System Software Engineer, Robot Platform — GPU & Accelerated Compute

Backend Engineer · Mid · Full Time

Redwood City, CAUSD 160k – 220k3mo ago
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Role

What you'll do.

This System Software Engineer role on Robot Platform focuses on GPU and accelerated compute systems for home robotics. You'll architect efficient GPU scheduling, model execution, and data transfer pipelines for real-time robotic inference and perception workloads. The position requires deep expertise in CUDA systems programming, GPU architecture optimization, and Linux kernel fundamentals to ensure the GPU operates as a first-class resource meeting latency and throughput requirements across concurrent robotics applications.

Responsibilities

  • GPU Scheduling and Resource Arbitration: Design and implement GPU scheduling mechanisms including time-slicing and multi-process service (MPS) configurations to arbitrate GPU access across concurrent users such as model inference, SLAM, and robotics applications while maintaining predictable latency requirements for real-time systems.
  • Efficient Model Execution Framework: Reduce GPU kernel launch overheads and engineer fast, predictable model switching capabilities on the same device through kernel optimization and runtime abstraction layers to support dynamic workload switching in robotics applications.
  • GPU Memory and Data Transfer Optimization: Build efficient CPU-to-GPU data movement paths including pinned memory management, zero-copy transfer mechanisms, and asynchronous patterns. Optimize camera frame ingestion into GPU memory with hardware-accelerated encode/decode integration (NVDEC/NVENC).
  • CPU-GPU Synchronization Architecture: Design and implement synchronization primitives and communication patterns that minimize CPU-GPU stalls and keep inference pipelines operating at full utilization, ensuring seamless data flow between host and device.
  • Cross-Functional Platform Collaboration: Partner with ML, SLAM/Perception, Controls, and Hardware teams to validate GPU platform requirements, establish performance benchmarks, and ensure GPU is utilized as a first-class resource meeting end-to-end system latency and throughput constraints.
  • Performance Profiling and Optimization: Leverage GPU profiling tools including NVIDIA Nsight Systems and Nsight Compute to identify bottlenecks, measure kernel efficiency, and iteratively optimize accelerated compute workloads for real-time robotic performance.
  • Developer Infrastructure and Platform Tools: Contribute to build and delivery infrastructure that enables teams to rapidly develop, test, ship, and update robot software safely across the fleet while maintaining GPU resource stability and predictability.

Qualifications

What we look for.

Technical

  • CUDA Systems Programming

    2+ years of professional experience developing GPU systems software with deep proficiency in CUDA programming model, runtime APIs, CUDA Graphs, and CUDA IPC for inter-process communication patterns.

  • Systems Language Expertise

    Advanced proficiency in at least one systems programming language such as C++, C, or Rust for implementing low-latency, high-performance GPU scheduling and data movement systems.

  • GPU Architecture Knowledge

    Solid understanding of modern GPU architectures including compute capabilities, memory hierarchies, occupancy constraints, and tradeoffs between different GPU utilization strategies like MPS (Multi-Process Service) and MIG (Multi-Instance GPU).

  • Linux Systems Fundamentals

    Deep knowledge of Linux kernel concepts including process scheduling, inter-process communication (IPC), virtual and physical memory management, and performance tuning for real-time systems.

  • GPU Profiling and Performance Analysis

    Hands-on experience with NVIDIA profiling toolchain including Nsight Systems for timeline analysis and Nsight Compute for kernel-level performance debugging and optimization.

  • Real-Time Systems Constraints

    Experience architecting systems that meet strict latency and throughput requirements, understanding predictability trade-offs, and implementing deterministic scheduling patterns for robotics applications.

Education

  • Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or Related Field

    BS/BA in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent practical experience demonstrating strong fundamentals in systems and distributed computing.

Experience

  • GPU Systems Development

    Minimum 2+ years of production experience developing GPU system software, memory management layers, or scheduling systems that optimize for both performance and resource contention.

  • Robotics or Embedded Systems

    Background developing systems-level software for robotics, autonomous vehicles, or embedded AI platforms where GPU acceleration was critical to real-time performance.

  • Performance-Critical Systems

    Track record of shipping performance-optimized infrastructure for latency-sensitive applications, demonstrated through concrete examples of system optimization and measurement results.

Skills

Required

  • CUDA Programming

    Expert-level CUDA development including memory management, kernel optimization, stream management, and understanding of warp-level operations and occupancy calculations.

  • C++ or C Programming

    Advanced proficiency in modern C++ (C++17+) or C for systems programming, including template metaprogramming, memory management, and performance optimization techniques.

  • GPU Architecture

    Deep understanding of GPU compute capabilities, SM/warp execution models, memory coalescing patterns, and latency vs. throughput optimization tradeoffs.

  • Linux Kernel Concepts

    Strong fundamentals in Linux process scheduling, memory management (virtual/physical addressing, paging), IPC mechanisms, and system call interfaces.

  • Profiling and Debugging

    Proficiency with Nsight Systems, Nsight Compute, and traditional Linux profiling tools (perf, strace) for diagnosing performance bottlenecks in GPU workloads.

  • Real-Time Systems Design

    Ability to design systems with predictable latency bounds, understanding scheduling algorithms, priority inversion problems, and synchronization primitives for embedded real-time environments.

Preferred

  • CUDA Library Development

    Nice to have

    Contributions to CUDA libraries (cuBLAS, cuDNN, TensorRT) or open-source GPU programming frameworks demonstrating expertise in high-performance GPU abstraction layers.

  • Camera Pipeline Integration

    Nice to have

    Experience with camera sensor integration, image processing pipelines, and NVIDIA hardware accelerators like NVDEC (video decode) and NVENC (video encode).

  • Embedded GPU Optimization

    Nice to have

    Experience optimizing model inference and GPU workloads on embedded platforms such as NVIDIA Jetson boards, where resource constraints require careful power and thermal management.

  • Observability and Tracing

    Nice to have

    Experience implementing observability solutions and distributed tracing for GPU-accelerated workloads, understanding end-to-end latency measurement and critical path analysis.

  • ML Model Serving

    Nice to have

    Experience with ML inference frameworks (TensorRT, ONNX Runtime, TVM) and optimization techniques for deploying models on edge GPU platforms.

  • Rust Systems Programming

    Nice to have

    Proficiency in Rust for systems-level programming, particularly for memory safety-critical infrastructure where Rust's guarantees add engineering value.

Tech stack

Languages

CUDA CC++CRustPython

Frameworks

CUDA Runtime APICUDA GraphsTensorRTCUDA MPS (Multi-Process Service)CUDA MIG (Multi-Instance GPU)

Tools

NVIDIA Nsight SystemsNVIDIA Nsight ComputeGDB/CUDA GDBLinux perfNVIDIA NVDEC/NVENCDocker/Container Technology

Other

Linux Kernel Performance TuningGPU Memory HierarchiesReal-Time Scheduling TheoryHardware Accelerators Architecture

Compensation

Pay and benefits.

Base·USD 160,000 – 220,000

Equity·Stock options

Benefits

  • Equity Stake

    Stock options providing long-term upside alignment with Sunday's mission to make home robotics accessible to all households.

  • Health Insurance Coverage

    Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family with competitive plan options.

  • Professional Development

    Learning budget for courses, conferences, and technical training to stay current with GPU computing advancements and robotics technology.

  • Flexible Work Environment

    Remote-friendly or flexible arrangements enabling work-life balance for senior technical contributors.

  • Cutting-Edge Technology

    Access to state-of-the-art GPU hardware and robotics platforms for development, testing, and optimization work.

  • Collaborative Team Culture

    Work alongside world-class ML engineers, roboticists, and systems architects in a startup environment focused on meaningful innovation.

Process

Interview steps.

  1. 01

    Initial Screening Call

    30-minute technical screening with a member of the Robot Platform team to discuss your GPU systems experience, CUDA background, and understanding of the role's core challenges around GPU scheduling and model inference optimization.

  2. 02

    Technical Deep Dive Interview

    60-90 minute interview with senior systems engineers covering GPU architecture fundamentals, CUDA programming patterns, memory management strategies, and your approach to designing efficient data transfer mechanisms in latency-critical systems.

  3. 03

    Robotics Systems Context Discussion

    45-minute conversation with cross-functional stakeholders (ML engineers, SLAM/Perception team leads) to understand robotics-specific latency requirements, concurrent workload patterns, and how GPU resource scheduling impacts downstream system performance.

  4. 04

    Scheduling and Architecture Design Problem

    Technical take-home or live design exercise where you architect a GPU scheduling solution for competing robotics workloads with different latency and throughput requirements, demonstrating systems thinking and tradeoff analysis.

  5. 05

    Leadership and Culture Fit Interview

    30-minute conversation with team leadership assessing collaboration style, communication of complex technical concepts, and alignment with Sunday's mission to build accessible home robotics technology.

  6. 06

    Offer and Compensation Discussion

    Final discussion covering equity grants, benefits package, and long-term growth opportunities within the Robot Platform and broader Sunday engineering organization.

Full posting

Original listing.

Join Us in Building the Future of Home Robotics

At Sunday, we're developing personal robots to reclaim the hours lost to repetitive tasks. We're focused on an ambitious goal to make generalized robots broadly accessible, enabling households to take back quality time.

We have spent the last 18 months building a talented team, securing capital, and validating our technology. We are now seeking passionate individuals to join us in the next phase of our growth. If you are ready to apply your skills to the forefront of robotics innovation, we’d love to hear from you.

What to Expect

The Robot Platform team builds the foundational systems that every part of our robot perception, ML, controls and behavior runs on, and the developer infrastructure that lets us build, ship, and update that software quickly and safely on every robot in the fleet.

As a System Software Engineer on Robot Platform focused on GPU and accelerated compute, you’ll own how every accelerated workload on the robot from model inference, SLAM/perception, and more gets data, gets scheduled and runs efficiently on shared compute. You’ll work alongside teammates who own the runtime and our build and delivery infrastructure, and you’ll partner cross-functionally with ML, SLAM/Perception, Controls and Hardware teams to ensure the GPU is a first-class, well-utilized resource that meets the latency and throughput requirements of a real-time robotic system operating in the home.

What You’ll Do

You’ll own and contribute to the accelerated compute layer of the robot platform, including:

  • Efficient model execution and switching: Reduce gpu kernel launch overheads and make swapping between models on the same device fast and predictable

  • GPU scheduling and time-slicing: Arbitrate GPU access across concurrent users (model inference, SLAM, and other robotics applications) with predictable latency

  • Camera pipeline: Drive low-latency transfer of camera frames into GPU memory, integrating with HW accelerate encode/decode (NVDEC/NVENC) where appropriate

  • CPU ↔ GPU data transfer: Build efficient, low-overhead data movement between host and device, including pinned memory, zero-copy paths, and asynchronous transfer patterns

  • CPU/GPU synchronization: Design synchronization primitives and patterns that minimize stalls and keep inference pipelines full

What You’ll Bring

  • 2+ years of experience developing gpu systems software

  • Strong proficiency in CUDA and a systems language such as C++, C, or Rust

  • Solid understanding of GPU architecture, GPU workloads, and the tradeoffs involved in time-slicing and sharing the device across users

  • Hands-on experience with the CUDA ecosystem: CUDA runtime API, CUDA Graphs, and CUDA IPC

  • Familiarity with GPU sharing mechanisms such as MPS and MIG

  • Experience with GPU profiling tools such as Nsight Systems and Nsight Compute

  • Solid Linux fundamentals: scheduling, IPC, memory management, and performance tuning

Nice to Have

  • Contributions to CUDA libraries or other GPU programming libraries

  • Experience with camera pipeline integration and NVDEC/NVENC

  • Experience optimizing model inference on embedded GPU platforms (e.g., Jetson)

  • Experience with observability and tracing for GPU-accelerated workloads

At Sunday Robotics, we’re building technology shaped by real people — curious, creative, and diverse. We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer and consider all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

Even if you don’t meet every single requirement, we encourage you to apply. Studies show that women and underrepresented groups often hold back unless they meet 100% of the criteria — we don’t want that to be the reason we miss out on great talent.

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