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NVIDIA

Senior Developer Technology Engineer - Simulation Performance

NVIDIA is hiring a Senior Developer Technology Engineer - Simulation Performance 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 JAX.
  • Level classifies it as a senior role.
  • Level lists 1,800+ other open roles at NVIDIA.

AI in this role

jax

We are seeking an exceptional hands-on engineer to help our partners and customers make demanding physics and robotics simulation workloads run exceptionally well on NVIDIA platforms. You will work at the intersection of algorithms, mathematics, GPU architecture, and production software to find the true limits of real applications and turn that understanding into durable code and actionable feedback for NVIDIA engineering teams.


This role is for someone with a recognizable technical body of work: not someone who merely used advanced systems, but someone who took stewardship of one and made it substantially better.


What you'll be doing:

  • Help our partners and customers establish and execute performance strategies for important physics, robotics simulation, and computational-engineering workloads on NVIDIA GPUs.
  • Build rigorous benchmarks and performance models, profile customer applications from system architecture through GPU kernels, and identify the actual limiting factors.
  • Work with partner developers to improve algorithms, data structures, memory layouts, and parallel execution. When evidence points to an NVIDIA platform bottleneck, collaborate with the owning engineering team rather than duplicating its role.
  • Understand and apply knowledge of reinforcement learning, robotic kinematics simulation setup and simulation validation to the challenges that our partners bring.
  • Write and upstream production C++, CUDA, Python, and domain-specific GPU code into simulation platforms, partner applications, and reusable reference implementations.
  • Work across developers, NVIDIA architecture and software teams, and open technical communities to make the improvement last beyond a single engagement.

What we need to see:

  • 12+ years of relevant experience
  • A degree in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Computational Science, or a related field—or equivalent experience.
  • A record of delivering large, reproducible performance improvements in production numerical, simulation, graphics, CAE, robotics, or scientific-computing systems.
  • Expert modern C++ and GPU parallel-programming ability, backed by strong foundations in mathematics, physics, numerical methods, geometry, or performance modeling.

Ways to stand out from the crowd:

  • Deep experience with physics engines, numerical solvers, geometry processing, differentiable simulation, or large-scale batched simulation.
  • Experience with CUDA, Warp, Newton, PhysX, Isaac Sim, Isaac Lab, MuJoCo, JAX, or comparable accelerated-computing systems.
  • A history of carrying important technical work beyond the breakthrough through integration, maintenance, documentation, and the success of other developers.
  • Publicly inspectable stewardship of a consequential open-source engine, library, standard, benchmark, or software framework. Your implementation and technical leadership must be visible in the artifact itself.

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 Developer Technology Engineer - Simulation Performance at NVIDIA rates 81 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.

  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.

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

JAX

Questions you could be asked

  1. What's a project where you used JAX hands-on?
  2. How would you decide a model or AI system is ready to ship?
  3. 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: JAX. 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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