Director of Buffer & Memory Subsystem Architecture

SK hynix America

$250K — $300K *
Telecommunications & Hardware
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 8+ years in Memory Controllers, Cache/Prefetch architectures, SSD/Storage Controllers, and Accelerator Memory systems.
  • Strong system performance analysis skills focused on memory latency, bandwidth, and locality optimization.
  • Proven HW/SW co-design experience translating AI workloads into architectural requirements.
  • Experience in defining interface contracts across hardware and software components.
  • Skilled in developing simulation tools using Python, C/C++, or SystemC for architectural modeling.

Responsibilities

  • Lead the HBF R&D team in architecture decisions and alignment with technical partners.
  • Drive HW/SW co-design by defining architecture and functional partitioning.
  • Optimize HBF systems through performance modeling and memory architecture.
  • Develop system models for AI memory performance analysis via simulations.
  • Analyze and optimize workload performance for better latency and bandwidth efficiency.
  • Validate architectural assumptions and inform cross-functional decisions.
  • Define Memory Architecture and Policies for the HBF systems.

Benefits

  • Top Tier health insurance at no employee cost
  • Generous paid time off including parental leave and 'Happy Fridays'
  • 401k Matching
  • Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for Health and Dependent Care
  • Educational reimbursement up to $10,000 per year
  • Donation matching and volunteering opportunities
  • Corporate discounts
  • Complimentary meals provided (breakfast, lunch, and dinner)
Full Job Description
Work Model: Onsite

Job Title: Director of Buffer & Memory Subsystem Architecture
Office Location: San Jose, CA
Job Type: Full-Time
Work Model: Onsite

Job Summary:

As the founding technical lead, this expert will spearhead the HW/SW co-design of next-generation HBF-xPU systems, translating complex AI workload traces into precise architectural policies for caching, prefetching, and data movement. The role demands deep hands-on expertise in memory controllers and performance modeling to define interface contracts and optimize system-level efficiency across the hardware and software stack.

Responsibilities:
  • Serve as the founding technical lead of the HBF R&D team, owning HW/SW architecture decisions and technical alignment with headquarters and external partners.
  • Lead HW/SW co-design by defining architecture, functional partitioning, and interface contracts across the HBF hardware and software stack.
  • Drive HBF system optimization through memory architecture, performance modeling, and system-level implementation.
  • Develop HBF system models and event-/trace-driven simulators for AI memory performance analysis.
  • Analyze workload performance and optimize latency, bandwidth, and memory efficiency through architecture modeling.
  • Validate architectural assumptions and provide data-driven insights for cross-functional architecture decisions.
  • Define HBF Memory Architecture and Policies.

Qualifications:
  • 8+ years of experience in Memory Controllers, Cache/Prefetch architectures, SSD/Storage Controllers, Accelerator Memory systems, and DMA/Data Movement architectures, including the development of queueing, scheduling, and buffer management algorithms.
  • Strong expertise in system performance analysis, including memory latency, bandwidth, locality, contention, and Workload characterization, with the ability to translate complex workload traces into architectural policies.
  • Proven HW/SW co-design experience, including the ability to translate AI workload, compiler, runtime, and inference-engine behavior into memory hierarchy, data-movement, prefetch, scheduling, and programming-model requirements.
  • Experience owning system architecture decisions, technical requirements, interface definitions, and performance acceptance criteria across multiple hardware and software components.
  • Experience defining functional partitioning and interface contracts across hardware, firmware, drivers, compiler/runtime, and application software.
  • Experience developing or extending simulation tools for architectural modeling using Python, C/C++, SystemC, or comparable modeling environments, including event-driven, trace-driven, or queueing-based models.

Benefits:
  • Top Tier health insurance at no employee cost
  • Paid day offs: Paid Time Off, Company Holidays, Parental Leave, Happy Fridays
  • 401k Matching
  • Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for Health Care & Dependent Care
  • Educational reimbursement up to $10,000 per year
  • Donation Matching and volunteering opportunities
  • Corporate discount programs
  • Free Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner provided to employees


Compensation:

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets. Pay within the provided range varies by work location and may also depend on job-related skills and experience. Your Recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the job location during the hiring process.

Pay Range

$250,000-$300,000 USD

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