Senior Software Engineer, Agent Performance Modeling

NVIDIA is hiring a Senior Software Engineer, Agent Performance Modeling in Santa Clara, United States. It pays $152k-$242k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Level.

AI in this role

claudeclaude-codecodex

Today, NVIDIA is tapping into the unlimited potential of AI to define the next era of computing, an era in which our GPUs act as the brains of computers, robots, and self-driving cars that can understand the world. Doing what's never been done before takes vision, innovation, and the world's best talent. As an NVIDIAN, you'll be immersed in a diverse, encouraging environment where everyone is inspired to do their best work.

As LLM architectures and inference workloads evolve, understanding how they map to hardware is critical to designing efficient AI systems. Our team combines simulation and agentic engineering to understand emerging architectures and inform hardware and software decisions.

What you'll be doing:

Building and validating performance models for LLM architectures across GPU, LPU, and heterogeneous systems.
Developing agents to automate simulation workflows, analyze bottlenecks, and accelerate design space exploration.
Collaborating with hardware architecture, inference, runtime, and compiler teams to improve modeling accuracy and guide optimization.

What we need to see:

MS in Computer Science or a related field, with 5+ years of experience.

Familiarity with modern LLM architectures and their inference characteristics.
Experience with simulation, profiling, or performance modeling, including familiarity with roofline analysis for LLM inference.
Strong analytical skills and a rigorous approach to experimentation and validation.
Strong software engineering skills and experience building reliable engineering tools using coding agents like Claude Code, Codex, etc.

Ways to stand out from the crowd:

Experience building agents that automate complex engineering workflows.
Knowledge of accelerator architecture and compute, memory, or communication bottlenecks.
Open-source contributions in agentic systems, simulation, or inference optimization.

NVIDIA is widely considered 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, analytical, and autonomous, we want to hear from you!

#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 13, 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 Engineer, Agent Performance Modeling at NVIDIA rates 86 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. Open the description and count.

Key facts

Senior Software Engineer, Agent Performance Modeling is an open job at NVIDIA.
Level rates this role AI Level 4 of 4: Builds AI.
The listed salary is $152k-$242k a year.
The role is based in US, CA, Santa Clara.
The job was posted on August 19, 2026.
Seniority: senior.
Applications are handled by NVIDIA. Apply on NVIDIA

Prepare for this job

A free preview built only from this posting: what it asks for, what you could be asked in an interview, and how to adjust your resume.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

ClaudeClaude CodeCodex

Questions you could be asked

What's a project where you used Claude hands-on?
Walk me through how you've used Claude Code in your day-to-day work.
What are the limits of Codex that you've run into, and how did you work around them?
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: Claude, 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.
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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