Senior Principal Runtime Engineer
SambaNova Systems
Salary not disclosed
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Description
SambaNova is a leader in next-generation AI infrastructure, delivering a full-stack inference platform for customers worldwide. At the core of SambaNova's technology is the RDU (Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit) — a chip built on a dataflow architecture rather than the traditional GPU model. Its decode performance is especially strong for agentic workloads like multi-turn agents, code generation, and long-running applications. RDUs are packaged into SambaRack, rack-scale hardware that lets customers deploy state-of-the-art models with better performance, greater energy efficiency, and faster time to value.
About the role
The Runtime Team builds a high-performance, distributed and scalable software execution environment for SambaNova SambaStack and Cloud platforms to support data-flow applications such as ML training and inference and HPC applications. We are searching for a software engineer who will work on all parts of the runtime stacks, supporting AI, ML, and scientific applications in high-performance distributed systems. You will participate in building, testing and deploying next-generation high-performance compute systems for AI applications at scale.
Responsibilities
- New and enhanced features to support high-performance, scalable ML inference and training applications
- Drivers and kernels for next generation silicon
- Eliminate networking bottlenecks to enable high performance distributed systems
- User-space libraries for high performance and high utilization of HW resources
- User-facing tools (analysis, job and HW management, profiling, debugging, etc) for Datascale systems
- Cross-functional collaboration including Hardware, ML Application, Compiler, and DevOps
Required Qualifications
- B.S. in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field
- 5+ years of software engineering experience, often with emphasis on distributed systems, networking, or cloud infrastructure
- Proven experience building, testing, and tuning software for distributed, high-performance systems. In-depth knowledge of user libraries, and runtime stacks
- Solid understanding of Switching and Routing and ability to configure and debug switches and routers for maximum application performance
- Significant experience with RDMA and RoCE networking stacks, such as RDMA based verbs and congestion management
- Hands-on experience with kernel drivers and system-level software that directly interfaces with hardware
- Expertise in designing and optimizing systems that handle massive parallel workloads, including machine learning training and inference tasks that involve billions of operations per second
- Deep understanding of hardware-software interaction, including registers, device memory management, and the intricacies of accelerator design. Experience working with ASIC accelerators is highly desirable
- Familiarity with distributed systems architecture, including networking, communication protocols, and the challenges of scaling compute resources efficiently
- Hands-on experience with software development tools such as Git, Jenkins, and Jira, with an ability to drive automation and continuous integration efforts
- Ability to work at the intersection of hardware and software, designing systems that optimize both performance and reliability
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience designing or working closely with custom hardware accelerators (ASICs, FPGAs, etc.) and understanding low-level interactions
- Knowledge of SDN, DPDK, SONiC, or modern networking frameworks and background with distributed communication libraries (e.g., UCX, MPI, NCCL).
- Familiarity with deploying high-performance systems in distributed, cloud, or data center environment
Submission Guidelines
Please note that in order to be considered an applicant for any position at SambaNova Systems, you must submit an application form for each position for which you believe you are qualified.
EEO Policy
SambaNova Systems is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard basis of age (40 and over), color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, national origin/ancestry, race, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding), sexual orientation, and any other applicable status protected by federal, state, or local laws.
Benefits Summary for US-Based, Full-Time Employment Positions
SambaNova offers a competitive total rewards package, including the base salary, plus equity and benefits. We cover 95% premium coverage for employee medical insurance, and 77% premium coverage for dependents and offer a Health Savings Account (HSA) with employer contribution. We also offer Dental, Vision, Short/Long term Disability, Basic Life, Voluntary Life, and AD&D insurance plans in addition to Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options like Health Care, Limited Purpose, and Dependent Care. Our library of well-being benefits available to you and your dependents includes a full subscription to Headspace, Gympass+ membership with access to physical gyms, One Medical membership, counseling services with an Employee Assistance Program, and much more.
Benefits
- health insurance
- stock options
About this role
SambaNova's Runtime Team is building the software execution layer for its custom AI infrastructure, and this senior role focuses on the full stack—from kernel drivers and networking to user-facing tools—that makes the RDU chip perform at scale. You'd work across distributed systems, high-performance networking (RDMA, RoCE), hardware-software integration, and the infrastructure needed to run ML training and inference workloads efficiently. The position demands deep expertise in systems-level programming, accelerator design, and the ability to optimize for both performance and reliability in massive parallel environments.
This is a hands-on engineering role that requires at least five years of experience building and tuning distributed systems, with particular strength in networking stacks, kernel drivers, and the intersection of hardware and software. You should be comfortable debugging switches and routers, working with ASIC accelerators, and designing systems that handle billions of operations per second. Experience with custom silicon, SDN frameworks, or distributed communication libraries is a plus.
The role is based in San Jose and requires in-office presence. SambaNova offers standard tech-industry benefits including medical, dental, and vision coverage, HSA contributions, and wellness programs like Headspace and One Medical.
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