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Distinguished Engineer, Power Architecture

NVIDIA

Company websitenvidia.com (NVIDIA, opens in new tab)

Base salary $320,000  to $488,750

Employer-published annual base salary, USD. Advertised base range in Santa Clara, CA

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  • LocationSanta Clara, CA
  • WorkplaceWorkplace not stated
  • Status at last checkSource accepting applications when checked
  • Last checked (1 h ago) · observed since

About this job

Join NVIDIA's Applied Power Architecture team and help define the perf/watt standards of our innovative silicon and systems across many domains. As a Distinguished Engineer, Power Architecture, you'll develop the long-term technical strategy for power architecture. This includes datacenter GPUs, GeForce and client products, automotive (DRIVE), robotics (Jetson, Isaac), and the broader edge-AI portfolio. This role suits a recognized expert who has personally crafted the power architecture of multiple successful silicon generations and is ready to lead the next decade of perf/watt advancement at NVIDIA. This is your chance to join a company that continually expands the possibilities of technology and innovation!

What you'll be doing:

  • Set multi-generation, cross-portfolio power strategy.

  • Own perf/watt across server-, client-, and edge-class platforms.

  • Drive performance-versus-power analysis that influences major silicon trade-offs and product roadmap decisions.

  • Lead silicon and vendor/IP co-architecture.

  • Define new technology frontiers.

  • Architect thermal and system-level power management end-to-end.

  • Drive ML- and workload-aware modeling and post-silicon optimization.

  • Influence across the company and the industry.

  • Develop the next generation of technical leaders.

  • Generate sustained IP and intellectual contribution.

What we need to see:

  • MSEE, MSCE, or PhD or equivalent experience demonstrating significant impact in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.

  • 18+ years of relevant industry and/or academic experience.

  • Demonstrated ownership of power architecture across several successful silicon generations—server-class, client/mobile-class, or thermally-constrained SoC platforms. Took personal responsibility for decisions that significantly developed product outcomes.

  • Deep, applied expertise in the full stack of low-power and energy-efficient design techniques.

  • Authoritative understanding of modern GPU, CPU, and accelerator architectures; high-speed interconnects (NVLink, PCIe, Ethernet, optical, automotive networks); memory subsystems (HBM, LPDDR, on-die SRAM); and the system, OS, runtime, firmware, and workload layers that determine real-world perf/watt.

  • Proven history of developing and implementing power and performance modeling methods, important metrics, and tools widely used across the engineering organization. This includes projections before silicon creation and detailed validation after silicon production.

  • Demonstrated experience defining requirements with — and architecting power solutions across — internal silicon teams and external silicon, IP, foundry, or packaging partners.

Ways to stand out from the crowd:

  • Own the architecture for power and thermal development in a leading GPU, AI accelerator, mobile SoC, automotive SoC, robotics SoC, or large-scale server SoC with significant shipment volume.

  • Experience driving model-to-hardware co-optimization for perception, ML, or graphics workloads on power- and thermally-constrained platforms.

  • Background co-designing silicon with platform-level power delivery and cooling. This ranges from rack- and row-scale liquid or immersion cooling at the datacenter end. It also includes passively cooled and battery-constrained envelopes at the edge.

  • Published research or production work applying ML to power/performance modeling, workload characterization, or DVFS/AVFS strategies at scale.

  • Deep roots in RTL, microarchitecture, or backend implementation that allow you to operate fluently from architectural intent down to build realization with history of mentoring engineers into Principal- and Distinguished-level roles, and of building durable technical communities in power, performance, or architecture.

Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and other objective job-related factors. The expected base salary range for this position is 320,000 USD – 488,750 USD.

You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.

Applications for this job will be accepted at least until November 3, 2026.

This posting is for an existing vacancy. 

NVIDIA uses AI tools in its recruiting processes.

NVIDIA is committed to fostering an inclusive work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. As we highly value diversity in our current and future employees, we do not discriminate (including in our hiring and promotion practices) on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or any other characteristic protected by law.

Source: NVIDIA on Workday · View original posting (opens in new tab)

This range next to 6 other live NVIDIA roles with the nearest advertised base floor
Chart as a table
This range next to 6 other live NVIDIA roles with the nearest advertised base floor
RolePublished base
Distinguished Engineer, Power Architecture (this listing)$320,000 - $488,750
Director, Software Engineering – Cloud Compute and Infrastructure$320,000 - $488,750
Director, Tegra Firmware$320,000 - $488,750
Quantum Product Architect$320,000 - $488,750
Senior Director, ATE Test Development$320K - $483K
Director, FSI Predictive Technology$320,000 - $488,750
Director, Engineering - Autonomous Vehicles$320,000 - $488,750

Same $100K to $400K scale as every card. All NVIDIA roles · How to read the bar

Observed changes

  1. First observed on the employer's board
  2. Began meeting the published-salary criteria
Observed since
Employer-stated posting date
2026-10-30
Where this pay comes from

Location as the employer wrote it: US, CA, Santa Clara

base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and other objective job-related factors. The expected base salary range for this position is 320,000 USD – 488,750 USD.

Method
Employer text, read with fixed rules and re-verified
Checked
Rule set
us-base-v2

The pay passage appears in the employer's own job text. Fixed, deterministic rules located it, and the passage below was checked against the stored copy of the posting.

What we verified

  • The pay figures come from the employer's own listing, quoted exactly above.
  • The pay is an annual base salary in US dollars with a minimum of at least $100,000.
  • The role was publicly listed on the employer's job board when last checked.

We do not verify what the employer will actually offer, whether the employer is still recruiting for the role, or anything beyond what the employer published. Full methodology.