Senior CPU Performance Architect

NVIDIA is hiring a Senior CPU Performance Architect in Santa Clara, United States. It pays $224k-$357k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on NVIDIA.

Level's read on this job

Level rates this role Builds AI ●●●●: the job is building AI systems.
Tools and skills the posting cites include PyTorch.
Level classifies it as a senior role.
Level lists 2,600+ other open roles at NVIDIA.

AI in this role

pytorch

Do you want to help drive the development of CPU technology for architectures used for artificial intelligence (AI) / deep learning (DL), high-performance computing (HPC), cloud service providers (CSP), gaming, virtual reality, and autonomous vehicles? Come join the CPU performance architecture team and help us push performance boundaries for all our CPU products!

What you'll be doing:

Work on workload bring-up and performance analysis/projection, both on silicon and full-system simulator.
Study workloads for a wide range of markets, including AI/DL, CSP, HPC, and autonomous vehicles.
Study real world use-cases and identify critical application behavior and reduce to directed test cases.
Analyze and debug performance scaling bottlenecks on multi-core and multi-socket CPU and CPU/GPU systems.
Work with CPU and interconnect architects to improve future CPU and system designs based on your findings.
Benchmark NVIDIA’s CPU offerings against competition and suggest software or hardware improvements.

What we need to see:

BS/MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or equivalent experience.
12+ years of relevant experience.
Experience with CPU workloads and performance analysis.
Knowledge of performance test development and benchmarking for CPU and I/O.
Deep knowledge of CPU microarchitecture and system architecture.
Experience with the ARM instruction set architecture (ISA) preferable but not required.

Ways to stand out from the crowd:

PhD or Research experience.
GPU driver experience.
Knowledge of GPU-accelerated workloads and modeling performance of accelerated workloads.
Experience with performance optimization of AI frameworks such as PyTorch.

NVIDIA is a global leader in accelerated computing, delivering breakthroughs in AI, HPC, and advanced system design. Our technologies power transformative applications across industries — from robotics and autonomous vehicles to healthcare and climate research. With the introduction of the Grace CPU Superchip, and more recently, the announcement of the Vera CPU, NVIDIA has expanded into the CPU server market, complementing our world-class GPUs and SoCs. These CPUs play a critical role in orchestrating complex workloads with exceptional performance-per-watt efficiency. The CPU architecture team is driving innovations that integrate seamlessly with NVIDIA’s broader technology stack, enabling faster AI model training, agentic use-cases, efficient data processing, and scalable cloud deployments.

Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and other objective job-related factors. The expected base salary ranges for this position are:
224,000 USD – 356,500 USD for Level 5; and 272,000 USD – 431,250 USD for Level 6.

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

Senior CPU Performance Architect at NVIDIA rates 85 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

Senior CPU Performance Architect is an open job at NVIDIA.
Level rates this role AI Level 4 of 4: Builds AI.
The listed salary is $224k-$357k a year.
The role is based in US, CA, Santa Clara.
The job was posted on April 8, 2026.
Seniority: senior.
Applications are handled by NVIDIA. Apply on NVIDIA

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

PyTorch

Questions you could be asked

What's a project where you used PyTorch hands-on?
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: 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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