Adobe Inc.

Senior research Scientist - Machine Learning Systems & Efficiency Engineer

Adobe Inc. • $187K — $270K *
San Jose, CA 95123In-Person
Information Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Today
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Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
  • Hands-on experience with distributed inference and serving workloads.
  • Strong understanding of GPU architecture and performance bottlenecks.
  • Proficiency in Python and C++, with experience in CUDA or Triton.
  • Data-driven mindset with focus on system efficiency and scalability.

Responsibilities

  • Design and optimize high-throughput, low-latency inference systems.
  • Write and maintain high-performance GPU kernels using Triton or CUDA.
  • Conduct deep performance analysis to identify compute, memory, and communication bottlenecks.
  • Collaborate on scalable and reliable distributed serving systems.
  • Establish and track efficiency metrics for cost-aware ML engineering.
  • Serve as a technical advisor on efficiency tradeoffs and best practices.

Benefits

  • Opportunity to lead impactful projects that save on compute costs.
  • Work within a collaborative R&D team focused on innovation.
  • Hands-on role that directly contributes to product advancements.
  • Potential to influence critical aspects of ML system designs.
  • Environment encouraging deep specialization in machine learning systems.
Full Job Description
The Opportunity

Photoshop ART is seeking a Senior researcher - Machine Learning Systems & Efficiency Engineer to join our R&D team focused on delivering practical, production-ready improvements in inference performance, latency, and cost efficiency across image editing applications. This role sits at the intersection of model architecture, systems, inference runtimes, and services, with a clear mandate: deliver high-quality ML systems at substantially lower cost and higher efficiency. Individuals in this role are expected to have deep expertise in areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), ML systems, and computer vision. Strong preference will be given to candidates with experience in distributed inference, multimodal model profiling, and performance optimization. You will work closely with research, product, and infrastructure teams to influence model design decisions, improve GPU utilization, and build scalable, cost-aware ML systems deployed in production.

This is a hands-on, high-leverage role where a single engineer can drive outsized impact, potentially saving millions of dollars in compute costs. The ideal candidate will have a strong interest in developing practical innovations that advance Adobe products.

Job Responsibilities
  • Inference & Serving Optimization: Design and optimize high-throughput, low-latency inference systems. Optimize model architectures to improve deployment and runtime efficiency using techniques such as distillation, pruning, quantization, and Mixture-of-Experts (MoE). Implement advanced serving strategies including batching, caching (KV, semantic, embedding), quantization (FP8/INT8), and distributed inference strategies including data, tensor, pipeline, expert, and hybrid parallelism, with a focus on balancing computation and communication efficiency. Explore training or fine-tuning approaches when they directly lead to more efficient inference, simpler deployment, or improved runtime performance.
  • Kernel Development & System Acceleration: Write and maintain high-performance GPU kernels using Triton or CUDA to accelerate custom model layers and critical workloads. Improve GPU utilization through kernel fusion, asynchronous pipelines, and optimized scheduling strategies.
  • Performance Profiling & System Optimization: Conduct deep performance analysis using tools such as PyTorch Profiler and NVIDIA Nsight to identify bottlenecks in compute, memory, and communication. Optimize end-to-end system performance across inference workloads.
  • Distributed Systems & Infrastructure Collaboration: Partner with infrastructure teams to design scalable and reliable distributed serving systems across heterogeneous hardware environments (e.g., A100, H100, B200, CPU). Contribute to resource scheduling, GPU pooling, and elastic workload management.
  • Cost-Aware ML Engineering: Establish and track efficiency metrics such as cost per million inferences. Build benchmarking frameworks and dashboards to guide tradeoffs among quality, latency, and compute cost, enabling data-driven system and product decisions.
  • Technical Leadership & Best Practices: Serve as a trusted technical advisor to research and product teams on efficiency tradeoffs. Define best practices for scalable and cost-efficient ML development and mentor engineers on performance-oriented systems design.

What You'll Need to Succeed
  • Education: Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, with a focus on machine learning systems, distributed systems, or high-performance computing.
  • Distributed Inference & Serving Expertise: Hands-on experience implementing and scaling large-scale inference or serving workloads using distributed frameworks and runtime systems (e.g., Triton, vLLM, SGLang, xDiT, or similar). Experience applying inference compilation and optimization tools (e.g., TensorRT, ONNX Runtime, AOTI), including techniques such as operator fusion and graph-level optimization, with a strong understanding of system-level performance tradeoffs.
  • GPU & Performance Engineering Skills: Strong understanding of GPU architecture (e.g., memory hierarchy, compute throughput, communication bandwidth) and practical experience diagnosing performance bottlenecks across compute, memory, and I/O subsystems.
  • Programming & Systems Development: Proficiency in Python and C++, with experience building high-performance or distributed systems. Familiarity with CUDA or Triton for performance-critical workloads is highly desirable.
  • Data-Driven Engineering Mindset: Demonstrated ability to make engineering decisions based on rigorous measurement and benchmarking, with a focus on improving system efficiency, scalability, and reliability in production environments.

Preferred Experience
  • ML Frameworks & Tooling: Experience contributing to or maintaining performance- or efficiency-focused libraries or systems. Hands-on experience with:
    • Open-source serving frameworks (e.g., vLLM, SGLang, xDiT, or similar)
    • Inference compilation tools (e.g., TensorRT, Triton, AOTI, or equivalent, operation fusion, or graph-level optimization)
    • GPU profiling and performance analysis tools (e.g., PyTorch Profiler, NVIDIA Nsight, CUDA tooling)
  • Distributed Systems & Communication: Exposure to low-level communication libraries such as NCCL and a practical understanding of collective operations (e.g., AllReduce, AllGather) in large-scale distributed serving environments.
  • Containerization & Cluster Operations: Familiarity with containerized workflows (Docker, Kubernetes) and job scheduling in headless Linux environments, including experience operating production ML workloads on shared GPU clusters.
  • Model Architectures: Working knowledge of model architectures such as Transformers, multimodal models, Mixture-of-Experts (MoE), or Diffusion Transformers (DiT).

About Adobe Inc.

The Omniture product suite provides an integrated set of services: advanced web analytics and segmentation (SiteCatalyst, Discover and Data Warehouse), search marketing (SearchCenter), optimization (Advanced Testing and Targeting -- Offermatica and TouchClarity), and the marketing integration platform (Genesis). They also have an iPhone application that allows customers to sign into their Omniture account and view statistics from anywhere.

Adobe Inc. Careers

Join Adobe Inc., a global leader in digital media and digital marketing solutions, and be part of a team that thrives on innovation and creativity. Adobe offers unparalleled job opportunities that propel your career forward in an environment that fosters growth and leadership. Work You’ll Do At Adobe, you will be immersed in an atmosphere of innovative solutions and exceptional leadership, contributing to projects that drastically change the landscape of digital content. Our team at Adobe is dedicated to empowering creatives and enterprises alike through cutting-edge technology and expertise. Transform the World with Your Creativity Adobe’s mission is to change the world through digital experiences. We are looking for professionals who are passionate about creativity, technology, and driving significant market evolution. Join a diverse team that values individuality and the fresh perspectives each member brings. Lead in a Culture of Innovation Adobe Inc. is synonymous with fostering a culture of innovation where your ideas can pave the way for groundbreaking digital solutions. Our leadership is committed to nurturing a dynamic and inclusive workplace that promotes career growth and development. Collaborate with the Best Work alongside a global team of talented professionals who are leaders in their fields. At Adobe, you will enhance your skills through collaboration and be inspired by the creativity and dedication of your teammates. Our networking opportunities within the company are designed to foster connections that lead to lasting professional relationships. Explore Career Opportunities Adobe Inc. offers a range of career paths from software engineering to marketing, customer experience to IT. Explore job opportunities and internships that align with your skills and passions. Adobe is committed to hiring the best talent and providing them with the training, benefits, and support needed to succeed. Innovate and Grow Drive innovation as part of the Adobe team and see firsthand how your work contributes to the company’s success and your personal growth. Engage in projects that push the boundaries of technology and creativity. Future-Proof Your Career Adobe is dedicated to the development of its employees at all stages of their careers. We offer comprehensive training programs, including leadership development and diversity training, to ensure you are equipped for the future. Our benefits package is designed to support the well-being and financial security of our team members and their families. Stay Connected Join Our Team Search open positions that match your skills and interests. We look for driven, curious, creative, and solution-oriented team players. Start your journey with Adobe today by exploring our exciting career and internship opportunities. Keep Up to Date Stay ahead with career tips, insider perspectives, and industry-leading insights you can put to use today—all from the people who work here. READ CAREERS BLOG Job Alert Emails Customize your subscription to receive job alerts, the latest news, and insider tips tailored to your preferences. Discover the rewarding and exciting opportunities that await at Adobe Inc.
Learn more about Adobe Inc.
Size
25,988 employees
Market Cap
$154.8 billion
Industry
Enterprise Technology
Net Income
$5.2 billion
Founded
1982
5 Year Trend
+21.9%
Revenue
$12.8 billion
NASDAQ
ADBE
* Ladders Estimates

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