Software Engineer, Performance Optimization at Fireworks AI

Compensation

$175,000 – $220,000/yr

Location: Redwood City, California
Type: Full-time
Posted: Jul 24, 2025

Description

Fireworks AI is seeking a Software Engineer focused on Performance Optimization to enhance the speed and efficiency of their AI infrastructure. The role involves optimizing performance across the stack, from GPU kernels to distributed systems, with a focus on large language models (LLMs), vision-language models (VLMs), and video models. Responsibilities include identifying bottlenecks, implementing optimizations, collaborating with research teams, and scaling AI systems. The ideal candidate has a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field, 5+ years of experience in performance optimization, proficiency in CUDA or ROCm, and familiarity with PyTorch and distributed systems.

Required Skills

CUDA
PyTorch
GPU

Additional Information

Minimum Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent practical experience
Required Previous Experiences: 5+ years of experience working on performance optimization or high-performance computing systems
Proficiency in CUDA or ROCm and experience with GPU profiling tools (e.g., Nsight, nvprof, CUPTI)
Familiarity with PyTorch and performance-critical model execution
Experience with distributed system debugging and optimization in multi-GPU environments
Deep understanding of GPU architecture, parallel programming models, and compute kernels
Preferred Qualifications: Master’s or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field
Experience optimizing large models for training and inference (LLMs, VLMs, or video models)
Knowledge of compiler stacks or ML compilers (e.g., torch.compile, Triton, XLA)
Contributions to open-source ML or HPC infrastructure
Familiarity with cloud-scale AI infrastructure and orchestration tools (e.g., Kubernetes, Ray)
Background in ML systems engineering or hardware-aware model design