AI Software Development Engineer

Intel is hiring an AI Software Development Engineer. It pays $150k-$276k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Intel.

Level's read on this job

On Level's scale, this software engineer role is Builds AI ●●●●: the job is building AI systems.
Tools and skills the posting cites include Llama, vLLM and PyTorch.
Level classifies it as a mid-level role.
Level lists 842 other open roles at Intel.
The role was posted in the last few days.

AI in this role

LlamavLLMPyTorch

Job Details:

Job Description:

The Role and Impact
We are seeking a skilled AI Software Development Engineer to join our team in optimizing AI inference workloads for Intel GPUs. In this role, you will work across the full AI software stack, focusing on improving performance-critical GPU kernels, graph compilation flows, and inference runtimes. Your contributions will directly enhance the efficiency and scalability of modern AI workloads, helping unlock the full potential of Intel's AI technologies.

Business Group
As part of Intel's Software Group, you will join a team dedicated to delivering innovative software solutions that enable and enhance Intel's AI products. The group plays a pivotal role in developing tools, frameworks, and optimizations that empower developers worldwide, shaping the future of AI-driven applications and advancing Intel's mission to create world-changing technology.

Key Responsibilities
- Optimize AI inference workloads, such as Large Language Models (LLMs), multimodal models, and emerging generative AI applications, for Intel GPUs.
- Design, develop, and tune performance-critical GPU kernels and runtime components using C++, SYCL, Vulkan Compute, OpenCL, or similar parallel programming technologies.
- Develop and optimize graph compilation flows and compiler passes using technologies like MLIR, LLVM, or related frameworks.
- Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks across compiler, runtime, framework, and kernel layers.
- Profile, benchmark, and analyze AI workloads to validate performance improvements and guide optimization strategies.
- Collaborate with hardware, driver, compiler, and framework teams to drive hardware/software co-optimization.
- Contribute to and optimize open-source AI inference frameworks such as OpenVINO, llama.cpp, vLLM, PyTorch, or related ecosystems.

Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, with 4+ years of relevant industry experience, OR Master's degree with 3+ years, OR Ph.D. with no prior professional experience.
- Strong proficiency in C++ programming, debugging, and problem-solving.
- Solid understanding of GPU architectures, Graphics Device Driver, Firmware, AI accelerators, or parallel computing systems.
- Experience with performance analysis, profiling, and optimization for compute-intensive applications.
- Hands-on experience with modern neural network architectures and their execution on hardware accelerators.

Preferred Qualifications
- Experience optimizing end-to-end AI inference workloads in production environments.
- Familiarity with AI inference frameworks such as OpenVINO, PyTorch, TensorRT, ONNX Runtime, or similar technologies.
- Knowledge of neural network optimization techniques, including quantization, kernel fusion, and memory optimization.
- Experience across multiple layers of the AI software stack, including inference runtimes, graph compilers, and GPU kernels.
- Experience contributing to open-source software projects is a plus.

We're excited about the opportunity to work with individuals passionate about pushing the boundaries of AI innovation. If you're ready to make a meaningful impact and collaborate with a dynamic team, we encourage you to apply today.

Job Type:

Experienced Hire

Shift:

Shift 1 (United States of America)

Primary Location:

US, California, Folsom

Additional Locations:

US, California, Santa Clara

Posting Statement:

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, religious creed, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, military and veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by local law, regulation, or ordinance.

Position of Trust

N/A

Benefits

We offer a total compensation package that ranks among the best in the industry. It consists of competitive pay, stock bonuses, and benefit programs which include health, retirement, and vacation. Find out more about the benefits of working at Intel.

Annual Salary Range for jobs which could be performed in the US: $149,750.00-275,580.00 USD

The range displayed on this job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target compensation for the position across all US locations. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific compensation range for your preferred location during the hiring process.

Work Model for this Role

This role will be eligible for our hybrid work model which allows employees to split their time between working on-site at their assigned Intel site and off-site. * Job posting details (such as work model, location or time type) are subject to change.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Intel is committed to Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) compliance and ethical hiring practices. We do not charge any fees during our hiring process. Candidates should never be required to pay recruitment fees, medical examination fees, or any other charges as a condition of employment. If you are asked to pay any fees during our hiring process, please report this immediately to your recruiter.

How we rate this

AI Software Development Engineer at Intel rates 95 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Builds AI (AI Level 4 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Builds AI. The job is building AI systems.

●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Key facts

AI Software Development Engineer is an open job at Intel.
Level rates this role AI Level 4 of 4: Builds AI.
The listed salary is $150k-$276k a year.
The role is based in US, California, Folsom.
The job was posted on November 5, 2026.
Seniority: mid.
Applications are handled by Intel. Apply on Intel

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

LlamavLLMPyTorch

Also common in software engineer jobs at this level

Python Machine learning AWS AI agents Kubernetes Java

Pay

This job starts at: $150k
Typical software engineer job: $167k

This posting starts 10% below the typical software engineer job. See software engineer jobs

Questions you could be asked

What's a project where you used Llama hands-on?
Walk me through how you've used vLLM in your day-to-day work.
What are the limits of PyTorch that you've run into, and how did you work around them?
How would you decide a model or AI system is ready to ship?
Tell me about a time a model underperformed in production. How did you find out, and what did you change?

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Llama, vLLM, and PyTorch. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
Lead with what you built, trained or shipped. This role is judged on the AI system itself, not the tools around it.

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