Senior, CPU Architecture & Performance Research Engineer

Samsung Semiconductor • San Jose, CA

12h • Onsite

About The Position

Architecture Research Lab is seeking Senior CPU Architecture & Performance Engineer to contribute to performance analysis and microarchitectural optimization of current and next-generation CPU (RISC-V) cores. This role emphasizes hands-on analysis, modeling, and close collaboration with architects and design teams to improve performance across real-world workloads.
You will focus on executing well-defined performance studies, identifying bottlenecks, and helping translate architectural ideas into measurable performance gains
Location: Daily onsite presence at our San Jose office in alignment with our Flexible Work policy

Requirements

• Master’s, or PhD in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• 2+ years of experience in CPU microarchitecture and/or performance engineering.
• Strong understanding of:
• Out-of-order execution, branch prediction, pipelines, and speculation
• Cache coherence, memory systems, prefetching, and NUMA effects
• Hands-on experience with architectural simulators (like gem5).
• Strong programming skills in C/C++ and Python.
• Experience analyzing large performance datasets and traces.
• Familiarity with compiler optimizations and hardware/software co-design.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with RISC-V, ARM or X86 architectures.
• Background in power/performance/area (PPA) trade-off analysis.
• Familiarity with SIMD / Vectors / VME for AI inference workloads.
• Prior tapeout / patent / publication experience.

Responsibilities

• Perform performance analysis for CPU microarchitectural features under guidance from Staff and Principal engineers.
• Run architectural simulations and analyze results (IPC, CPI stacks, latency and throughput metrics).
• Identify performance bottlenecks in frontend, execution engine, or memory subsystems.
• Assist in evaluating design trade-offs using trace-driven or cycle-accurate models.
• Characterize workloads and benchmarks (SPEC, server, client, internal traces).
• Develop scripts and tools to automate performance analysis.
• Work leading to patents and publication.

Benefits

• Give Back With a charitable giving match and frequent opportunities to get involved, we take an active role in supporting the community.
• Enjoy Time Away You’ll start with 4+ weeks of paid time off a year, plus holidays and sick leave, to rest and recharge.
• Care for Family Whatever family means to you, we want to support you along the way—including a stipend for fertility care or adoption, medical travel support, and virtual vet care for your fur babies.
• Prioritize Emotional Wellness With on-demand apps and free confidential therapy sessions, you’ll have support no matter where you are.
• Stay Fit Eating well and being active are important parts of a healthy life. Our onsite Café and gym, plus virtual classes, make it easier.
• Embrace Flexibility Benefits are best when you have the space to use them. That’s why we facilitate a flexible environment so you can find the right balance for you.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior