Skip to content

NVIDIA

Senior System Software Engineer - GPU Power and Performance Management

NVIDIA is hiring a Senior System Software Engineer - GPU Power and Performance Management in Santa Clara, United States. It pays $184k-$288k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on NVIDIA.

Level's read on this job

  • On Level's scale, this software engineer role is Little AI ●○○○: aI is not part of the work.
  • Pay on this posting starts 10% higher than the typical software engineer posting on Level.
  • Level classes it as a senior role.
  • NVIDIA has 2,800+ other open roles on Level.

AI in this role

NVIDIA is redefining accelerated computing and powering the next era of artificial intelligence. Our data-center platforms bring together GPUs, CPUs, networking, systems, and software to solve some of the world’s most exciting computing problems. We are looking for a System Software Engineer to join NVIDIA’s GPU Performance and Power Management Software team. You will help design, develop, and debug production software for performance states (P-states) and Power Management Controllers. Your work will also support dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) and power-management technologies for next-generation data-center GPUs.


You will work at the intersection of hardware architecture, embedded firmware, device drivers, operating systems, and AI workloads. In this role, you will contribute across the product lifecycle, including design, pre-silicon development, validation, silicon bring-up, and production support. This is a great opportunity to build expertise in GPU power and performance software while contributing to products that deliver leading performance, energy efficiency, and reliability.


What You Will Be Doing:

  • Architect, build, implement, and debug GPU power and performance management software, with emphasis on P-state management and DVFS.
  • Develop control policies, mechanisms, and real-time software that optimize GPU performance, power, thermals, and energy efficiency KPIs under demanding data-center workloads.
  • Own focus area and drive features across the full product lifecycle, including requirements, architecture, implementation, pre-silicon validation, silicon bring-up, productization, and production support.
  • Collaborate with GPU architects and hardware designers to define hardware-software interfaces and shape the power-management capabilities of next-generation processors.
  • Analyze complex interactions among workloads, clocks, voltages, power limits, thermals, telemetry, and system-level policies.
  • Lead investigation and resolution for complex power, performance, stability, and reliability issues spanning firmware, drivers, hardware, and platform software.
  • Develop validation strategies and automation for functional correctness, transition latency, performance-per-watt, and robustness across operating conditions.
  • Build clear architecture, interface, and feature specifications for new power and performance management capabilities.
  • Partner effectively with distributed teams across architecture, ASIC, firmware, drivers, validation, platform, and data-center systems.
  • Influence next generation system software by building internal scalable architecture frameworks.

What We Need to See:

  • BS or MS degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field—or equivalent experience.
  • 8+ years of extensive industry experience crafting system software, embedded firmware, device drivers, or other hardware-related production software.
  • Strong programming skills in C, including experience developing, debugging, and maintaining complex low-level software.
  • Deep understanding of operating-system fundamentals, device-driver architecture, embedded or real-time software, concurrency, interrupt handling, and hardware programming.
  • Experience interpreting hardware specifications and developing software interfaces for registers, telemetry, interrupts, and control mechanisms.
  • Strong understanding of computer architecture and hardware-software interactions.
  • Proven ability to independently debug complex, cross-layer problems across software and hardware.
  • Demonstrated ability to own technically challenging features or subsystems and drive them to production in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills.

Ways to Stand Out from the Crowd:

  • Hands-on experience with GPU, CPU, accelerator, or SoC power and performance management.
  • Experience crafting or implementing P-state selection, DVFS, clock-control, voltage-control, power-capping, thermal-management, throttling, or workload-aware control policies.
  • Experience developing real-time feedback controllers, including reasoning about stability, responsiveness, hysteresis, latency, and noise telemetry.
  • Experience building validation, observability, and automation infrastructure for low-level software features.
  • Understanding of electrical and platform considerations such as voltage-frequency relationships, transient power, thermal limits, power delivery, and system-level power budgets.

Widely considered to be one of the technology world’s most desirable employers, NVIDIA offers highly competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package. As you plan your future, see what we can offer to you and your family www.nvidiabenefits.com

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:
184,000 USD – 287,500 USD for Level 4; and 224,000 USD – 356,500 USD for Level 5.

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 System Software Engineer - GPU Power and Performance Management at NVIDIA rates 25 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Little AI. AI is not part of the work.

  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.

Also common in software engineer jobs at this level

Pay

This job starts at
$184k
Typical software engineer job
$168k

This posting starts 10% above the typical software engineer job. See software engineer jobs

Get your CV reviewed before you apply

Send your CV and the role you want next. Your review arrives by email within 3 days.

Get new software engineer jobs by email

One email a week, each job rated for how much AI is in the work. No recruiter spam, unsubscribe in one click.

Free.

Similar roles

Software Engineering roles that involve little AI, at other companies.

What kind of AI work fits you?

Answer 12 practical questions in about three minutes. Get a simple profile, the work it points to, and live roles to explore next.

Find my next step

More jobs at NVIDIA

More software engineer jobs

Related searches

Same AI level

Jobs by city