Sr. Principal Software Engineer

Cerence AI; United States; Hybrid; USD 185,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Insurance coverage

Paid time off

401K

Equity awards

Remote/hybrid work

Job summary

Cerence AI is seeking a Senior Principal Software Engineer to advance the future of mobility by optimizing ML inference performance across data center, edge, and embedded platforms.

You will own inference runtimes such as vLLM, TensorRT-LLM, llama.cpp, and QAIRT, while pushing quantization and memory optimizations. This role offers remote or hybrid work options and a competitive equity package.

Qualifications

• Proven experience optimizing ML inference performance in production.
• Deep understanding of GPU architecture and memory hierarchies.
• Hands-on experience with CUDA and low-level performance tuning.
• Experience deploying models beyond research environments.

Responsibilities

• Own inference runtimes across data center, edge, and embedded platforms.
• Optimize and deploy high-performance LLM inference pipelines.
• Extend and tune inference engines using custom CUDA kernels.
• Adapt runtimes for constrained and embedded deployment environments.

Skills

ML inference

GPU architecture

CUDA

low-level perf

Tools

vLLM

TensorRT-LLM

llama.cpp

QAIRT

Job description

A Moving Experience. Who is Cerence AI? Cerence AI is the global leader in AI for transportation, specialized in building AI and voice‑powered companions for cars, two‑wheelers, and more that enable people to focus on what matters most. With over 500 million cars shipped with Cerence AI's technology, we partner with leading automakers (such as Volkswagen, Mercedes, Audi, Toyota and many more), mobility providers, and technology companies to power intuitive, integrated experiences that create safer, more connected, and more enjoyable journeys for drivers and passengers alike.

Our Driving Force Our team is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of AI innovation, working around the globe with headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts, USA and 16 other offices across Europe, Asia, and North America. We bring together diverse backgrounds, and varied skill sets with the shared goal of advancing the next generation of transportation user experiences. Our culture is customer‑centric, collaborative, fast‑paced, and fun, with continuous opportunities for learning and development to support your career growth.

Interested in having a significant impact in a dynamic industry with a high‑performing global team? We’re looking for an exceptional Senior Principal Software Engineer who is ready to drive the future of mobility with us!

Job Description:

What You Will Work On

• Optimize and deploy high‑performance LLM inference pipelines
• Own inference runtimes across data center, edge, and embedded platforms
• Push model performance through quantization, kernel fusion, and cache optimization
• Drive latency and throughput improvements that directly impact production products
• Enable efficient, reliable deployment without external vendor dependency

Core Responsibilities

• Inference Engines & Runtime Build deep expertise and ownership of:
• vLLM
• TensorRT‑LLM
• llama.cpp
• QAIRT
• Extend and tune inference engines using custom CUDA kernels
• Adapt runtimes for constrained and embedded deployment environments
• Quantization & Numerical Optimisation Implement and evaluate quantisation strategies: INT8, INT4, FP4, FP8, mixed precision AWQ GPTQ Balance accuracy, latency, memory footprint, and throughput
• KV Cache Optimization Optimize key–value cache performance through:
• Paging prefix caching
• Cache‑aware memory layout design
• Reduce memory pressure while sustaining high throughput
• Latency & Throughput Optimisation Design and tune:
• Batching strategies
• Continuous batching
• Speculative decoding
• Optimize tail latency and tokens/sec under real production traffic patterns

What Success Looks Like

• Models deploy efficiently on edge and embedded devices, not just servers
• Tokens/sec significantly outperform baseline implementations
• End‑to‑end latency is minimized and predictable
• Inference cost per request is materially reduced
• The company is no longer dependent on partners for inference optimization

Required Experience & Skills

Strongly Required

• Proven experience optimizing ML inference performance in production
• Deep understanding of GPU architecture and memory hierarchies
• Hands‑on experience with CUDA and low‑level performance tuning
• Experience deploying models beyond research environments

Critical Technical Skills

• Inference engines: vLLM, TensorRT‑LLM, llama.cpp, QAIRT
• CUDA kernel development and profiling
• Quantisation techniques: INT8/INT4/FP4/FP8, AWQ, GPTQ
• KV cache optimisation and memory layout design
• Latency optimisation: batching, speculative decoding, continuous batching

Common Problems You’ll Be Solving

• Deploy efficiently on edge or embedded targets
• Achieve competitive tokens/sec
• Reduce and stabilize inference latency
• You will be responsible for closing these gaps, creating a major competitive advantage

What we offer

• Salary range $185,000.00 USD - $280,000.00 USD It is not typical for offers to be made at or near the top of the range. The actual salary will be determined based on experience and other job-related factors.
• Annual bonus opportunity
• Insurance coverage (medical, dental, vision, life, and disability)
• Paid time off
• Paid holidays
• Company contribution to the 401K
• Equity awards for certain positions and levels
• Remote and/or hybrid work available depending on the position
• All compensation and benefits are subject to the terms and conditions of the underlying plans or programs, as applicable, and may be amended, terminated, or replaced from time to time.

Cerence Inc. (Nasdaq: CRNC and www.cerence.com) is the global industry leader in creating unique, moving experiences for the automotive world. Spun out from Nuance in October 2019, Cerence is a new, independent company that has quickly gained traction as a leader in the automotive voice assistant space, working with all of the world’s leading automakers – from Ford and Fiat Chrysler to Daimler, Audi and BMW to Geely and SAIC – to transform how a car feels, responds and learns. Its track record is built on more than 20 years of industry experience and leadership and more than 500 million cars on the road today across more than 70 languages. As Cerence looks to the future and continues an ambitious growth agenda, we need someone to join the team and help build the future of voice and AI in cars. This is an exciting opportunity to join Cerence’s passionate, dedicated, global team and be a part of meaningful innovation in a rapidly growing industry.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Cerence is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and to compliance with all federal, state and local laws that prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sex, sex stereotyping, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, citizenship status, sexual orientation, protected military or veteran status, genetic information and other protected classifications. Cerence Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.

• Following workplace security protocols and training programs to familiarize with the ways to maintain a safe workplace.
• Following security procedures to report any suspicious activity.
• Having respect for corporate security procedures to allow those procedures to be effective.
• Adhering to company's compliance and regulations.
• Encouraging to follow a zero tolerance for workplace violence.
• Basic knowledge of information security and data privacy requirements (e.g., how to protect data & how to be handling this data).
• Demonstrative knowledge of information security through internal training programs.

At Cerence AI, we help the world's leading automotive and technology brands leverage AI to create safer, more productive and more joy‑filled brand and user experiences. We're looking for motivated, collaborative individuals who come alive with big challenges and are excited about AI's potential to shape the future of how people experience the world.