Workload / Performance Model Lead

SiFive, Inc.; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 231,444 - 282,876; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare

Retirement plans

Paid time off

Job summary

SiFive, Inc. in Santa Clara is seeking an experienced leader to head the benchmarking and performance infrastructure development team. The successful candidate will focus on creating benchmarks for evaluating CPU and accelerator performance, along with developing effective tools for architecture evaluation.

The role requires solid experience in performance simulation tools and a strong foundation in computer architecture, specifically high-performance designs. Competitive benefits include healthcare, paid time off, and an annual base pay ranging from $231,444 to $282,876.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of direct industry experience with performance simulation tools.
• 5+ years delivering hardware or software products in an engineering team.
• Strong foundation in high-performance CPU designs.

Responsibilities

• Identify and analyze performance for processor/accelerator development.
• Develop innovative workload characterization methods.
• Build and deploy tools for performance evaluation.

Skills

Performance simulation tools

Computer architecture knowledge

Workload characterization

Object-oriented programming

Discrete Event Simulation competency

Education

MS or PhD in Computer Science/Computer Architecture

Tools

Git

FPGA development tools

Job description

Job Description

SiFive, a leader in RISC‑V CPU IPs, is seeking an experienced leader to head benchmarking and performance infrastructure development. The candidate will guide the performance team in creating benchmarks for evaluating CPU and accelerator performance, and develop and deploy the tools necessary for architecture development and evaluation.

Responsibilities

• Identify, prepare (develop or port and set up), and analyze performance for processor/accelerator development.
• Analyze performance bottlenecks in micro‑architecture and software stack.
• Develop innovative methods to characterize workloads on simulators, emulators and/or hardware platforms.
• Develop performance projection methodology for complex workloads.
• Build and deploy efficient tools and infrastructure for performance evaluation.

Requirements

• MS or PhD in Computer Science / Computer Architecture.
• 10+ years of direct industry experience with performance simulation tools—from ISA to SoC/system simulators; from analytical to cycle‑based models; and from bare‑metal environments to virtual machines.
• 5+ years delivering hardware or software products as part of an engineering team.
• Strong foundation in computer architecture of high‑performance out‑of‑order CPU designs.
• Awareness of industry micro‑architectures is a plus.
• Expertise in workload characterization to identify hardware/software performance bottlenecks.
• Proficiency in workload reduction techniques for efficient performance simulation and projection.
• Competency in software engineering best practices to maintain and refactor large object‑oriented codebases.
• Strong object‑oriented programming skills—including encapsulation, class coherency, inheritance, and polymorphism.
• Discrete Event Simulation (DES) competency, especially with DES modeling techniques and best practices.
• Ability to independently analyze performance bottlenecks in micro‑architecture and software stack.
• Awareness of potential security holes is a plus.

Desirable

• Hands‑on expertise with hardware development (RTL/implementation flows, verification/validation, backend flows, FPGA flows) or software development (C/assembly, OS/RTOS, IDEs, compilers/debuggers).
• FPGA debug experience, including using Integrated Logic Analyzer for waveform capture and debugging.
• Familiarity with Git and branching/forking methodologies.

Benefits

Pay and benefits are consistent with SiFive values and applicable law. The base pay range for this role is $231,444.00–$282,876.00, varying by location and dependent on experience and qualifications. In addition to base pay, the role may be eligible for variable/incentive compensation and/or equity. The comprehensive benefits package may include healthcare and retirement plans, paid time off, and more.

Additional Information

This position requires successful background and reference checks and satisfactory proof of right to work in the United States. Employment offers are contingent on compliance with export‑control laws and the Company’s ability to obtain necessary export licenses or approvals.

Equal Opportunity Employer

SiFive is an equal‑opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. As an E‑Verify employer, we use this system to confirm employment eligibility of all new hires in accordance with federal law. All applicants will complete a Form I‑9 upon hire. California residents: see the provided job candidate notice for information on how we handle personal information and privacy rights.