Senior Principal Machine Learning Engineer

SambaNovaSystems; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 220,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health insurance

HSA

Well-being benefits

Job summary

SambaNova Systems is seeking a Senior Principal ML Engineer to design, develop, and optimize LLM-powered models on our RDU hardware, bridging research and production for enterprise-grade deployments.

You will define technical strategy, lead cross-functional co-design with compiler, systems, and hardware teams, and mentor engineers to translate cutting-edge ML techniques into scalable customer-facing solutions like SambaStack and SambaCloud.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of industry experience in machine learning engineering with leadership.
• Deep expertise in LLM training, fine-tuning, inference optimization, and evaluation at scale.
• Strong background in ML algorithms, deep learning architectures, and modern training methodologies.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional technical efforts and mentor senior engineers.
• Proven track record of independently scoping and delivering high-complexity, high-ambiguity technical projects.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive technical strategy for ML model development, training pipelines, and inference systems on SambaNova's RDU and broader hardware ecosystem.
• Lead hardware-software co-design with compiler, systems, and hardware teams—shaping architectural decisions that unlock performance at scale.
• Identify, evaluate, and champion state-of-the-art ML techniques for adoption on reconfigurable dataflow architectures.
• Serve as the senior technical voice in critical design reviews and roadmaps.
• Mentor and develop principal and senior ML engineers, elevating the technical capabilities of the organization.
• Partner with product and engineering leadership to translate ML capabilities into scalable, customer-facing solutions in SambaStack and SambaCloud.
• Drive resolution of the most complex, ambiguous technical challenges.

Skills

ML leadership

LLM training

Inference optimization

Cross-functional leadership

Research to production

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

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.

Overview

As a Senior Principal Machine Learning Engineer, you will be responsible for designing, developing, and optimizing machine learning models—with a focus on cutting-edge Large Language Models (LLMs)—to run efficiently on SambaNova's specialized hardware architecture, including the RDU. This critical role bridges advanced LLM research and practical deployment, involving the development of model architectures, improving training and inference efficiency, and collaborating on hardware-software co-design with compiler, systems, and hardware teams. The engineer will also act as the ML expert, guiding the integration of LLM solutions into production systems and customer-facing products like SambaStack and SambaCloud, with work spanning the full lifecycle from training and inference to evaluation and data curation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field; advanced degree (MS or PhD) strongly preferred
• 8+ years of industry experience in machine learning engineering, with a demonstrated record of technical leadership on large-scale or novel ML systems
• Deep expertise in LLM training, fine-tuning, inference optimization, and evaluation at scale
• Strong background in ML algorithms, deep learning architectures, and modern training methodologies, with the ability to critically evaluate and advance the state of the art
• Demonstrated ability to lead and align cross-functional technical efforts, mentor senior engineers, and influence organizational direction without direct management authority
• Track record of independently scoping and delivering high-complexity, high-ambiguity technical projects

Key responsibilities

• Define and drive technical strategy for ML model development, training pipelines, and inference systems on SambaNova's RDU and broader hardware ecosystem
• Lead hardware-software co-design efforts in close collaboration with compiler, systems, and hardware teams—shaping architectural decisions that unlock performance at scale
• Identify, evaluate, and champion state-of-the-art ML techniques (e.g., speculative decoding, reinforcement learning, mixture-of-experts, long-context modeling) for adoption and adaptation on reconfigurable dataflow architectures
• Serve as the senior technical voice in critical design reviews, architectural decisions, and cross-functional planning—providing guidance that influences product and engineering roadmaps
• Mentor and develop principal and senior ML engineers, elevating the technical capabilities of the organization through active collaboration, design feedback, and knowledge transfer
• Partner with product and engineering leadership to translate complex ML capabilities into scalable, customer-facing solutions in SambaStack and SambaCloud
• Drive resolution of the most complex, ambiguous technical challenges—including those that span organizational boundaries or require novel approaches not yet established in the field

Base Salary Range: $220,000—$300,000 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 and 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 in addition to 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.