NVIDIAPrincipal Systems Software Engineer
NVIDIA is hiring a Principal Systems Software Engineer in Santa Clara, United States. It pays $272k-$431k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on NVIDIA.
Level's read on this job
- Level rates this software engineer role Works on AI ●●●○: the daily work is on AI products, without building the model.
- Pay on this posting starts 62% higher than the typical software engineer posting on Level.
- The posting mentions Databricks among its tools and skills.
- Level classes it as a lead role.
- NVIDIA has 2,700+ other open roles on Level.
AI in this role
NVIDIA is seeking a Sr. Principal Systems Software Engineer for the Apache Spark Acceleration group. GPU accelerated data processing has moved from proof of concept to production deployments. Enterprises now recognize the need for accelerated computing to handle large data processing needs. Multi-node GPU deployments will reduce cloud computing costs and lower latency batch ETL workloads.
At NVIDIA, we have been invested in accelerating Apache Spark, providing an open source plugin for Apache Spark. Apache Spark is the most popular data processing engine in data centers. We strive to accelerate Spark applications on GPUs without any code changes. Our OSS RAPIDS Spark library is integrated with on-premise and cloud services such as AWS EMR, Databricks, Google Dataproc, Oracle Cloud Data Flow, Bytedance Volcengine, Tencent Cloud and Cloudera. We are passionate about working on hard problems that have an impact. You will need to have strong programming skills, a deep understanding of software development related. You will work with a team that is using open source libraries like cuDF to accelerate reading, writing and batch data operations in Spark.
What you'll be doing:
Develop Java, Scala and CUDA/C++ libraries to accelerate DataFrames and I/O operations on common file formats such as Parquet, ORC and JSON
Enable interoperability with table formats such as Apache Iceberg and Delta Lake, and metastores such as Unity Catalog
Work with open source communities to enhance libraries like NVIDIA cuDF, CCCL and UCX through technical discussion and code contributions
Collaborate with distributed systems teams to craft solutions to distributed processing problems challenges at large scale
Provide recommendations and feedback to teams regarding decisions surrounding topics such as infrastructure, continuous integration and testing strategy
Build, test and optimize CUDA/C++ libraries across different platforms
What we need to see:
BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or closely related field (or equivalent experience)
15+ years of work experience in software development
Outstanding technical skills in designing and implementing high-quality distributed systems
Excellent programming skills in C++, Java, and/or Scala
Ability to work with teams across organizational boundaries and geographies
Familiarity with the open source data platform ecosystem (Apache Spark, Velox, Presto, Apache Arrow, Apache DataFusion, etc.). Meaningful contributions to the OSS community a plus.
Highly motivated with strong interpersonal skills
Database query optimization is a strong plus
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.#deeplearningHow we rate this
Principal Systems Software Engineer at NVIDIA rates 64 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Works on AI (AI Level 3 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Works on AI. The daily work is on AI products, without building the model.
- ●●●● 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.
Prepare for this job
Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.
Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Also common in software engineer jobs at this level
Pay
- This job starts at
- $272k
- Typical software engineer job
- $168k
This posting starts 62% above the typical software engineer job. See software engineer jobs
Questions you could be asked
- What's a project where you used Databricks hands-on?
- Describe a typical day in a role like this one: which parts run through AI directly?
- If you removed AI from this role, what would be left, and how do you decide what still needs a human?
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: Databricks. 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.
- Show where AI is part of your daily process, not a one-off project. This role expects it to be a running habit.
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