineer, Performance

Crusoe • Sunnyvale (CA)

On-site
USD 170,000 - 205,000
Health insurance
RSUs
401(k) match
+2
Senior Hardware Systems Engineer
Senior Hardware Systems Engineer

Crusoe • Sunnyvale (CA)

On-site
USD 170,000 - 205,000
Health insurance
401(k) with match
Employee stock options
+2
Staff Software Engineer, DC Infrastructure
Staff Software Engineer, DC Infrastructure

Crusoe Energy Systems LLC • San Francisco (CA), Northern (KY)

Hybrid
USD 215,000 - 260,000
Industry competitive pay
RSUs
Health insurance
+12
Staff Hardware Systems Engineer, Performance
Staff Hardware Systems Engineer, Performance

Crusoe • San Francisco (CA)

On-site
USD 215,000 - 260,000
RSUs
Health insurance
401(k) with match
+3
Senior Staff Linux Kernel Engineer
Senior Staff Linux Kernel Engineer

ProducePay • United States

On-site
USD 250,000 - 300,000
Competitive compensation
Equity
Health, dental, vision
+7
Senior Staff Linux Kernel Engineer
Senior Staff Linux Kernel Engineer

Crusoe • San Francisco (CA)

On-site
USD 250,000 - 300,000
Competitive compensation
Equity
Comprehensive benefits
+2
Systems Engineer II, Compute
Systems Engineer II, Compute

ProducePay • San Francisco (CA)

On-site
USD 137,000 - 161,000
Health insurance package options
401(k) with 100% match up to 4%
Generous paid time off
+2
Principal Production Engineer
Principal Production Engineer

Crusoe • San Francisco (CA)

On-site
USD 261,000 - 326,000
Restricted Stock Units
Health insurance package
Paid Parental Leave
+4
Senior Staff Software Engineer, SDN Architecture
Senior Staff Software Engineer, SDN Architecture

ProducePay • United States

On-site
USD 250,000 - 300,000
Competitive compensation and equity
Health, dental and vision insurance
401(k) with company match
+3