Systems Performance Architect

Apple Inc.; Cupertino (CA); On-site; USD 147,400 - 272,100; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical and dental coverage

Retirement benefits

Discounted products and services

Educational expense reimbursement

Discretionary bonuses or commission payments

Job summary

Apple Inc. is seeking a Performance Architect to join their System Performance Architecture team in Cupertino, California. This multifaceted role involves developing performance models, analyzing workloads, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to drive efficiency in Apple Silicon platforms.

The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering, along with a minimum of 3 years of experience in computer architecture. Strong skills in Python and C++ are essential for this position.

At Apple, competitive compensation includes a base pay range of $147,400 to $272,100, with other benefits such as stock options and comprehensive medical coverage.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years of experience in Computer Architecture or performance analysis.
• Understanding of CPU/GPU/NPU microarchitecture concepts.
• Expert in performance modeling and analysis.
• Experience with workload characterization tools.

Responsibilities

• Analyze key applications and benchmarks for performance.
• Distill system interactions into performance models.
• Develop tools for performance bottleneck analysis.
• Collaborate with software teams to understand trends.

Skills

Python scripting

C++ coding

Performance analysis

Computer Architecture

Workload characterization

Education

Bachelors Degree in EE or Computer Engineering

Masters Degree in EE/Computer Engineering

Tools

Hardware performance counters

Instruction tracers

Profilers

GPU APIs

OpenGL

DirectX

Metal

Job description

Cupertino, California, United States Hardware

Imagine what you could do here. At Apple, new ideas have a way of becoming products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. Every single day, people do amazing things at Apple! Do you want to impact billions of users by developing an extraordinary product with a prime focus on accuracy, understandability, and performance of the product? Dynamic, Inspiring people and Innovative technologies are the norm here.The System Performance Architecture team is responsible for all aspects of performance spanning hardware (CPU, GPU, DRAM, storage), software (OS, drivers, applications), and other system characteristics (thermals, power, acoustics). This spans performance modeling, guiding architecture tradeoffs, performance verification, performance debug, and workload characterization.Our team is collaborative, creative and passionate about what we do and the value we add in future product designs.Come join us!

Description

We have an outstanding opportunity for a Performance Architect to contribute to the characterization and optimization of future Apple Silicon platforms. This position is a multi-disciplinary engineering role encompassing computer system design, workload analysis, and performance modeling. The candidate will need the skills to dissect complex workloads (specifically AI and ML), identify architectural bottlenecks, and influence the definition of our next-generation SoCs to advance our products' performance, power, and thermal efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Workload Characterization: Analyzing key applications and benchmarks to understand their behavior on current Apple Silicon hardware. Identifying instruction mix, memory access patterns, and compute requirements.
• Performance Modeling: Distilling key system interactions into high-level performance models to project performance for future microarchitectures.
• Trace & Tool Development: Defining and guiding new methodologies for capturing representative workload traces and developing analysis tools to visualize performance bottlenecks.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Interacting with OS, Compiler, and ML software teams to understand future software trends and guide hardware trade-offs.
• Validation: Correlating performance models against silicon measurements to continually improve accuracy.
• Debug: Assisting with complex performance debug activities on pre-silicon and post-silicon platforms.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelors Degree in EE or Computer Engineering and minimum 3 years of experience in Computer Architecture, performance analysis, or hardware modeling
• Understanding of CPU/GPU/NPU microarchitecture concepts (pipelines, caches, coherence, etc.)
• Experience in performance analysis and modeling
• Expert in Python scripting /C++ coding Skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Masters Degree in EE/Computer Engineering or equivalent of relevant working experience is preferred
• Experience with workload characterization tools (e.g., hardware performance counters, instruction tracers, profilers)
• Experience with GPU APIs, OpenGL, OpenCL, DirectX, Metal.
• Expertise in one or more focused areas (CPU/GPU, System Architecture, Compiler/SW Stack). Areas could include core/shader micro-architecture, texture pipeline, caching, or memory subsystem design for the SoC. System Areas examples could include IO, Storage, or DRAM Subsystem.
• Exposure to modeling in constrained environments (ie under thermal, power delivery, power management constraints)
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences across hardware and software teams

At Apple, base pay is one part of our total compensation package and is determined within a range. This provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. The base pay range for this role is between $147,400 and $272,100, and your base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.

Apple employees also have the opportunity to become an Apple shareholder through participation in Apple’s discretionary employee stock programs. Apple employees are eligible for discretionary restricted stock unit awards, and can purchase Apple stock at a discount if voluntarily participating in Apple’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You’ll also receive benefits including: Comprehensive medical and dental coverage, retirement benefits, a range of discounted products and free services, and for formal education related to advancing your career at Apple, reimbursement for certain educational expenses — including tuition. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation. Learn more about Apple Benefits.

Note: Apple benefit, compensation and employee stock programs are subject to eligibility requirements and other terms of the applicable plan or program.

Apple is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. We seek to promote equal opportunity for all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, Veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. Learn more about your EEO rights as an applicant.

At Apple, we believe accessibility is a fundamental human right. You’ll find that idea reflected in everything here — in our culture, our benefits and our digital tools. By welcoming as many perspectives as possible, we help you build a career where you feel like you belong.

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