Palo Alto, United States
Sr. Software Engineer - Kernels/CUDA - C++
SpaceXAI · Palo Alto · United States
- Salary
- $220,000–$357,000 per year
- Occupation
- Software Engineer
Posted: 11/6/2026 · Last checked: 11/10/2026
Job description
Quoted in full from SpaceXAI's job posting. Gavroche does not edit it.
SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today, SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of making life multiplanetary and expanding consciousness to the stars.
SpaceXSI is building Super Intelligence to help humanity understand the universe. Our teams are building the full Super Intelligence stack: from our Colossus supercomputers, to Grok models, to our suite of applications, including Grok Bot, Grok Build, Grok Imagine, Grok Voice, and X. We're creating a powerful flywheel where more compute trains better models, better models power more useful products, and what we learn from people using those products shapes what we build next.
SR. SOFTWARE ENGINEER, KERNELS/CUDA (C++)
We are building one of the world’s largest AI supercomputers from the ground up. As part of the Compute Infrastructure team, you will own both the raw GPU supercomputer and the platform layer that runs on top of it. You will work across the full stack — from low-level GPU kernel optimizations and Linux kernel internals to massive-scale orchestration and virtualization — to make training and inference at SpaceXSI as fast, reliable, and scalable as possible.
This is a broad, high-impact role that combines hardcore supercompute and compute infrastructure work. Your contributions will directly accelerate Grok’s training speed and overall AI progress.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Design, build, and optimize massive GPU clusters for extreme-scale training and inference workloads
- Develop and tune low-level CUDA kernels (GeMM, Attention, etc.), using CUTLASS, Tensor Cores, and Nsight for maximum performance
- Profile, debug, and eliminate bottlenecks across GPU memory hierarchy, networking fabric, filesystems, and multi-GPU operation
- Collaborate closely with AI research teams to deliver production-grade performance and scalability
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- 5+ years of experience with low-level system programming in C/C++
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
- Deep low-level systems programming (C/C++/PTX/SASS)
- Strong experience with large-scale GPU clusters or distributed compute infrastructure at production scale
- Hands-on work with GPU kernel optimization (CUTLASS, custom kernels, Nsight profiling)
- Track record of building or running high-performance infrastructure for AI workloads (training or inference platforms)
- Ability to reason from first principles and optimize for both memory-bound and compute-bound scenarios
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:
$220,000 - $357,000 USD
Base salary is just one part of our total rewards package at SpaceXSI, which also includes equity, comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short & long-term disability insurance, life insurance, and various other discounts and perks.
SpaceXSI is an equal opportunity employer. For details on data processing, view our Recruitment Privacy Notice.
From Gavroche data
Figures computed from live adverts on Gavroche; the job text above is the employer's.
Similar roles in Palo Alto
- Sr. Software Engineer - Data Engineering - X · SpaceXAI, Palo Alto
- Sr. Software Engineer - Ads Product · SpaceXAI, Palo Alto
- Senior Full Stack Software Engineer · Raydar, Palo Alto
- Sr. Software Engineer - Training/Inference - C++ · SpaceXAI, Palo Alto
- Software Engineer - Orchestrated Application Recovery · Rubrik Job Board, Palo Alto
- Software Engineer - Starlink Enterprise · SpaceX, Palo Alto
200 open roles like this one; at most three per employer shown.
What software engineer adverts in the United States state
Middle half: 155,000 – 222,000 USD a year; median 192,938 USD.
From 2210 adverts by 381 employers that state a salary, annualised.
How software engineer roles in the United States are worked
2% fully remote · 2% hybrid · 96% do not say
Of 773 adverts. An advert that does not state a work mode is counted as not saying, not as on-site.
New openings in Palo Alto, by week
- 8/17/2026 23
- 8/24/2026 35
- 8/31/2026 30
- 9/7/2026 26
- 9/14/2026 32
- 9/21/2026 40
- 9/28/2026 49
- 10/5/2026 48
- 10/12/2026 58
- 10/19/2026 69
- 10/26/2026 43
- 11/2/2026 61
- 11/9/2026 10
524 openings over 12 weeks, by the week they were published.
Other roles at SpaceXAI
- Lead Engineer - AI Infrastructure - C++ - C · Palo Alto
- Sr. Model Engineer - Voice · Palo Alto
- Events Lead · Los Angeles
- IAM Engineer · Austin
- Sr. Software Engineer - Ads Product · Palo Alto
- Sr. Mobile Android Engineer · New York City
268 open, including roles outside the United States.