Senior AI-Native Systems Software Engineer, TensorRT
NVIDIA is hiring a Senior AI-Native Systems Software Engineer, TensorRT in Santa Clara, United States. It pays $152k-$242k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on NVIDIA.
Level's read on this job
- Level rates this software engineer role Builds AI ●●●●: the job is building AI systems.
- Tools and skills the posting cites include AI agents.
- Level classifies it as a senior role.
- Level lists 2,700+ other open roles at NVIDIA.
- The role was posted in the last few days.
AI in this role
Are you passionate about redefining how software is built in the age of Generative AI? Join NVIDIA’s TensorRT team to help lead a first-of-its-kind, AI-native initiative designed to make TensorRT the default entry point for out-of-framework inference globally. We are moving beyond traditional development cycles with a new framework built from the ground up to leverage swarms of AI agents to produce high-performance, high-quality, modern C++ software at an unprecedented scale.
If you are a systems-thinking C++ engineer who wants to help scale out an agentic development framework, stay on top of state-of-the-art deep learning breakthroughs, and improve users’ experience with lightning-fast model onboarding, we want to hear from you!
What you'll be doing:
Architecting an AI-native framework: Help design and build a codebase and architecture that scales beyond human capacity, supporting large numbers of AI agents working in parallel to generate, test, and validate production-grade software.
Scaling through agentic workflows: Improve the ratio of compute-to-software output by adopting and building AI-native tools, multi-agent orchestrators, and codebase harnesses that keep humans focused on the highest-value work..
Rapid prototyping with SOTA models: Act as a technical scout, identifying industry and academic breakthroughs (e.g., new attention mechanisms, KV cache strategies) and dispatching AI agent swarms to prototype and integrate these capabilities into our framework.
Delivering a great user experience: Ensure a seamless, high-performance path to production for the latest model families (LLMs, Diffusion, Audio, Vision and multi-modal models).
Extreme performance optimization: Work at the intersection of Python orchestration and C++ engine-level optimizations to achieve major latency and throughput gains for critical customer use cases.
What we need to see:
BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, AI, or equivalent experience.
4+ years of relevant software development experience.
Strong modern C++ skills: Proficiency with C++11/14/17 (or newer) and the STL, with an emphasis on clean, maintainable, performant code.
Deep learning familiarity: Experience with modern inference frameworks and an understanding of the architectural nuances of LLMs, Diffusion, and multi-modal models.
Systems thinking: Interest in how software architecture must evolve to support automated, agent-driven development and indefinitely scaling codebases.
End-to-end product sense: Ability to translate high-level customer needs into concrete technical requirements and user-centric solutions.
Pragmatic execution: Demonstrated ability to go from customer requests to production-quality software on tight timelines.
Collaborative mindset: Excellent communication skills and comfort working across internal organizations and with customers.
Ways to stand out from the crowd:
Agentic framework experience: Hands-on work with AI agent orchestrators or multi-agent coding frameworks, or experience building custom agentic coding harnesses for production software.
CUDA & kernel expertise: Experience with CUDA programming or exposure to kernel generation / autotuning efforts.
High-velocity prototyping: A track record of rapidly turning state-of-the-art papers into working prototypes in days, not weeks.
Performance profiling skills: Expertise in software performance analysis, profiling, and optimization (CPU and/or GPU), including using tooling to drive measurable wins.
NVIDIA is widely considered to be one of the technology world's most desirable employers. We have some of the most forward-thinking and hardworking people in the world working for us. If you're creative, autonomous, and love a challenge, come join our team and help us build the future of high-performance AI inference technology!
#LI-Hybrid
Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and the pay of employees in similar positions. The base salary range is 152,000 USD - 241,500 USD for Level 3, and 184,000 USD - 287,500 USD for Level 4.You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.
Applications for this job will be accepted at least until October 30, 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
Senior AI-Native Systems Software Engineer, TensorRT at NVIDIA rates 92 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.
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.
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
- $152k
- Typical software engineer job
- $167k
This posting starts 9% below the typical software engineer job. See software engineer jobs
Questions you could be asked
- How do you decide when an AI agent can act on its own versus asking for approval first?
- 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: AI agents. 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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