Systems Software Engineer - CPU Enablement Engineering

Nutanix is rapidly evolving to be a true hybrid multi-cloud leader, and to fuel our growing business, it is essential to evolve our compute platform along with the rapidly advancing new server hardware technologies that can address our customer's expanding workload requirements.

The Opportunity

Are you passionate about advanced compute and platform technologies that will power the software infrastructure and server workloads of tomorrow? Do you have strong technical acumen, excellent programming skills, and a deep interest in open-source and Linux? If so, Nutanix's CPU Enablement Engineer role might be an ideal fit for you. Join our pioneering Core Platform Software team within Platforms Engineering working on enabling the latest CPUs and platform compute technologies. As a top candidate, you'll have the opportunity to take on the challenges of software support for complex, next-gen compute technologies, and you'll help build the foundation for modern, hardware-accelerated cloud computing infrastructure. Don't miss out on this chance to be part of a dynamic, impactful team that encourages innovation and learning.

Engineering/R&D at Nutanix

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure is designed to enable the broadest range of virtualized server workloads to run on widely available server hardware, utilizing direct attached flash drives to provide scale-out storage, and integrated with compute and networking services. Customers can choose from multiple hypervisors options, including our own increasingly popular open-source based Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV), to utilize the latest CPU and platform technologies. The rapid development of advanced CPU and memory technologies - as well as the rising prominence of compute-intensive workloads in the datacenter - provide Nutanix with unprecedented engineering challenges and opportunities for product innovation.

What's unique about our Core Platform Software CPU enablement team at Nutanix is that we are on the cutting edge of the latest CPU and platform technologies from the industry leading vendors. We engage in new technology and open-source analysis far in advance of new CPU launches, and we get hands-on access to very early equipment to engineer software support for the latest compute technologies. We also interact closely with other Nutanix engineering teams and collaborate on software layers across our stack.

Your Role

• Collaborate with cross functional teams (Acropolis OS, AHV, Foundation, etc.) to enable new CPU and new compute technologies for the Nutanix core product stack.
• Technical analysis of new processor and CPU platform technologies including CPU, memory and PCIe as well as integrated CPU accelerators.
• Develop and maintain software that monitors and governs hardware platform functionality, including power state management, memory RAS, PCIe error handling, and support for predictive failure indicators.
• Evaluate and integrate upstream Linux kernel patches and system utilities to support new CPU generations.
• Perform early hypervisor software bring-up on CPU simulators, prototype platforms, and pre-production systems from server vendor partners.
• Build tooling for CPU performance counters, memory bandwidth utilization, NUMA performance, and PCIe bus utilization.
• Ensure broad compatibility of Nutanix AHV hypervisor with industry standard server platforms.
• Drive reliability and performance improvements in the Nutanix software stack through Linux kernel advancements, OS/hypervisor tuning, and BIOS optimizations.
• Design and implement test strategies, test plans, and test frameworks hypervisor interoperability with next generation CPUs using agile methodologies.
• Debug and resolve customer reported issues related to CPU and platform technologies.

What You Will Bring

• Bachelors/Masters in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field with 3-6 years of experience in a product focused environment.
• Deep understanding of Intel/AMD x86 platform architecture and operating systems internals, especially the Linux OS.
• Hands-on experience with Linux kernel development and device drivers for I/O subsystems.
• Familiarity with open source hardware support and system level performance characterization.
• Experience with virtualization technologies such as VMware ESXi, KVM/QEMU and container runtimes
• Strong programming skills in Python, Go, Rust, C/C++ for tooling and automation.
• Experience with core software development, including
• Building scalable and maintainable systems software
• Developing automation frameworks for testing and deployment
• Working with databases for telemetry, logging and performance analysis
• Knowledge of performance profiling tools like perf and familiarity with CPU microarchitecture features (e.g. cache hierarchy, branch prediction, SMT).
• Strong analytical and debugging skills, with a passion for solving complex system-level problems
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills,with a collaborative mindset.

The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between USD $ 128000 and USD $ 255,600 per year.

However, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a sign-on bonus, restricted stock units, and discretionary awards in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits (including 401(k) eligibility and various paid time off benefits, such as vacation, sick time, and parental leave), dependent on the position offered. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.

Hybrid: This role operates in a hybrid capacity, blending the benefits of remote work with the advantages of in-person collaboration. For most roles, that will mean coming into an office a minimum of 2 - 3 days per week, however certain roles and/or teams may require more frequent in-office presence. Additional team-specific guidance and norms will be provided by your manager.

If hired, employee will be in an "at-will position" and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors. Our application deadline is 40 days from the date of posting. In good faith, the posting may be removed prior to this date if the position is filled or extended in good faith.

Nutanix is an equal opportunity employer.

Nutanix is an Equal Employment Opportunity and (in the U.S.) an Affirmative Action employer. Qualified applicants are considered for employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, disability status or any other category protected by applicable law. We hire and promote individuals solely on the basis of qualifications for the job to be filled. We strive to foster an inclusive working environment that enables all our Nutants to be themselves and to do great work in a safe and welcoming environment, free of unlawful discrimination, intimidation or harassment. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please let us know by contacting [email protected].