About the Role

As a Staff Software Engineer for the Compute pillar, you will play a critical role in defining the technical vision for Lambda's next-generation GPU and CPU host instance lifecycle and compute control plane. This role bridges the gap between high-level distributed systems and low-level semiconductor architecture to enable seamless, reliable cloud provisioning and lifecycle management of a heterogeneous compute platform at a massive scale. You will provide hands-on technical leadership that will guide development of a resilient compute control plane utilizing durable execution concepts and deep/unique hardware integration.

The position requires a deep understanding of the entire stack, from BIOS/firmware (UEFI), Linux kernel internals, modern DPU capabilities, distributed systems, cradle-to-grave system lifecycle management, to large-scale cloud-service provider (CSP) operations. You will drive high-impact, cross-functional initiatives, leading the work of multiple engineers to deliver enterprise-grade SLAs for the world's leading AI researchers.

What You'll Do

We are seeking an engineer with extensive experience in cloud infrastructure to build and optimize GPU-first compute systems. In this role, you will be responsible for:

• Designing and implementing a highly available and reliable GPU and CPU "host and instance lifecycle" control plane.
• Guide technical decisions involving semiconductor architecture, BIOS/Firmware settings, system boot methodologies, and DPU utilization to optimize host capabilities, performance and reliability.
• Guide design of compute platform multi-tenant security model
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship for senior engineers across several teams to execute on complex infrastructure roadmaps and technical strategy.
• Collaborate with product and data center organizations to translate customer requirements into scalable infrastructure capabilities.
• Work with customers on translating vague customer technical requirements into concrete engineering deliverables.
• Set engineering standards and lead design reviews for mission-critical cloud software at scale.

Who You are

• 10+ years of experience working on compute control plane distributed systems used for deploying and lifecycle managing heterogeneous compute platforms into data-centers, built for resilience at scale.
• Deep expertise in durable execution models and distributed systems used in cloud-service provisioning.
• Basic knowledge of software defined networking fundamentals that informs secure, multi-tenant distributed systems.
• Proven track record of leading large-scale semi-conductor hardware enablement and deployment initiatives.
• Proven experience in deploying net-new data-centers into a global compute platform (not just working in existing data-centers).
• Proficiency in one of more of the following programming languages: C/C++, Rust, Python, Go.

Nice to Have

• Knowledge of Nvidia's AI Factory architectural components (including GPU hosts, CPU hosts, SuperNICs (ConnectX and Bluefield DPUs , and switches).
• Knowledge of Nvidia's AI Factory software offerings (like DOCA, DOCA SNAP, CUDA, et al.)
• Knowledge of Linux kernel internals, device drivers, and virtualization technologies (KVM, QEMU), kernel bypass technologies (like SR-IOV, DPDK, SPDK).
• Experience with Cloud Service Provider Kubernetes offerings.
• Knowledge of high-performance networking (InfiniBand, RoCE) and storage protocols (NVMe-oF).

Salary Range Information

The annual salary range for this position has been set based on market data and other factors. However, a salary higher or lower than this range may be appropriate for a candidate whose qualifications differ meaningfully from those listed in the job description.

About Lambda

• Founded in 2012, with 500+ employees, and growing fast
• Our investors notably include TWG Global, US Innovative Technology Fund (USIT), Andra Capital, SGW, Andrej Karpathy, ARK Invest, Fincadia Advisors, G Squared, In-Q-Tel (IQT), KHK & Partners, NVIDIA, Pegatron, Supermicro, Wistron, Wiwynn, Gradient Ventures, Mercato Partners, SVB, 1517, and Crescent Cove
• We have research papers accepted at top machine learning and graphics conferences, including NeurIPS, ICCV, SIGGRAPH, and TOG
• Our values are publicly available: https://lambda.ai/careers
• We offer generous cash & equity compensation
• Health, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents
• Wellness and commuter stipends for select roles
• 401k Plan with 2% company match (USA employees)
• Flexible paid time off plan that we all actually use