Lead SDE C/C++ Hardware/Software Co-Design, Machine Learning Acceleration Systems
Company websiteamazon.com (Amazon, opens in new tab)
Base salary $193,300 to $261,500
Employer-published annual base salary, USD. Advertised base range in Cupertino, CA +1 more
You apply on the employer's own site. Six Figure Work does not handle applications.
- LocationCupertino, CA +1 more
- WorkplaceWorkplace not stated
- Status at last checkSource accepting applications when checked
- Last checked (3 h ago) · observed since
All places named
- Cupertino, CA
- San Diego, CA
About this job
Annapurna Labs stands at the forefront of hardware/software co-design, leading innovation not just within Amazon Web Services (AWS) but across the entire industry. We design and build every component of our hardware and software to create best-in-class machine learning products that accelerate customer workloads through industry leading hardware using our custom silicon solutions. If you're passionate about building the highest-performing, hardware-accelerated Machine Learning systems and want to be part of the entire journey from pre- through post-silicon development, Annapurna Labs offers an exceptional career opportunity. Join us in shaping the future of AI acceleration
At the heart of AWS Machine Learning servers reside our custom Amazon-designed silicon that powers next-generation machine learning capabilities for our customers. We're seeking an experienced C/C++ engineer to join our embedded software team, where you'll develop bare metal firmware that drives neural network model execution across our custom ASIC-based ML Accelerator chips.
Working at the intersection of hardware and software, you'll collaborate closely with our architecture and design teams to design and implement firmware and custom hardware that enables machine learning within our accelerator chips. Our mission is ambitious: to democratize access to industry-leading ML infrastructure and make deep learning capabilities accessible to everyday software developers. From the ground up, you'll help design and build the foundation that makes this vision possible.
The Annapurna Labs team operates with the agility and culture of a startup, but with the full weight of Amazon behind us and we invite you visit the link below for a glimpse inside our labs to see exactly the incredible technology and people you will work with at Annapurna Labs!
https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/aws/take-a-look-inside-the-lab-where-aws-makes-custom-chips
This is a fast-paced, challenging position, where you'll work with thought-leaders in multiple technology areas. You'll have high standards for yourself and everyone you work with, and you'll be constantly looking for ways to improve our products' performance, quality, and cost. We're searching for individuals who want to reach beyond what is possible today and change an industry.
No prior ML knowledge is required for this role and you will learn about the inner workings of ML and our custom ML accelerators as part of your onboarding.
Key job responsibilities
- Applying Software/Hardware co-design principles
- Embedded software design, implementation, testing, debugging and performance improvements
- Test suite and infrastructure design
- Owning the design and final implementation of maintainable, documented and well tested software
- Close collaboration with RTL designers, design verification engineers, and other software teams
- Team tech lead for best practices, computer architecture and software design choices
- Mentor, coach and set technical direction for other software Engineers
Basic Qualifications
- 7+ years of programming with at least one software programming language experience
- 7+ years of full software development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, and operations experience
- 5+ years of leading design or architecture (design patterns, reliability and scaling) of new and existing systems experience
- Experience in embedded development in C/C++
- Experience as a mentor, tech lead or leading an engineering team
Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in computer science or equivalent
- Experience writing firmware or bare metal software using C/C++
- Experience in Hardware/Software co-design
- Experience with Hardware-In-The-Loop testing
- Background in Computer Architecture and Design
Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.
Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.
The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.
USA, CA, Cupertino - 193,300.00 - 261,500.00 USD annually
Source: Amazon · View original posting (opens in new tab)
Pay in context
This role's base floor ($193,300) is above 53% of the 1,501 Data & ML roles in California listed on this site; 7 others list the same floor. Their median floor is $189,000; the middle half runs from $159,200 to $229,900.
Only jobs on this site count, and each one publishes a base salary of $100,000 or more, so this compares six-figure jobs with each other, not with the whole market. Computed Nov 6, 2026.
This listingLead SDE C/C++ Hardware/Software Co-Design, Machine Learning Acceleration Systems$193,300 to $261,500
Sr. Software Development Engineer, EDS Device Software$193,300 to $261,500
Senior Software Development Engineer, EC2 Nitro Team$193,300 to $261,500
Sr. Machine Learning Engineer, AGI$193,300 to $261,500
Sr. Machine Learning Engineer, FAI$193,300 to $261,500
Sr. Machine Learning - Compiler Engineer III, AWS Neuron, Annapurna Labs$193,300 to $261,500
Sr. Software Engineer- AI/ML, AWS Neuron Distributed Training$193,300 to $261,500
Chart as a table
| Role | Published base |
|---|---|
| Lead SDE C/C++ Hardware/Software Co-Design, Machine Learning Acceleration Systems (this listing) | $193,300 - $261,500 |
| Sr. Software Development Engineer, EDS Device Software | $193,300 - $261,500 |
| Senior Software Development Engineer, EC2 Nitro Team | $193,300 - $261,500 |
| Sr. Machine Learning Engineer, AGI | $193,300 - $261,500 |
| Sr. Machine Learning Engineer, FAI | $193,300 - $261,500 |
| Sr. Machine Learning - Compiler Engineer III, AWS Neuron, Annapurna Labs | $193,300 - $261,500 |
| Sr. Software Engineer- AI/ML, AWS Neuron Distributed Training | $193,300 - $261,500 |
Observed changes
- First observed on the employer's board
- Began meeting the published-salary criteria
- Observed since
- Employer-stated posting date
- 2026-08-06
Where this pay comes from
Location as the employer wrote it: US, CA, Cupertino • US, CA, San Diego
USA, CA, Cupertino - 193,300.00 - 261,500.00 USD annually
- 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.
