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NVIDIA

Distinguished Engineer, Power Architecture

NVIDIA is hiring a Distinguished Engineer, Power Architecture in Santa Clara, United States. It pays $320k-$489k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on NVIDIA.

Level's read on this job

  • Level rates this role Little AI ●○○○: aI is not part of the work.
  • Level classifies it as a senior role.
  • Level lists 2,600+ other open roles at NVIDIA.

AI in this role

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.

How we rate this

Distinguished Engineer, Power Architecture at NVIDIA rates 22 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Little AI. AI is not part of the work.

  1. ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
  2. ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
  3. ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
  4. ●○○○ 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.

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