Senior GPU Performance Software Engineer

Intel; Santa Clara (CA); Hybrid; USD 195,000 - 276,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock bonuses

Health benefits

Retirement plan

Flexible hybrid/remote work

Job summary

Intel's Software and AI (SAI) organization is seeking a highly skilled software engineer to contribute to the development and low-level optimization of oneDNN, a cross-platform open-source performance library that underpins modern AI workloads.

This role focuses on high-performance GEMM, convolution, and attention kernels, GPU kernel generation, memory-traffic optimizations, and close collaboration with hardware and compiler teams on next-generation Intel GPUs. Hybrid work is available.

Qualifications

• Education: BSc, MSc, or PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or a highly technical related field
• 5+ years of professional software development experience with expert-level modern C++
• 2+ years of GPU kernel optimization (via SYCL/DPC++, OpenCL, CUDA, or HIP) or 5+ years of similar low-level CPU optimization
• Strong foundations in computer architecture, cache hierarchies, memory subsystems, and parallel programming paradigms

Responsibilities

• Kernel Development and Architecture: Develop high-performance GEMM, convolution, and attention kernels for AI workloads
• Low-Level Optimization: Implement fusion and memory-traffic optimizations to maximize hardware utilization
• Performance Modeling and Profiling: Build analytical and empirical performance models for kernel dispatch and tuning
• Hardware and Software Co-Design: Co-design GPU primitives and kernel architectures for next-generation Intel GPUs
• Infrastructure and Validation: Improve validation, benchmarking, and CI infrastructure for performance-critical GPU workloads

Skills

Modern C++

GPU kernel development

Performance optimization

Parallel programming

Education

BSc/MSc/PhD in CS/CE/Math/Physics

Tools

SYCL/DPC++

OpenCL

CUDA

HIP

Job description

The Software and AI (SAI) organization is seeking a highly skilled software engineer to contribute to the development and low-level optimization of

Job Details

Job Description:

About The Role

The Software and AI (SAI) organization is seeking a highly skilled software engineer to contribute to the development and low-level optimization of oneDNN, a complex, cross-platform, open-source performance library that serves as the foundation for deep learning applications (github.com/uxlfoundation/oneDNN).

Please Note

This is a low-level software engineering and hardware-acceleration role. It does not involve building, training, or tuning machine learning models. Instead, you will focus on developing highly optimized math primitives, parallel algorithms, and GPU kernels that power industry-leading AI frameworks (such as OpenVINO, TensorFlow, PyTorch, and ONNX Runtime) on Intel hardware.

Key Responsibilities

Kernel Development and Architecture

• Develop high-performance GEMM, convolution, and attention kernels for AI workloads
• Design scalable JIT and codegen infrastructure for GPU kernel generation

Low-Level Optimization

• Implement fusion and memory-traffic optimizations to maximize hardware utilization
• Optimize mixed-precision and quantized execution paths (e.g., BF16, FP16, INT8, FP8, FP4, etc.)

Performance Modeling and Profiling

• Build analytical and empirical performance models for kernel dispatch and tuning
• Profile and eliminate performance bottlenecks across oneDNN GPU primitives and runtime paths

Hardware and Software Co-Design

• Co-design GPU primitives and kernel architectures for next-generation Intel GPUs
• Partner with hardware and compiler teams to shape future accelerator capabilities and software stacks

Infrastructure and Validation

• Improve validation, benchmarking, and CI infrastructure for performance-critical GPU workloads

Why Join Us

Massive Scale

• Work on a global, high-impact open-source library that scales AI performance across millions of devices worldwide

Cutting-Edge Hardware

• Get early access to and influence the software stack for Intel's roadmap of next-generation discrete GPUs

Expert Collaboration

• Work alongside industry-leading experts in GPU compilers, hardware architecture, and performance libraries

Total Rewards

• Enjoy a competitive package including stock programs, quarterly bonuses, robust healthcare, and highly flexible hybrid/remote working options

What We're Looking For

To be successful in this role, you should demonstrate the following professional traits:

• A strong ownership mindset — you take initiative on complex, ambiguous technical problems and drive them to resolution
• A collaborative approach — you work effectively across hardware, compiler, and framework teams to align on shared technical goals
• A performance-driven curiosity — you are motivated by squeezing every cycle out of hardware and continuously seek deeper understanding of low-level systems

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Education: BSc, MSc, or PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or a highly technical related field
• Core Language: 5+ years of professional software development experience with expert-level modern C++
• Performance Optimizations: 2+ years of hands-on experience in programming and kernel optimization on GPUs (via SYCL/DPC++, OpenCL, CUDA, or HIP), or at least 5+ years of similar low-level performance optimization experience on CPUs
• Hardware Architecture: Strong foundations in computer architecture, cache hierarchies, memory subsystems, and parallel programming paradigms (e.g., multi-threading, SIMD/vectorization)

Preferred Qualifications

• Math Libraries: Experience developing high-performance math libraries (e.g., GEMM, convolution, reduction, or FFT kernels)
• Low-Level Tuning: Hands-on experience with GPU assembly-level tuning or compiler optimization
• Parallel APIs: Familiarity with parallel programming APIs such as OpenMP or oneTBB
• AI Workload Context: Basic understanding of deep learning primitives (e.g., forward/backward passes) to understand how library code is utilized by upstream frameworks

Job Type

Experienced Hire

Shift

Shift 1 (United States of America)

Primary Location

US, Oregon, Hillsboro

Additional Locations

US, California, Santa Clara

Posting Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, religious creed, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, military and veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by local law, regulation or ordinance.

Position of Trust

N/A

Benefits

We offer a total compensation package that ranks among the best in the industry. It consists of competitive pay, stock bonuses, and benefit programs which include health, retirement, and vacation. Find out more about the benefits of working at Intel.

Annual Salary Range for jobs which could be performed in the US: $195,200.00 - 275,580.00 USD

The range displayed on this job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target compensation for the position across all US locations. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific compensation range for your preferred location during the hiring process.

Work Model for this Role

This role will be eligible for our hybrid work model which allows employees to split their time between working on-site at their assigned Intel site and off-site. * Job posting details (such as work model, location or time type) are subject to change.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Intel is committed to Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) compliance and ethical hiring practices. We do not charge any fees during our hiring process. Candidates should never be required to pay recruitment fees, medical examination fees, or any other charges as a condition of employment. If you are asked to pay any fees during our hiring process, please report this immediately to your recruiter.