Systems Software Engineer
About The Position
Quadric is hiring a Systems Software Engineer to develop foundational software layers—drivers, debuggers, assemblers, and simulators—that connect its high-level SDK with its custom General-Purpose Neural Processing Unit (GPNPU) hardware. The role is part of the Systems Team and involves owning critical components of the low-level software stack while collaborating with hardware and software engineers to make the GPNPU a seamless, high-performance platform for developers. The engineer will maintain and optimize the instruction set simulator used for architecture validation and software development, helping inform hardware and software co-design before physical silicon is available. The role also includes designing low-level toolchain capabilities for code translation, binary execution and loading; developing remote debugging tools and backends; and designing, maintaining, and documenting C++ host and device APIs. Within the first 6–12 months, the successful candidate is expected to independently own and expand one or more key systems-stack components, influence future GPNPU specifications through simulator-driven analysis of execution trade-offs, and deliver production-ready, low-latency APIs and debugging tools for internal SDK developers and external customers.
Requirements
- At least 5 years of experience building systems software such as simulators, toolchains, debuggers, drivers, or performance-critical C++ libraries.
- Deep comfort with modern C++ (C++17/20) and systems-level programming paradigms.
- Advanced understanding of RAII, manual memory management, object lifetimes, ownership models, and memory-access optimization.
- Ability to identify, design, and maintain clean abstraction layers that produce readable, maintainable, and scalable code.
- Proactive and adaptable approach to challenges associated with a new processor architecture.
- Demonstrated experience working at the hardware/software boundary in at least one of these areas: architectural simulation; debugger backends; developer APIs; low-level toolchains; or bare-metal, performance-critical software.
- For architectural simulation experience: building or extending cycle-accurate or functional simulators.
- For debugger-backend experience: working with debugger internals such as breakpoints, memory inspection, GDB stubs, or remote protocols.
- For developer API experience: shipping C++ SDKs or libraries that balance zero-cost abstractions with intuitive interfaces.
- For low-level toolchain experience: writing or maintaining assemblers, linkers, or loaders, with knowledge of binary formats such as ELF and memory layouts.
- For bare-metal experience: writing performance-critical code under tight memory and execution-cycle constraints, such as drivers or embedded firmware.
Nice To Haves
- Understanding of CPU/NPU pipelines, registers, caches, and silicon-level constraints.
- Experience with CUDA, OpenCL, or Vulkan, along with SIMD/SIMT architectures and host-to-device memory transfers.
- Experience with Linux driver development and CMake project configuration best practices.
- Familiarity with Rust for systems safety, and ability to reason about multithreaded logic and complex synchronization issues.
- Knowledge of integrating functional programming concepts in non-garbage-collected environments.
Responsibilities
- Maintain and optimize the instruction set simulator for architecture validation and software development.
- Use simulator insights to inform hardware and software co-design and identify execution trade-offs for future GPNPU specifications.
- Drive the design of the low-level toolchain, including efficient code translation, binary execution such as ELF formats, and code loading.
- Develop, enhance, and refine remote debugging tools and backends that provide low-level visibility into GPNPU execution.
- Design, maintain, and document clear C++ host and core device APIs and abstraction layers for users and SDKs.
- Own and expand one or more key components of the systems stack, such as the simulator, loader/assembler, debugger, or C++ host APIs.
- Deliver production-ready, low-latency API abstractions and debugging utilities for internal developers and external customers.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance from day one, with employee premiums covered at 99%.
- Company-paid life insurance.
- Voluntary supplemental life insurance.
- Short-term and long-term disability insurance.
- Commuter support, including parking or Caltrain reimbursement.
- Flexible spending account (FSA) and health savings account (HSA).
- Equity.
- Paid parental leave.
- 401(k) retirement plan.
- Flexible paid time off.
- Winter holiday shutdown.
- Catered lunch each day at the office.
- Office in downtown Burlingame, near shops, cafes, and local amenities.
- Collaborative culture with significant ownership and impact.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
No Education Listed
