Senior Software Development Engineer in Test

NVIDIA is hiring a Senior Software Development Engineer in Test in Santa Clara, United States. It pays $140k-$224k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on NVIDIA.

Level's read on this job

Level rates this software engineer role Uses AI ●●○○: an ordinary role that requires AI tools.
The posting mentions Claude, Cursor and Claude Code among its tools and skills.
Level classes it as a senior role.
NVIDIA has 2,700+ other open roles on Level.

AI in this role

ClaudeCursorClaude CodeCodex

Are you passionate about automation, AI-assisted development, gaming technology, and improving software quality through thoughtful testing? If so, we have a phenomenal opportunity for you! NVIDIA is seeking a creative, hands-on automation engineer with strong Python development skills, a quality-focused attitude, and the ability to understand complex software, hardware, and PC gaming interactions. The successful candidate will help build and maintain Python-based automation frameworks, use AI development tools to accelerate test creation and implementation, and contribute to manual test planning and execution for NVIDIA App, the successor to GeForce Experience and NVIDIA Control Panel.

As a Software Development Engineer in Test, you will develop automation, tools, and test coverage for NVIDIA software products, with a focus on improving quality, accelerating validation, and identifying defects early in the development lifecycle.

What you’ll be doing:

Design, implement, and maintain automated tests using Python for NVIDIA app and interactions with drivers, applications, and gaming-related technologies.
Use AI development tools such as Codex, Claude Code, Cursor or similar AI-assisted development tools to accelerate automation development, test generation, debugging, and workflow optimization.
Build and improve automation framework components, utilities, and tools that make test execution more reliable, scalable, and efficient.
Translate product documentation and feature requirements into test plans, automation coverage, and targeted hands-on validation for complex PC platform scenarios, including corner cases and obscure interactions across hardware, software, drivers, games, and system settings.
Debug automation failures, product defects, and platform issues to identify root cause and communicate findings clearly.
Write maintainable, reliable, and well-documented Python code. Participate in peer code reviews with feedback on correctness, scalability, maintainability, and performance.
Work closely with development, QA, and leadership teams to report progress, raise risks, and improve overall product quality.

What we need to see:

B.E./B. Tech degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent experience.
5+ years of software development, test automation, or software quality engineering experience, including collaboration across development and test teams across the globe.
Strong programming experience in Python, including object-oriented programming, package management, debugging, logging, error handling, and automation framework development.
Hands-on experience building or maintaining automated tests, test tools, or automation infrastructure.
Working knowledge of AI-assisted development tools and workflows, including the ability to use coding agents or CLI-based AI tools to generate, modify, debug, and improve automation code.
Experience reading user documentation, product specifications, or feature requirements and developing test plans and test cases from them.
Good understanding of Windows operating systems, PC architecture, drivers, hardware/software interactions, PC gaming scenarios, and troubleshooting workflows.
Strong problem-solving and debugging skills, including the ability to isolate issues across automation, product code, operating systems, drivers, hardware configurations, and game/application behavior.

Ways to stand out from the crowd:

Experience with agentic AI development, including how agents are created, configured, prompted, evaluated, and integrated into engineering workflows.
Prior experience using Codex, Claude Code, or similar AI coding agents for real software development or test automation work.
Experience with GPUs, graphics drivers, gaming technologies, or NVIDIA technologies such as DLSS, Frame Generation, Reflex, CUDA, G-Sync, or related areas.
Strong knowledge of PC gaming ecosystems, including launchers, overlays, multi-monitor setups, display modes, input devices, performance tools, and compatibility scenarios.

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:
140,000 USD – 224,250 USD for Level 3; and 168,000 USD – 270,250 USD for Level 4.

You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.

Applications for this job will be accepted at least until November 7, 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 Software Development Engineer in Test at NVIDIA rates 51 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Uses AI (AI Level 2 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Uses AI. An ordinary role that requires AI tools.

●●●● 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 Software Development Engineer in Test is an open job at NVIDIA.
Level rates this role AI Level 2 of 4: Uses AI.
The listed salary is $140k-$224k a year.
The role is based in US, CA, Santa Clara.
The job was posted on August 31, 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

ClaudeCursorClaude CodeCodex

Also common in software engineer jobs at this level

Java AWS TypeScript React Kubernetes C++

Pay

This job starts at: $140k
Typical software engineer job: $167k

This posting starts 16% below the typical software engineer job. See software engineer jobs

Questions you could be asked

What's a project where you used Claude hands-on?
Walk me through how you've used Cursor in your day-to-day work.
What are the limits of Claude Code that you've run into, and how did you work around them?
What's a project where you used Codex hands-on?
This role expects you to use AI tools as part of the job. Which ones have you used, and for what?

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Claude, Cursor, Claude Code, and Codex. 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.
Put the AI tool in a bullet point about what you did, not just in a skills list. This role treats it as a required part of the job.

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