Systems Software Engineer

quadric•Burlingame, CA

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Quadric is hiring a Systems Software Engineer to build foundational software layers that connect its high-level SDK to its General-Purpose Neural Processing Unit (GPNPU) hardware. As part of the Systems Team, the engineer will own critical low-level stack components and collaborate with hardware and software engineers to make the GPNPU a seamless, high-performance development target. The role covers the instruction set simulator, loader and assembler, remote debugger infrastructure, and C++ host and core-device APIs. The simulator supports architecture validation and software development ahead of physical silicon, allowing the engineer to contribute to hardware and software co-design decisions. The role also involves enabling efficient code translation, binary execution and loading, and providing debugging tools with low-level visibility into GPNPU execution. Within the first 6–12 months, the engineer is expected to independently own and expand one or more key systems-stack components, influence future hardware and software specifications through simulator-based execution trade-off analysis, and deliver production-ready, low-latency API abstractions and debugging utilities 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 support readable, maintainable, and scalable code.
A proactive, adaptable attitude toward challenges associated with a new processor architecture.
Demonstrated experience addressing hardware/software boundary complexity in at least one of these areas: architectural simulation; debugger backends; developer APIs; low-level toolchains; or bare-metal constraints.
For architectural simulation experience: building or extending cycle-accurate or functional simulators.
For debugger backend experience: working with breakpoints, memory inspection, GDB stubs, or remote protocols.
For developer API experience: shipping C++ SDKs or libraries that balance low-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 where memory and cycle constraints are important.

Nice To Haves

Understanding of CPU/NPU pipelines, registers, caches, and silicon-level constraints.
Experience with CUDA, OpenCL, or Vulkan, and 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 used for architecture validation and software development.
Drive the design of the low-level toolchain, including efficient 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 systems-stack components, such as the simulator, loader/assembler, debugger, or C++ host APIs.
Use simulator-based execution trade-off analysis to influence next-generation GPNPU hardware and software specifications.
Deliver production-ready, low-latency API abstractions and debugging utilities for internal SDK developers and external customers.
Collaborate with hardware and software engineers on the low-level stack and hardware/software co-design.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision insurance from day one, with premiums covered at 99% for employees.
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 with the business.
Paid parental leave.
401(k) retirement plan.
Flexible paid time off.
Winter holiday shutdown.
Catered lunch each day in the office.