Senior System Software Engineer, RTL-to-GDS Flow Platform

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

Job summary

NVIDIA Corporation in the United States is seeking an experienced software engineer to design and evolve the engineering workflow platform used in chip development, from configuration to validation. You will own end-to-end workflow concepts and collaborate across teams to improve reliability and scale.

The role emphasizes Linux/POSIX proficiency, strong programming (Python, C++, Perl) and scripting, and a track record of migrating legacy tools like Make/Tcl/Python while keeping active projects

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in CS/CE/EE or equivalent experience.
• 12+ years of relevant software engineering experience.
• Production ownership of workflow, build, release, or automation systems.
• Strong Linux and POSIX fundamentals and scripting capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Design the control plane for workflow stages, artifacts, and validation results.
• Model dependencies, manifests, state, retries, and provenance.
• Diagnose and prevent production Linux failures in complex pipelines.
• Modernize legacy Make, Tcl, Perl, Python, shell, and YAML infra while preserving behavior.
• Collaborate with chip-design teams, EDA experts, and infra engineers to improve observability.

Skills

Python

C++

Perl

Shell scripting

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/CE/EE or equivalent

Tools

Make

YAML

JSON

Job description

NVIDIA has been transforming computer graphics, PC gaming, and accelerated computing for more than 25 years. It’s a unique legacy of innovation that’s fueled by great technology—and amazing people. Today, we’re tapping into the unlimited potential of AI to define the next era of computing. An era in which our GPU acts as the brains of computers, robots, and self-driving cars that can understand the world. Doing what’s never been done before takes vision, innovation, and the world’s best talent. As an NVIDIAN, you’ll be immersed in a diverse, supportive environment where everyone is inspired to do their best work. Come join the team and see how you can make a lasting impact on the world.

What does it take to turn chip-design intent into reliable production workflows?

Our Engineering Workflow Platform team builds the user-facing infrastructure touchpoints that help NVIDIA engineers create increasingly complex chips. We connect layered configuration, generated design artifacts, EDA tools, distributed jobs, validation checks, and shared project state. We combine workflow-platform architecture with hands‑on systems engineering to solve challenges that conventional web‑backend and CI/CD platforms do not encounter. Together, we make critical engineering workflows easier to understand, operate, and evolve safely.

What you'll be doing:

• Design the control plane that turns engineering intent and layered configuration into repeatable workflow stages, generated artifacts, tool execution, and validation results.
• Create clear models for dependencies, manifests, workflow state, retries, recovery, provenance, and machine‑readable status.
• Diagnose and prevent production failures involving Linux processes, environment setup, exit codes, shared filesystems, schedulers, partial writes, and stale artifacts.
• Modernize established Make, Tcl, Perl, Python, shell, and YAML infrastructure while preserving behavior for active chip projects.
• Partner with chip‑design teams, EDA experts, and infrastructure engineers to reproduce failures, deliver compatible migrations, and improve workflow observability.

What we need to see:

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience, at least 12 years of relevant software engineering experience. Production ownership of workflow, build, release, developer‑infrastructure, HPC, storage, or engineering‑automation systems with multiple stages, dependencies, and generated outputs. Strong Linux and POSIX fundamentals spanning files, permissions, symbolic links, processes, environment variables, exit codes, logs, and background jobs. Practical programming experience in Python, C++, Perl, or a comparable language, along with shell scripting and familiarity with Make, YAML, JSON, or related infrastructure. Experience designing configuration or state models, debugging production failures, and migrating established systems without disrupting active users.

Ways to stand out from the crowd:

• Semiconductor‑design or EDA workflow experience across RTL, synthesis, place‑and‑route, timing, signoff, ECO, or design handoffs.
• Experience with LSF, Slurm, Grid Engine, shared compute infrastructure, NFS, or another shared filesystem would make an immediate impact.
• Deep ownership of build systems, HPC workflows, release infrastructure, storage platforms, or other artifact‑centered engineering systems would bring valuable perspective.
• Experience creating structured logs, validation results, manifests, provenance records, dashboards, or actionable workflow diagnostics would help us move faster.
• Success modernizing legacy Make, Tcl, Perl, Python, or shell infrastructure while maintaining compatibility, rollback, and reproducibility would set a candidate apart.

Detail you can provide in your cover letter

• Describe one workflow platform or automation system you owned. What were its stages, inputs, outputs, and persistent state?
• Describe a production Linux failure involving a file, process, environment variable, exit code, shared filesystem, or scheduler. What caused it and how did you fix it?
• Describe a migration in which old and new behavior had to remain compatible. Which of Make, Tcl, Perl, Python, shell, LSF, Slurm, and NFS have you used in production? Briefly describe how.

With competitive salaries and a generous benefits package, we are widely considered to be one of the technology world’s most desirable employers. We have some of the most forward‑thinking and hardworking people in the world working for us and, due to unprecedented growth, our exclusive engineering teams are rapidly growing. If you're a creative and autonomous engineer with a real passion for technology, we want to hear from you.

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 14, 2026.

This posting is for an existing vacancy.

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.