Senior System Software Engineer - Performance
Company websitenvidia.com (NVIDIA, opens in new tab)
Base salary $184,000 to $356,500
Employer-published annual base salary, USD. Advertised base range in Santa Clara, CA +5 more
You apply on the employer's own site. Six Figure Work does not handle applications.
- LocationSanta Clara, CA +5 more
- WorkplaceWorkplace not stated
- Status at last checkSource accepting applications when checked
- Last checked (42 min ago) · observed since
All 6 locations
- US, CA, Santa Clara
- US, TX, Austin
- US, OR, Hillsboro
- US, CO, Boulder
- US, CA, Remote
- US, WA, Redmond
About this job
NVIDIA has been transforming computer graphics, PC gaming, and accelerated computing for more than 25 years. It’s a unique legacy of innovation that’s fueled by great technology—and amazing people. Today, we’re tapping into the unlimited potential of AI to define the next era of computing. An era in which our GPU acts as the brains of computers, robots, and self-driving cars that can understand the world. Doing what’s never been done before takes vision, innovation, and the world’s best talent. As an NVIDIAN, you’ll be immersed in a diverse, supportive environment where everyone is inspired to do their best work. Come join the team and see how you can make a lasting impact on the world.
NVIDIA is searching for a highly motivated, technical engineer to join the Tegra system-on-chip (SoC) software organization. You will work on key aspects of our ARM SW ecosystem and system software architecture. With a targeted charter to enable best-in-class datacenter-scale performance and efficiency for our next generation of datacenter products, including CPUs and CPU+GPU Superchips.
What you will be doing:
Design, develop, test, and optimize software for our next-generation SoCs. In both pre-silicon and post-silicon phases of execution.
Review architectural performance bottlenecks for various system wide work loads. Identify HW/SW policies to drive performance and performance/watt leadership.
Using strong communication skills, build and drive architecture, analysis documents and communications to internal and/or external audiences about our technology.
Competitive analysis comparing uArchitecture & workload performance metrics on NVIDIA's ARM SoCs against emerging processors from other silicon vendors.
Influence and drive full-stack adoption of performance optimizations and standard methodologies across NVIDIA SW products & OSS SDKs
What we need to see:
BS or MS degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related degree (or equivalent experience).
6+ years of relevant computer architecture or SW development experience.
Proven leadership skills and strong ownership on past projects.
Hands on technical experience and demonstrated excellence in an environment with complex software and hardware designs.
Strong understanding of multicore hardware, operating systems design, concurrency, virtual memory, caching, interrupts, device drivers and real-time programming.
Strong stills in performance analysis, data analysis and performance optimization.
Ways to stand out from the crowd:
Deep expertise in ARM architecture and SW ecosystem.
Proficient in analyzing, debugging and tuning performance of complex system software stacks.
Experience with CPU server system workloads and performance analysis.
Familiarity with CUDA programming and/or GPUs.
Experience with HPC or large-scale computing environments.
Widely considered to be one of the technology world’s most desirable employers, NVIDIA offers highly competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package. As you plan your future, see what we can offer to you and your family www.nvidiabenefits.com/
Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and other objective job-related factors. The expected base salary ranges for this position are:184,000 USD – 287,500 USD for Level 4; and 224,000 USD – 356,500 USD for Level 5.
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)
Pay in context
This role's base floor ($184,000) is above 55% of the 4,209 Software Engineering roles in California listed on this site; 121 others list the same floor. Their median floor is $176,500; the middle half runs from $149,400 to $204,000.
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 5, 2026.
This listingSenior System Software Engineer - Performance$184,000 to $356,500
Senior Software Engineer, Subnet Management$184,000 to $356,500
Senior Software Engineer, AI Networking$184,000 to $356,500
Senior Software Engineer, Machine Learning Safety$184,000 to $356,500
Senior Firmware Security Architect, Networking$184,000 to $356,500
Senior Compiler Engineer - AI$184,000 to $287,500
Senior System Software Engineer, Performance - CUDA Driver$184,000 to $356,500
Chart as a table
| Role | Published base |
|---|---|
| Senior System Software Engineer - Performance (this listing) | $184,000 - $356,500 |
| Senior Software Engineer, Subnet Management | $184,000 - $356,500 |
| Senior Software Engineer, AI Networking | $184,000 - $356,500 |
| Senior Software Engineer, Machine Learning Safety | $184,000 - $356,500 |
| Senior Firmware Security Architect, Networking | $184,000 - $356,500 |
| Senior Compiler Engineer - AI | $184,000 - $287,500 |
| Senior System Software Engineer, Performance - CUDA Driver | $184,000 - $356,500 |
Observed changes
- First observed on the employer's board
- 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: Multiple locations (6) (Levels 4-5 combined)
184,000 USD – 287,500 USD for Level 4; and 224,000 USD – 356,500 USD for Level 5.
- 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.
