NVIDIA

Software Engineer - Agent Performance Modeling - New College Grad 2026

USA new gradSoftwareNewPosted yesterday

Location: Santa Clara, CA
Salary: $172k/yr
Type: USA new grad

About this role

From NVIDIA’s careers page.

Today, NVIDIA is tapping into the unlimited potential of AI to define the next era of computing. An era in which our GPU acts as the brains of computers, robots, and self-driving cars that can understand the world. Doing what’s never been done before takes vision, innovation, and the world’s best talent. As an NVIDIAN, you’ll be immersed in an inclusive, encouraging environment where everyone is inspired to do their best work. Come join the team and see how we can make a lasting impact on the world.

As LLM architectures and inference workloads evolve, understanding how they map to hardware is critical to designing efficient AI systems. Our team combines simulation and agentic engineering to understand emerging architectures and inform hardware and software decisions.

What you’ll be doing:

Building and validating performance models for LLM architectures across GPU, LPU, and heterogeneous systems.
Developing agents to automate simulation workflows, analyze bottlenecks, and accelerate design space exploration.
Collaborating with hardware architecture, inference, runtime, and compiler teams to improve modeling accuracy and guide optimization.

What we need to see:

Recently completed a MS in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent experience.
Familiarity with modern LLM architectures and their inference characteristics.
Experience with simulation, profiling, or performance modeling, including roofline analysis for LLM inference.
Strong analytical skills and a rigorous approach to experimentation and validation.
Experience building reliable engineering tools using coding agents.

Ways to stand out from the crowd:

Experience building agents that automate complex engineering workflows.
Knowledge of accelerator architecture and compute, memory, or communication bottlenecks.
Open-source contributions in agentic systems, simulation, or inference optimization.

NVIDIA is widely considered to be one of the technology world’s most desirable employers. We have some of the most forward-thinking and hardworking people in the world working for us. If you’re creative and autonomous, we want to hear from you!

Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and the pay of employees in similar positions. The base salary range is 124,000 USD - 195,500 USD for Level 2, and 152,000 USD - 241,500 USD for Level 3.

You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.

Applications for this job will be accepted at least until October 24, 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.

Apply nowOpens NVIDIA’s application page