Senior Principal Software Engineer

Oracle; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 96,000 - 252,000; Full time

Job summary

Oracle is seeking a Senior Principal Software Engineer to join their Cloud Infrastructure team in Seattle. This role involves developing cutting-edge AI hardware solutions and optimizing virtualization platforms. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in C/C++ programming and system-level architecture, contributing to innovative cloud technologies.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) Savings and Investment Plan with company match

Flexible vacation policy

Paid parental leave

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in software development.
• Proven expertise in system-level programming.
• Strong understanding of Linux Kernel architecture.

Responsibilities

• Architect and optimize hypervisor technologies for scalability.
• Develop and maintain kernel modules and low-level hardware drivers.
• Implement advanced security features in virtualization.

Skills

C/C++ programming

System-level programming

Linux Kernel architecture

Hypervisor technologies

Virtualization concepts

Performance debugging tools

Distributed systems

Education

BS or MS in Computer Science

Tools

GDB

perf

ftrace

strace

Job description

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Job Description

At Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), we build the future of the cloud for Enterprises as a diverse team of fellow creators and inventors. We act with the speed and attitude of a start-up, with the scale and customer-focus of the leading enterprise software company in the world.

You are the builder here. We are at the forefront of AI innovation, exploring the next generation of AI accelerators and hardware solutions. As part of our growing team, you will be involved in working on the development, optimization, and enhancement of our virtualization platforms and kernel subsystems. You will collaborate with architects, systems engineers, and DevOps teams to design and implement robust, high-performance solutions that scale across large, distributed systems.

You will be part of a team of smart, motivated, and diverse people and given the autonomy and support to do your best work. It is a dynamic and flexible workplace where you’ll belong and be encouraged.

As a Senior Principal Software Engineer / Consulting Member of Technical Staff, you will be responsible for the evaluation, prototyping, and testing of emerging AI accelerators, including custom-designed AI chips and systems. You will work with the latest AI hardware architectures, benchmark their performance, and collaborate with software engineers to ensure tight integration with AI workloads. You’ll have a direct impact on shaping the future of AI hardware for machine learning and deep learning applications.

Career Level - IC5

Responsibilities

• Architect, develop, and optimize state-of-the-art hypervisor technologies (e.g., KVM, Xen, or custom-built hypervisors) for high scalability and low-latency performance.
• Implement key virtualization features, including live migration, fault tolerance, and resource management in distributed environments.
• Develop, test, and maintain kernel modules, system calls, and low-level hardware drivers.
• Ensure seamless integration of virtualization technologies with host kernel subsystems to achieve optimal resource management and stability.
• Identify performance bottlenecks and work to optimize both hypervisor and kernel subsystems, focusing on CPU scheduling, memory allocation, I/O, and network throughput.
• Use profiling tools (e.g., perf, ftrace, sysstat, GDB) to diagnose and solve complex performance issues in virtualized environments.
• Work closely with security teams to implement advanced security features such as virtual machine isolation, secure boot, and hardware-level encryption.
• Address emerging threats in the virtualization space, ensuring the integrity and safety of systems in multi-tenant environments.

Basic Qualifications

• BS or MS degree in Computer Science or relevant technical field involving coding or equivalent practical experience.
• 10+ years of total experience in software development.
• Proven expertise in C/C++ programming with a focus on system-level programming.
• Strong understanding of the Linux Kernel architecture, kernel modules, and low-level system internals.
• Experience with hypervisor technologies (e.g., KVM, Xen, VMware) and virtual machine management.
• Solid understanding of virtualization concepts such as CPU, memory, and I/O virtualization.
• Proficiency in using performance and debugging tools (e.g., gdb, perf, ftrace, strace).
• Experience in designing and optimizing highly concurrent, distributed systems, with a focus on low-latency and high-throughput environments.
• Deep knowledge of operating systems and how they interact with hardware components (e.g., CPU, memory, and networking).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience as technical lead on a large scale cloud service.
• Hands-on experience developing and maintaining services on a public cloud platform (e.g., AWS, Azure, Oracle).
• Experience with QEMU, libvirt, or other tools used for managing virtual machines.
• Familiarity with containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) and container-based virtualization.
• Contributions to open-source projects, particularly those related to virtualization or the Linux Kernel.

Qualifications

Disclaimer:

Certain US customer or client-facing roles may be required to comply with applicable requirements, such as immunization and occupational health mandates.

Range and benefit information provided in this posting are specific to the stated locations only.

US: Hiring Range in USD from: $96,800 - $251,600 per year. May be eligible for bonus, equity, and compensation deferral.

Oracle maintains broad salary ranges for its roles in order to account for variations in knowledge, skills, experience, market conditions and locations, as well as reflect Oracle’s differing products, industries and lines of business.

Candidates are typically placed into the range based on the preceding factors as well as internal peer equity.

Oracle US offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes the following:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance, including expert medical opinion.
• Short term disability and long term disability.
• Life insurance and AD&D.
• Supplemental life insurance (Employee/Spouse/Child).
• Health care and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts.
• Pre-tax commuter and parking benefits.
• 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan with company match.
• Paid time off: Flexible Vacation is provided to all eligible employees assigned to a salaried (non-overtime eligible) position. Accrued Vacation is provided to all other employees eligible for vacation benefits. For employees working at least 35 hours per week, the vacation accrual rate is 13 days annually for the first three years of employment and 18 days annually for subsequent years of employment. Vacation accrual is prorated for employees working between 20 and 34 hours per week. Employees working fewer than 20 hours per week are not eligible for vacation.
• 11 paid holidays.
• Paid sick leave: 72 hours of paid sick leave upon date of hire. Refreshes each calendar year. Unused balance will carry over each year up to a maximum cap of 112 hours.
• Paid parental leave.
• Adoption assistance.
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
• Financial planning and group legal.
• Voluntary benefits including auto, homeowner and pet insurance.

The role will generally accept applications for at least three calendar days from the posting date or as long as the job remains posted.

About Us

As a world leader in cloud solutions, Oracle uses tomorrow’s technology to tackle today’s challenges. We’ve partnered with industry-leaders in almost every sector—and continue to thrive after 40+ years of change by operating with integrity.

We know that true innovation starts when everyone is empowered to contribute. That’s why we’re committed to growing an inclusive workforce that promotes opportunities for all.

Oracle careers open the door to global opportunities where work-life balance flourishes. We offer competitive benefits based on parity and consistency and support our people with flexible medical, life insurance, and retirement options. We also encourage employees to give back to their communities through our volunteer programs.

We’re committed to including people with disabilities at all stages of the employment process. If you require accessibility assistance or accommodation for a disability at any point, let us know by emailing [e-mail] or by calling [phone] in the United States.

Oracle is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and protected veterans’ status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Oracle will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records pursuant to applicable law.