Senior System Software Engineer, Platform and Performance - GeForce Now - CA, Santa Clara, United States
$224,000 - $356,500 USD yearly
Originally posted 16 August 2026 by the employer.
GeForce NOW is NVIDIA's cloud gaming service, transforming devices into high-performance gaming rigs.
About the role
This role involves designing, developing, and optimizing high-performance GeForce NOW gaming servers with NVIDIA GPUs. You will be part of the GeForce NOW Platform Engineering team, bringing cloud game streaming to life.
What you'll do
- Optimize game performance, Linux Kernel, KVM Hypervisor, and System Software at scale.
- Understand and apply gaming workloads and streaming software for kernel and user space interactions.
- Bridge the gap between software and hardware for a cloud streaming service.
- Understand and apply factors influencing game performance and stability.
What you'll need
- BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related technical field, or equivalent experience.
- 12+ years of experience in system software engineering for platform performance.
- Knowledge of OS kernel internals, memory management, computer architecture, and CPU-to-Memory architecture.
- Proficiency in Python/C/C++/Rust.
- Experience working in performance-critical software, tools, and CPU/GPU scheduler.
Skills: Linux Kernel, KVM Hypervisor, System Software, performance optimization, CPU-to-Memory architecture, Python/C/C++/Rust
This role has been open 60 days — slightly above the 59-day median for Systems Software Engineering roles.
Systems Software Engineering · Systems Software
|
Open roles in category
686
|
Median days open
59 d
|
Median salary
$213k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | NVIDIA | All employers we track in this specialty (686 roles · 71 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 134 | 686 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 991 | 6157 · 145 employers |
| Median days open | 47 d | 59 d (−12 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $213k |
Skills observed across this category: Linux Kernel, KVM Hypervisor, System Software, performance optimization, CPU-to-Memory architecture, Python/C/C++/Rust
Who's hiring in this category
- Qualcomm · 169 open roles · median 78 d
- NVIDIA (this employer) · 134 open roles · median 47 d
- AMD · 63 open roles · median 51 d
- Mobileye · 27 open roles · median 72 d
- Broadcom · 22 open roles · median 53 d
- Arm Holdings · 20 open roles · median 114 d
How we counted: 686 open Systems Software Engineering (Systems Software) roles from 71 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 17 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family row. Figures refresh nightly.