Principal Software Engineer (AI Simulator)

TL;DR

Principal Software Engineer (C++/Python): Developing and scaling processor simulators and performance models for next-generation AI inference systems with an accent on microarchitectural components and hardware-software co-design. Focus on modeling pipelines, memory hierarchies, and interconnects to guide architectural decisions for custom silicon.

Location: Santa Clara, CA, New York City, NY, or San Francisco, CA

Salary: $200,000 – $300,000

Company

A VC-backed, stealth-mode startup building next-generation AI inference systems at the rack level by combining custom silicon with system-level innovation.

What you will do

• Design, implement, and maintain functional and performance processor simulators.
• Model key microarchitectural components, including pipelines, memory hierarchy, interconnects, and accelerators.
• Generate and curate workload traces to ensure accurate performance analysis.
• Analyze simulation results to inform architectural tradeoffs and hardware optimizations.
• Collaborate closely with architecture, hardware, and compiler teams.
• Own and evolve simulation infrastructure within a fast-paced startup environment.

Requirements

• 5+ years of software engineering experience, ideally in systems, architecture, or EDA domains.
• Strong programming skills in C/C++ and Python with experience in large codebases.
• Hands-on experience with processor simulators, architectural modeling, or performance analysis.
• Solid understanding of computer architecture and microarchitecture.
• Ability to work independently and make technical decisions in an early-stage environment.

Nice to have

• Experience with AI/ML accelerators, GPUs, or heterogeneous systems.
• Familiarity with simulators such as gem5 or similar tools.
• Background in hardware-software co-design or compilers.