About the role
What will you do at Google?
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
* Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
* 8 years of experience programming in C++.
* 5 years of experience building and developing large-scale infrastructure,
distributed systems or networks, or experience with compute technologies,
storage, or hardware architecture.
* Experience with CPU/memory architectures (e.g., x86, ARM) and modern server
hardware performance characteristics.
* Experience as an architect or technical lead for multi-year infrastructure
initiatives from conception to global deployment.
* Experience in one or more of the following domains: OS kernels,
hypervisors/virtualization stacks (e.g., KVM, Xen), networking drivers,
storage stacks.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
* Master’s degree or PhD in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related
technical field.
* 8 years of experience with data structures and algorithms.
* 3 years of experience in a technical leadership role leading project teams
and setting technical direction.
* Experience collaborating directly with principal engineers at strategic
enterprise client organizations to root-cause and resolve complex,
large-scale system performance bottlenecks.
* Understanding of hardware/software boundaries, including performance
profiling tools, microarchitectural optimization, and hardware acceleration
techniques.
* Ability to navigate ambiguity and drive technical alignment across distinct
organizational boundaries, including Product Management, Hardware
Engineering, and foundational Software teams.
ABOUT THE JOB:
Google's software engineers develop the next-generation technologies that change
how billions of users connect, explore, and interact with information and one
another. Our products need to handle information at massive scale, and extend
well beyond web search. We're looking for engineers who bring fresh ideas from
all areas, including information retrieval, distributed computing, large-scale
system design, networking and data storage, security, artificial intelligence,
natural language processing, UI design and mobile; the list goes on and is
growing every day. As a software engineer, you will work on a specific project
critical to Google’s needs with opportunities to switch teams and projects as
you and our fast-paced business grow and evolve. We need our engineers to be
versatile, display leadership qualities and be enthusiastic to take on new
problems across the full-stack as we continue to push technology forward.
With your technical expertise you will manage project priorities, deadlines, and
deliverables. You will design, develop, test, deploy, maintain, and enhance
software solutions.
As a Staff Software Engineer on the Google Cloud Compute (GCE) Performance team,
you will provide technical leadership and drive the architectural direction for
Google Cloud’s foundational Virtual Machine (VM) offerings.
The AI and Infrastructure team is redefining what’s possible. We empower Google
customers with breakthrough capabilities and insights by delivering AI and
Infrastructure at unparalleled scale, efficiency, reliability and velocity. Our
customers include Googlers, Google Cloud customers, and billions of Google users
worldwide.
We're the driving force behind Google's groundbreaking innovations, empowering
the development of our cutting-edge AI models, delivering unparalleled computing
power to global services, and providing the essential platforms that enable
developers to build the future. From software to hardware our teams are shaping
the future of world-leading hyperscale computing, with key teams working on the
development of our TPUs, Vertex AI for Google Cloud, Google Global Networking,
Data Center operations, systems research, and much more.
Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills,
experience, and relevant education or training.
US: $207000 - $300000 (USD) + 20% bonus target + equity + benefits
Learn more about benefits at Google
[https://www.google.com/about/careers/applications/benefits/].
RESPONSIBILITIES:
* Partner with Product Management and cross-functional engineering teams to
define the roadmap for GCE’s next-generation VM offerings, translating
high-level business goals into concrete technical execution plans.
* Design, architect, and develop scalable technical solutions that optimize VM
performance, push the boundaries of hardware efficiency, and maximize
infrastructure utilization.
* Lead complex, multi-functional initiatives across hardware, kernel,
virtualization, and product teams to drive critical GCE performance
initiatives from conception to production.
* Act as a trusted technical advisor to GCE’s most critical, high-profile
customers. Analyze, benchmark, and optimize their massive-scale workloads to
ensure performance exceeds expectations and unlocks business value.
* Shape the technical culture of the broader organization by mentoring junior
and senior engineers, conducting design reviews, and establishing engineering
best practices for performance analysis.
Which skills does this role require?
Make your next move
Build a shortlist and prepare
Identify the requirements you can demonstrate, then choose examples from your work to discuss with the hiring team.
- Build a focused shortlist before you applyCompare role requirements with your experience and give each application a clear reason.
- Practice explaining your experience in an interviewRehearse your answers before meeting the hiring team.
Other roles to compare
Review the responsibilities and requirements before adding an opening to your shortlist.
AI Outcome Customer Engineer, Forward Deployed Engineering
Google · Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Research Engineer, Responsible Frontier AI Research, DeepMind
Google · New York, New York, United States
Principal Engineer, Content and Generative AI Exploration, Search Platforms
Google · Mountain View, California, United States
Staff/Principal AI Transformation Engineer
DiDi Autonomous Driving · San Jose, California, United States
Orchestration Workload Engineer - ACE - AI Factory
Roche · Kaiseraugst, Aargau, Switzerland
Data Analyst ServiceNow Developer
SiloSmashers, Inc. · District of Columbia, United States
Role information can change. Confirm current details on the original application page.
