Systems Design Engineer (AI, Software)

Socket.dev; San Jose (CA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

AMD seeks an AI Systems Engineer to advance ML workloads on AMD AI accelerators, bridging hardware and software from kernel design to production inference across NPU and GPU platforms.

You will collaborate with compiler, runtime, silicon, and architecture teams, delivering high-performance AI solutions and steering hardware-software co-design efforts in a hybrid San Jose, CA environment.

Qualifications

• Strong software development experience in C/C++ and Python.
• Experience with parallel programming and performance optimization.
• Knowledge of ML inference workloads and common operators.
• Familiarity with AI frameworks and runtimes such as PyTorch, ONNX Runtime, ROCm.

Responsibilities

• Develop and optimize ML operator kernels and dataflow libraries for AMD AI accelerators.
• Profile workloads, identify bottlenecks, and drive optimizations.
• Enable and validate ML models within production inference frameworks and runtimes.
• Collaborate with compiler, runtime, architecture, and silicon teams to deliver high-performance AI solutions.
• Debug and resolve issues spanning kernel implementation, runtime integration, model accuracy, and hardware bring-up.
• Contribute to hardware-software co-design by evaluating architectural tradeoffs.
• Drive innovation in performance methodologies, tooling, and AI system optimization.

Skills

C/C++

Python

Education

Master's or PhD in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science

Tools

MLIR

LLVM

Job description

ADVANCE YOUR CAREER. ADVANCE THE WORLD.

At AMD, we believe technology can change lives for the better. It can heal us, entertain us, and make us more connected, productive, and understanding of the world around us. And we're looking for talent who feel the same: people who want to leave the planet better than they found it, those who don't shy away from humanity's challenges but are determined to help solve them.

AMD is powering the next generation of supercomputing, high-performance computing, cloud, and AI. Whether you're designing next-gen processors, enabling AI breakthroughs, or creating go-to-market plans, every role at AMD contributes to something bigger — technology that moves the world forward.

THE ROLE

AMD is seeking an AI Systems Engineer to help develop and optimize machine learning workloads on next-generation AMD AI accelerators. In this role, you will work at the intersection of hardware and software, designing high-performance ML operator kernels, optimizing dataflow pipelines, and enabling industry-leading AI inference performance across AMD NPU and GPU platforms.

You will collaborate closely with compiler, runtime, silicon, and architecture teams while helping bring cutting-edge AI technologies from concept to production. This role offers full-stack visibility from kernel development and model optimization through hardware validation and silicon bring-up. If you are passionate about AI systems, accelerator architectures, and solving complex performance challenges, this is an opportunity to make a significant impact on products deployed in millions of devices worldwide.

THE PERSON

The ideal candidate is a systems-minded engineer who enjoys tackling complex performance and optimization challenges at the hardware-software boundary. You are naturally curious, thrive in collaborative environments, and are comfortable working across multiple technical domains to debug, analyze, and improve system behavior.

You have a strong foundation in computer architecture and machine learning systems, enjoy working with cross-functional teams, and can translate technical insights into scalable solutions that improve performance, functionality, and product quality.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop and optimize machine learning operator kernels and dataflow libraries for AMD AI accelerators.
• Profile workloads, identify performance bottlenecks, and drive software and system-level optimizations.
• Enable and validate ML models within production inference frameworks and runtime environments.
• Collaborate with compiler, runtime, architecture, and silicon teams to deliver high-performance AI solutions.
• Debug and resolve issues spanning kernel implementation, runtime integration, model accuracy, and hardware bring-up.
• Contribute to hardware-software co-design efforts by evaluating architectural tradeoffs and influencing future accelerator technologies.
• Drive innovation in performance methodologies, benchmarking, tooling, and AI system optimization.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

• Strong software development experience using C/C++ and Python.
• Experience with parallel programming, multithreaded applications, and performance optimization.
• Knowledge of machine learning inference workloads and common operators such as GEMM, convolution, attention, and softmax.
• Familiarity with AI frameworks and runtimes such as PyTorch, ONNX Runtime, ROCm, or similar technologies.
• Understanding of computer architecture, memory hierarchies, cache behavior, and accelerator programming models.
• Experience developing software for GPUs, NPUs, AI accelerators, or other high-performance computing platforms.
• Experience using development, debugging, profiling, and source control tools in Linux environments.
• Familiarity with MLIR, LLVM, compiler technologies, or related software stacks.
• Exposure to quantization techniques, including INT8, FP8, FP16, or BF16 optimization.
• Knowledge of dataflow architectures, systolic arrays, or custom accelerator designs.
• Publications, patents, or demonstrated technical contributions in machine learning systems, computer architecture, or related fields.

ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS

• Master's or PhD in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field preferred.

LOCATION

San Jose, CA

This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

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Benefits offered are described: AMD benefits at a glance.

AMD and its subsidiaries are equal opportunity, inclusive employers and will consider all applicants without regard to age, ancestry, color, marital status, medical condition, mental or physical disability, national origin, race, religion, political and/or third-party affiliation, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We encourage applications from all qualified candidates and will accommodate applicants' needs under the respective laws throughout all stages of the recruitment and selection process.

We may use Artificial Intelligence to help screen, assess or select applicants for this position. AMD's "Responsible AI Policy" is available here.

This posting is for an existing vacancy.