Staff Engineer, SSD Storage and Systems Architecture

Samsung Semiconductor Inc.; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 163,000 - 253,000; Full time

Job summary

Samsung Semiconductor seeks an industry‑leading SSD Storage and System Architect to design next‑generation Enterprise and DC storage architectures optimized for AI workloads. The role emphasizes end‑to‑end system design, FTL optimization, and hardware‑software co‑design with Samsung controllers and CXL technologies.

Daily onsite in San Jose with 10% travel, collaborating with R&D and external hyperscale partners to accelerate AI deployment through advanced storage paradigms and innovative IP

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical field with 10+ years of storage system architecture experience.
• Experience with NAND flash, SSD architecture, and AI/ML data pipelines is required.
• Proven track record of architectural leadership or open-source contributions allowed.
• Familiarity with OCP Datacenter NVMe SSD specs and HPC/GPU‑accelerated datacenters.
• Deep knowledge of PCIe/NVMe, GVDS, FDP, ZNS, and enterprise interfaces.

Responsibilities

• Define and model enterprise/DC SSD architectures optimized for AI data loaders and high-burst writes.
• Translate hardware and controller constraints into firmware architectures for SSD systems.
• Architect features for hyperscaler AI infrastructure and Azure/Macebook-like platforms.
• Collaborate with ASIC, firmware, and validation teams to resolve bottlenecks.
• Develop architectural simulators or FPGA prototypes for AI storage features.
• Align architectural directions with industry trends and open-source ecosystems.
• Drive foundational patents for AI storage optimization and near-data processing.
• Co-design storage architectures with AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft, and Meta.

Skills

System-level architecture

AI/ML storage pipelines

PCIe/NVMe knowledge

Cross-functional leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science

Master's degree or PhD with relevant experience

Tools

NVMe

CXL

FPGA

Job description

Please Note:

To provide the best candidate experience amidst our high application volumes, each candidate is limited to 10 applications across all open jobs within a 6-month period.

Advancing the World's Technology Together

Our technology solutions power the tools you use every day--including smartphones, electric vehicles, hyperscale data centers, IoT devices, and so much more. Here, you'll have an opportunity to be part of a global leader whose innovative designs are pushing the boundaries of what's possible and powering the future.

We believe innovation and growth are driven by an inclusive culture and a diverse workforce. We're dedicated to empowering people to be their true selves. Together, we're building a better tomorrow for our employees, customers, partners, and communities.

Samsung Semiconductor is seeking an industry‑leading SSD Storage and System Architect with recognized technical influence to design and define our next‑generation Enterprise, Datacenter (DC), and AI‑optimized storage architectures. As AI/ML workloads explode, storage has become the primary bottleneck for data ingestion, checkpointing, and GPU utilization. This role focuses on the end‑to‑end design of high‑performance storage systems, optimization of flash translation layers (FTL), and hardware‑software co‑design engineered specifically to accelerate AI training and inference. You will leverage your deep domain expertise to align system architecture with major hyperscale cloud vendor AI clusters while directly bridging the gap with Samsung's internal R&D teams to maximize the competitive edge, silicon efficiency, and performance synergy of Samsung's cutting‑edge memory, CXL, and controller solutions.

Location: Daily onsite presence at our San Jose headquarters in alignment with our Flexible Work policy with 10% of domestic travel.

Reports to: Principal Engineer, R&D Product Development Planning

What You'll Do

• AI‑Optimized Architecture Design: Define and model enterprise/DC SSD architectures optimized for massive parallel read paths required by AI data loaders (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow) and high‑burst write paths for AI model checkpointing.
• Samsung Product Integration: Translate complex hardware, CXL, and controller constraints into optimized firmware architectures for Samsung's enterprise SSD controller, FTL, and NAND flash subsystems.
• Cloud Infrastructure Alignment: Architect features tailored for hyperscaler AI infrastructure, matching specifications like Microsoft's Azure AI Cloud storage architectures and Meta's next‑generation GPU‑accelerated storage platforms.
• HW/FW Co‑Design: Collaborate closely with ASIC design, firmware development, and validation teams to resolve cross‑domain architectural bottlenecks in ultra‑low latency environments.
• Technology Prototyping: Develop architectural simulators or FPGA prototypes to evaluate next‑generation storage features, AI caching algorithms, and host‑managed storage paradigms.
• Industry Influence & Innovation: Leverage an established technical network to align emerging system architectures with broader storage industry trends, open‑source AI ecosystems, and storage standards (NVMe, OCP, SNIA).
• Strategic IP Creation: Drive the creation of foundational architectural patents in the domains of AI storage optimization and near‑data processing to protect Samsung's system‑level intellectual property.
• Hyperscale AI Engagement: Jointly architect next‑generation AI datacenter deployment models (e.g., custom pooling, disaggregated storage, GPUDirect Storage [GDS] integrations, and Ethernet‑attached SSDs) directly with lead architects from AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft, and Meta.
• Advanced Feature Pioneering: Lead the architectural definition of advanced storage paradigms such as FDP (Flexible Data Placement), ZNS (Zoned Namespaces), and computational storage specifically tailored to offload AI data‑preprocessing tasks.

What You Bring

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field with 10+ years experience, or a Master's degree with 8+ years experience, or a PhD with 5+ years experience.
• Minimum of 10+ years of direct experience in storage system architecture, including foundational hands‑on experience with legacy HDD system architecture and caching algorithms alongside modern NAND flash, SSD architecture, and AI/ML data pipeline storage.
• Industry Influence: Verified track record of architectural leadership, technical contributions to open‑source storage/AI projects, or technical influence within the broader storage ecosystem.
• Hyperscaler & AI Infrastructure Familiarity: Proven experience architecting or deploying storage systems that satisfy OCP Datacenter NVMe SSD Specifications and scale seamlessly within high‑performance computing (HPC) or GPU‑accelerated hyperscale datacenter environments.
• Protocol & Domain Mastery: Deep technical knowledge of PCIe/NVMe protocols, specialized enterprise features like GPUDirect Storage (GDS), FDP, ZNS, SSD controller internal architectures, and enterprise interfaces (NVMe‑oF, CXL, SAS/SATA/SCSI).
• Samsung Portfolio Synergy: Ability to quickly master and leverage Samsung's proprietary controller capabilities, vertical NAND (V‑NAND) characteristics, CXL innovations, and DRAM caching to maximize architectural efficiency for AI workloads.
• Communication Skills: Exceptional written and verbal English communication skills, with a proven ability to pitch complex architectural designs, author technical specs, and build consensus across multi‑disciplinary global teams.

Key Competencies

• System‑Level Architecture Thinking: Ability to evaluate storage as part of the complete system architecture, considering compute, memory, interconnect, networking, local storage, and shared storage together.
• Workload‑to‑Requirement Translation: Ability to translate real application and AI workload behavior into clear storage architecture and SSD product requirements.
• Performance & Bottleneck Analysis: Ability to identify end‑to‑end system bottlenecks and determine whether performance limitations originate from compute, memory, PCIe fabric, software stack, or storage.
• Storage Hierarchy Design: Ability to define optimal data placement and tiering across memory, cache, local NVMe, shared storage, and capacity tiers based on workload characteristics.
• Architecture Trade‑off Management: Ability to balance performance, latency, capacity, endurance, power, thermal, reliability, scalability, and cost at the system level.
• Future Architecture Development: Ability to identify emerging storage architecture needs and propose new system and SSD concepts for next‑generation AI and data center workloads.
• Cross‑Layer Problem Solving: Ability to analyze complex issues across application, system software, platform hardware, and storage boundaries and drive architectural solutions rather than point fixes.
• Technical Leadership & Decision Making: Ability to establish architectural direction, challenge assumptions, evaluate alternatives, and drive technical decisions across engineering and product teams.

What We Offer

The pay range below is for all roles at this level across all US locations and functions. Paywithin this range varies by work locationand may also depend on job‑related knowledge, skills,and experience. We also offer incentive opportunities that reward employees based on individual and company performance.

This is in addition to our diverse package of benefits centered around the wellbeing of our employees and their loved ones. In addition to the usual Medical/Dental/Vision/401k, our inclusive rewards plan empowers our people to care for their whole selves. An investment in your future is an investment in ours.

Give Back With a charitable giving match and frequent opportunities to get involved, we take an active role in supporting the community.

Enjoy Time Away You'll start with 4+ weeks of paid time off a year, plus holidays and sick leave, to rest and recharge.

Care for Family Whatever family means to you, we want to support you along the way-including a stipend for fertility care or adoption, medical travel support, and virtual vet care for your fur babies.

Prioritize Emotional Wellness With on-demand apps and free confidential therapy sessions, you'll have support no matter where you are.

Stay Fit Eating well and being active are important parts of a healthy life. Our onsite Cafe and gym, plus virtual classes, make it easier.

Embrace Flexibility Benefits are best when you have the space to use them. That's why we facilitate a flexible environment so you can find the right balance for you.

Base Pay Range

$163,000—$253,000 USD

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.

Our Commitment to Innovation and Fairness

At Samsung Semiconductor, we use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in the recruitment process to enhance efficiency. However, AI is used as a support tool, and it is a final decision‑maker. All hiring decisions are made by our human recruiting team and hiring managers to ensure all candidates were evaluated fairly and holistically.

Recruiting Agency Policy

We do not accept unsolicited resumes. Only authorized recruitment agencies that have a current and valid agreement with Samsung Semiconductor, Inc. are permitted to submit resumes for any job openings.

Applicant AI Use Policy

At Samsung Semiconductor, we support innovation and technology. However, to ensure a fair and authentic assessment, we ask that candidates rely on their own knowledge and skills throughout the process. AI tools may