Senior Staff Engineer, AI Software

Samsungsemiconductor; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 189,000 - 301,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Medical/dental/vision benefits

Flexible work options

Job summary

Samsung Semiconductor in San Jose, CA is looking for a leader in AI optimization to drive co-design efforts for software and hardware solutions. You will focus on overcoming memory bottlenecks and optimizing LLM workloads. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in AI infrastructure and possess strong knowledge of memory architecture.

The role offers a competitive salary ranging from $189,000 to $301,000 USD annually along with comprehensive benefits including health care, wellness programs, and flexible work policies.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in the AI industry for Bachelor's, 13+ for Master's, or 10+ for Ph.D.
• Strong experience in high-performance software development for GPUs or other accelerators.
• Hands-on expertise with the PyTorch framework.

Responsibilities

• Lead co-design of software and hardware solutions for AI.
• Analyze and optimize AI workloads for hardware acceleration.
• Collaborate on memory architecture influences.

Skills

AI framework software development

High Performance Computing

PyTorch

Linux development environment

Memory architecture knowledge

Education

Bachelor’s degree with 15+ years or Master’s with 13+ years or Ph.D. with 10+ years of industry experience

Tools

GitHub

Jira

vLLM

Job description

Location

Daily onsite presence at our San Jose, CA office / U.S. headquarters in alignment with our Flexible Work policy.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the co-design of software and hardware solutions that optimize AI model inference performance, with a focus on overcoming memory bottlenecks.
• Analyze and optimize LLM and agentic AI workloads across the full software stack, identifying opportunities for hardware‑aware acceleration.
• Profile and characterize model execution to expose memory wall limitations and guide architectural decisions for HBM and memory‑centric compute.
• Collaborate with hardware teams to influence memory architecture, acceleration strategies, and compute placement based on real workload behavior.
• Develop, optimize, and benchmark inference and serving solutions using frameworks such as PyTorch and vLLM.
• Define best practices and provide technical mentorship across software–hardware co‑design efforts.

What You Bring

• Bachelor’s with 15+ years, or Master’s with 13+ years, or PhD’s with 10+ years of industry experience.
• Strong experience writing high‑performance AI framework software development for GPUs or other accelerators.
• Strong, end‑to‑end understanding of the AI infrastructure, AI software stack, from model definition through deployment and serving.
• Solid understanding of LLM model architectures and workflows, including modern transformer‑based designs.
• Solid understanding of agentic AI architecture and workflows.
• Hands‑on expertise with the PyTorch framework.
• Practical experience with vLLM for high‑throughput model inference and serving.
• Solid understanding of the memory wall problem and its impact on AI system performance.
• Strong knowledge of memory architecture, including High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), and familiarity with memory‑centric acceleration and compute approaches.
• Proficiency working in a Linux development environment.
• Solid command of development tooling, including agentic coding, GitHub and Jira.

Compensation and Benefits

Base Pay Range: $189,000 – $301,000 USD.

Benefits include paid time off, holidays and sick leave, medical/dental/vision, 401k, fertility care or adoption stipend, medical travel support, virtual vet care, on‑demand wellness apps, confidential therapy sessions, onsite café and gym, and flexible work options.

Equal Opportunity Employment Policy

Samsung Semiconductor takes pride in being an equal opportunity workplace dedicated to fostering an environment where all individuals feel valued and empowered to excel, regardless of race, religion, color, age, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, ancestry, genetic information, marital status, national origin, political affiliation, or veteran status. When selecting team members, we prioritize talent and qualities such as humility, kindness, and dedication. We extend comprehensive accommodations throughout our recruiting processes for candidates with disabilities, long‑term conditions, neurodivergent individuals, or those requiring pregnancy‑related support. All candidates scheduled for an interview will receive guidance on requesting accommodations.