Senior System Software Engineer - GPU Power and Performance Management

NVIDIA Corporation; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 184,000 - 357,000; Full time

Job summary

NVIDIA Corporation is hiring a System Software Engineer to design, develop, and debug production software for GPU power and performance management. You will work at the intersection of hardware architecture, embedded firmware, device drivers, OS, and AI workloads, contributing across the product lifecycle from design to production support.

You will own features across the lifecycle, collaborate with ASIC, firmware, drivers, and data‑center teams, and help deliver high performance,

Qualifications

• Strong C programming and debugging skills.
• Deep understanding of OS fundamentals and device-driver architectures.
• Experience with embedded/real-time software and hardware interfaces.
• Ability to own challenging features end-to-end and drive them to production.

Responsibilities

• Architect, build, and debug GPU power and performance management software (P-states, DVFS).
• Develop real‑time control policies and validate power/performance metrics.
• Collaborate with architecture, firmware, and hardware teams on interfaces.
• Lead cross‑functional issue resolution across software and hardware.

Skills

C programming

OS fundamentals

Device drivers

Concurrency

Interrupt handling

Hardware programming

Debug complex issues

Production software

Education

BS or MS in CS/CE/EE or related field

Job description

NVIDIA is redefining accelerated computing and powering the next era of artificial intelligence. Our data-center platforms bring together GPUs, CPUs, networking, systems, and software to solve some of the world’s most exciting computing problems. We are looking for a System Software Engineer to join NVIDIA’s GPU Performance and Power Management Software team. You will help design, develop, and debug production software for performance states (P-states) and Power Management Controllers. Your work will also support dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) and power-management technologies for next‑generation data‑center GPUs. You will work at the intersection of hardware architecture, embedded firmware, device drivers, operating systems, and AI workloads. In this role, you will contribute across the product lifecycle, including design, pre‑silicon development, validation, silicon bring‑up, and production support. This is a great opportunity to build expertise in GPU power and performance software while contributing to products that deliver leading performance, energy efficiency, and reliability.

What You Will Be Doing:

Architect, build, implement, and debug GPU power and performance management software, with emphasis on P‑state management and DVFS. Develop control policies, mechanisms, and real‑time software that optimize GPU performance, power, thermals, and energy efficiency KPIs under demanding data‑center workloads. Own focus area and drive features across the full product lifecycle, including requirements, architecture, implementation, pre‑silicon validation, silicon bring‑up, productization, and production support. Collaborate with GPU architects and hardware designers to define hardware‑software interfaces and shape the power‑management capabilities of next‑generation processors. Analyze complex interactions among workloads, clocks, voltages, power limits, thermals, telemetry, and system‑level policies. Lead investigation and resolution for complex power, performance, stability, and reliability issues spanning firmware, drivers, hardware, and platform software. Develop validation strategies and automation for functional correctness, transition latency, performance‑per‑watt, and robustness across operating conditions. Build clear architecture, interface, and feature specifications for new power and performance management capabilities. Partner effectively with distributed teams across architecture, ASIC, firmware, drivers, validation, platform, and data‑center systems. Influence next generation system software by building internal scalable architecture frameworks.

What We Need to See:

BS or MS degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field—or equivalent experience. 8+ years of extensive industry experience crafting system software, embedded firmware, device drivers, or other hardware‑related production software. Strong programming skills in C, including experience developing, debugging, and maintaining complex low‑level software. Deep understanding of operating‑system fundamentals, device‑driver architecture, embedded or real‑time software, concurrency, interrupt handling, and hardware programming. Experience interpreting hardware specifications and developing software interfaces for registers, telemetry, interrupts, and control mechanisms. Strong understanding of computer architecture and hardware‑software interactions. Proven ability to independently debug complex, cross‑layer problems across software and hardware. Demonstrated ability to own technically challenging features or subsystems and drive them to production in collaboration with cross‑functional teams. Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills.

Ways to Stand Out from the Crowd:

• Hands‑on experience with GPU, CPU, accelerator, or SoC power and performance management.
• Experience crafting or implementing P‑state selection, DVFS, clock‑control, voltage‑control, power‑capping, thermal‑management, throttling, or workload‑aware control policies.
• Experience developing real‑time feedback controllers, including reasoning about stability, responsiveness, hysteresis, latency, and noise telemetry.
• Experience building validation, observability, and automation infrastructure for low‑level software features.
• Understanding of electrical and platform considerations such as voltage‑frequency relationships, transient power, thermal limits, power delivery, and system‑level power budgets.
• Widely considered to be one of the technology world’s most desirable employers, NVIDIA offers highly competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package.
• As you plan your future, see what we can offer to you and your family www.nvidiabenefits.com

Salary & Benefits:

Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and the pay of employees in similar positions. The base salary range is 184,000 USD - 287,500 USD for Level 4, and 224,000 USD - 356,500 USD for Level 5. You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.

Applications for this job will be accepted at least until September 26, 2026.

About NVIDIA:

NVIDIA uses AI tools in its recruiting processes. NVIDIA is committed to fostering an inclusive work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. As we highly value diversity in our current and future employees, we do not discriminate (including in our hiring and promotion practices) on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or any other characteristic protected by law. NVIDIA pioneered accelerated computing. Today, our AI infrastructure powers global intelligence, transforming every industry. Learn more about NVIDIA.