Principal Engineer, Compilers and Formal Methods

NVIDIA•Seattle, WA

2d•$248,000 - $391,000

About The Position

We are looking for an exceptional computer scientist to lead research at the intersection of compilers, programming languages, formal methods, and automated reasoning. As a Principal Engineer, Compilers & Formal Methods, you will develop next-generation compiler technologies that combine advanced program analysis and optimization with rigorous methods for establishing program correctness. You will investigate how formal semantics, automated reasoning, program synthesis, and verification can fundamentally improve the reliability and capabilities of compilers. The role spans fundamental research and practical compiler engineering, with opportunities to influence NVIDIA's compiler stack for GPUs, AI accelerators, domain-specific systems, and emerging computing architectures.

Requirements

PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field, or equivalent research experience.
15+ years academic and/or industry expertise in compiler construction, programming languages, formal methods, or closely related areas.
Strong understanding of compiler fundamentals, including intermediate representations, control-flow and data-flow analysis, static analysis and program transformation

Nice To Haves

Research in verified compilation or formally verified compiler transformations.
Experience with translation validation, certified compilation, proof-producing compilation, and semantics-preserving optimization
Background with SMT/SAT solvers and automated reasoning systems.
Experience developing sophisticated compiler infrastructure or intermediate representations.

Responsibilities

Lead research in compiler technology, programming languages, formal methods, and automated reasoning.
Develop next-generation compiler techniques for translating high-level programs into efficient code for GPUs and heterogeneous computing platforms.
Develop formal foundations for compiler transformations and establish that optimizations preserve specified program semantics.
Research verified and formally grounded compiler optimizations, including techniques for automatically proving the correctness of transformations.
Develop scalable program analyses that enable compilers to reason about increasingly complex programs and transformations.
Investigate techniques for automatically generating proofs, invariants, specifications, and correctness certificates for compiler transformations.
Investigate how large language models and generative AI can assist compiler construction, optimization, program transformation, verification, and debugging.
Collaborate with NVIDIA compiler, CUDA, GPU architecture, AI, systems software, and research teams to transition research prototypes into production compiler technology.
Mentor researchers and engineers working on compiler technology, programming languages, formal verification, and automated reasoning.