Senior Principal AI Interconnect Architect

Sandisk; Milpitas (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Sandisk seeks an AI Interconnect Architect to define high-speed networking for AI inference infrastructure, including servers, racks, and chips. The role emphasizes bandwidth, power efficiency, scalability, and optimized transport protocols with PCIe, CXL, UALink, and Ultra Ethernet focus.

You will design scale-out architectures, collaborate with SoC, package design, and software teams, and shape industry standards through performance modeling.

Qualifications

• Master's or PhD in EE/CE/CS as required.
• 10–15 years developing interconnect technologies including transport, link protocols, switching fabrics, QoS.
• Familiarity with Fat tree, Leaf-Spine, Torus, and Meshed topologies.
• Deep knowledge of PCIe, CXL, NVLink, UALink, Ethernet and related protocols.
• Experience with GPU/accelerator clusters and data center infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• System Architecture & Design: chip-to-chip interconnects and switched fabrics for AI/ML scale-out.
• Performance Optimization: analyze bandwidth, latency, power, area, and reliability trade-offs.
• Technology development and standards: contribute to industry specifications.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: work with SoC, package design, and software teams.

Skills

AI Hardware Architecture

Data center infrastructure

GPU clusters

Interconnect knowledge

Performance modeling

Education

Master's or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science

Tools

PCIe

CXL

NVLink

UALink

Ethernet

Ultra-Ethernet

Serial links

Job description

Company Description

Sandisk understands how people and businesses consume data and we relentlessly innovate to deliver solutions that enable today’s needs and tomorrow’s next big ideas. With a rich history of groundbreaking innovations in Flash and advanced memory technologies, our solutions have become the beating heart of the digital world we're living in and that we have the power to shape.

Sandisk understands how people and businesses consume data and we relentlessly innovate to deliver solutions that enable today’s needs and tomorrow’s next big ideas. With a rich history of groundbreaking innovations in Flash and advanced memory technologies, our solutions have become the beating heart of the digital world we're living in and that we have the power to shape. Sandisk meets people and businesses at the intersection of their aspirations and the moment, enabling them to keep moving and pushing possibility forward. We do this through the balance of our powerhouse manufacturing capabilities and our industry-leading portfolio of products that are recognized globally for innovation, performance and quality. Sandisk has two facilities recognized by the World Economic Forum as part of the Global Lighthouse Network for advanced 4IR innovations. These facilities were also recognized as Sustainability Lighthouses for breakthroughs in efficient operations. With our global reach, we ensure the global supply chain has access to the Flash memory it needs to keep our world moving forward.

Job Description

An AI Interconnect Architect defines and engineers high-speed networking and communication systems for AI Inference infrastructure which include servers, racks, and chips with a focus on bandwidth, power efficiency, scalability, and optimized transport protocols. Design solutions should take into account interconnect technologies such as PCIe, CXL, co-packaged optics, UALink, Ultra Ethernet, and be able to specify innovative scale-out architectures for optimizing power, cost, and performance.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• System Architecture & Design: Develop architectures for chip-to-chip interconnects and switched fabrics tailored for AI/ML scale-out.
• Performance Optimization: Analyze trade-offs in bandwidth, latency, power, area, and reliability.
• Technology development and standards: Participate in industry standard bodies and contribute/influence/shape the direction of industry specifications.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Work with SoC, package design, and software teams to ensure seamless integration

Qualifications

Required

• Master's or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science.
• 10 - 15years experience developing interconnect technologies including transport and link level protocols, switching fabrics, QoS and reliable communication methods, and Software Defined Networking.
• Familiarity with various fabric topologies such as Fat tree, Leaf-Spine (Clos),Torus, Meshed and their applicability to various workload and system configurations.
• AI Hardware Architecture: Familiarity with GPU/accelerator clusters and data center infrastructure
• Deep, working knowledge of various interconnect technologies and protocols such as PCIe, CXL, NVLink, UALink, Ethernet, Ultra-Ethernet, and serial links.
• Modeling and SimulationL Ability to develop performance models

Additional Information

Sandisk is committed to providing equal opportunities to all applicants and employees and will not discriminate against any applicant or employee based on their race, color, ancestry, religion (including religious dress and grooming standards), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), gender (including a person's gender identity, gender expression, and gender-related appearance and behavior, whether or not stereotypically associated with the person's assigned sex at birth), age, national origin, sexual orientation, medical condition, marital status (including domestic partnership status), physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, protected medical and family care leave, Civil Air Patrol status, military and veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. We also prohibit harassment of any individual on any of the characteristics listed above. Our non-discrimination policy applies to all aspects of employment. We comply with the laws and regulations set forth in the "Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal" poster. Our pay transparency policy is available here.

Sandisk thrives on the power and potential of diversity. As a global company, we believe the most effective way to embrace the diversity of our customers and communities is to mirror it from within. We believe the fusion of various perspectives results in the best outcomes for our employees, our company, our customers, and the world around us. We are committed to an inclusive environment where every individual can thrive through a sense of belonging, respect and contribution.

Sandisk is committed to offering opportunities to applicants with disabilities and ensuring all candidates can successfully navigate our careers website and our hiring process. Please contact us at [e-mail] to advise us of your accommodation request. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.

Based on our experience, we anticipate that the application deadline will 11/03/2026 (3 months from posting), although we reserve the right to close the application process sooner if we hire an applicant for this position before the application deadline. If we are not able to hire someone from this role before the application deadline, we will update this posting with a new anticipated application deadline.

Compensation