Principal Engineer, AI System Architect (Hardware)

Job Title: Principal Engineer, AI System Architect (Hardware)

 What You’ll Do
The Architecture Research Lab (ARL) focuses on addressing fundamental system-level bottlenecks in modern AI, particularly in memory capacity/bandwidth and system-scale communication. By leveraging Samsung’s world-class memory technologies, ARL explores and defines next-generation AI system architectures that deliver step-function improvements in performance, efficiency, and scalability.
We are seeking a Principal AI System Architect who will play a Technical Lead role in bridging AI workloads, system architecture, and hardware design. In this role, you will develop system-level performance models, drive architecture-level design decisions, and propose forward-looking AI system architectures that shape Samsung’s long-term AI platform strategy.

Location: Daily onsite presence at our San Jose office in alignment with our Flexible Work policy

Job ID: 42852

• • Technically Lead the architecture team with strong  direction, shaping system‑architecture strategy and advancing key innovations
  • Conduct system-level architectural research for next-generation AI systems, spanning compute, memory, and interconnect/network subsystems.
• Develop and maintain analytical and simulation-based system modeling frameworks to evaluate AI workloads and identify performance, scalability, and efficiency bottlenecks at rack- and system-scale. 
• Analyze representative and emerging AI workloads (e.g., LLMs, DLRMs, and future AI models) to derive architecture requirements and trade-offs across compute, memory, networking, and power.  
• Drive architecture-level design decisions through quantitative modeling, design-space exploration, and performance/power projections. 
• Perform comparative studies of alternative system architectures, reporting performance and performance-per-watt metrics to guide strategic technology choices. 
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams in hardware architecture, memory, interconnect, and system engineering to align modeling insights with implementation realities.  
• Communicate architectural insights and recommendations through clear technical presentations and documentation.   
• Occasional domestic and international travel (<10%).

 What You Bring

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field preferred,  with 15+ years of experience in system architecture for large-scale computing platforms, with a strong focus on AI workloads 
• Proven hands-on experience developing analytical and event-driven simulation models for system-level performance evaluation. 
• Deep understanding of AI system hardware architectures, including compute, memory hierarchies, and high-performance interconnects.
• Strong knowledge of modern and emerging AI workloads, including LLMs, DLRMs, and large-scale training and inference systems.
• Demonstrated ability to translate workload characteristics and modeling results into actionable architectural design decisions.
• Proficiency in Python, C++, and PyTorch for modeling, analysis, and experimentation. 
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills, with the ability to influence technical direction across teams.
• A collaborative mindset, intellectual curiosity, and resilience in tackling complex, open-ended system-level challenges. 
• You’re inclusive, adapting your style to the situation and diverse global norms of our people. 
• You approach challenges with curiosity and resilience, seeking data to help build understanding.
• You’re collaborative, building relationships, humbly offering support and openly welcoming approaches.
• Innovative and creative, you proactively explore new ideas and adapt quickly to change.

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