Director, Host Software Engineering

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a high-performance host software organization focused on systems-level programming and ecosystem integration.
• Foster an environment of technical ownership where engineers are empowered to design, prototype, and productionize novel solutions.
• Provide mentorship and career development for technical contributors, promoting a culture of continuous innovation and high-quality engineering.
• Guide the team in leveraging modern development tools and AI-augmented workflows to accelerate development cycles and improve software reliability.
• Host Software Strategy: Lead the technical definition and delivery of the host software stack for future product generations, aligning software capabilities with hardware features and customer requirements.
• Kernel & Driver Development: Oversee the development of Linux kernel-mode drivers (e.g., netdev, RDMA, PCIe interfaces) with a focus on low-latency and high-throughput communication paths.
• Transport & Protocol: Direct the implementation of user-mode libraries and protocol state machines (e.g., libfabric/OFI providers, verbs-style semantics) that define wire behavior and hardware interface efficiency.
• Middleware & Ecosystem: Ensure top-tier performance for AI/HPC frameworks by leading the integration and optimization of collective communication libraries (NCCL/RCCL), MPI/SHMEM, and broad support for various hardware technologies and configurations, such as ARM processor support, cloud-native components like Kubernetes network operators, etc.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with hardware, firmware, and switch software teams to define system-level interfaces and ensure end-to-end performance and stability.
• Represent Cornelis Networks in relevant open-source communities (Linux kernel, OpenFabrics, Ultra Ethernet, etc.) to drive upstreaming and ecosystem alignment.
• Collaborate with Engineering Operations to ensure robust CI/CD, automated sing, and release engineering practices are seamlessly integrated into the development process.
• Operational Excellence: Own the planning, prioritization, and execution of host software deliverables across multiple release cycles.
• Drive root-cause analysis and resolution of complex, system-level issues across development and customer environments.
• Lead technical investigations and establish internal best practices for performance tuning and debugging.

Minimum Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in high-performance systems programming in C/C++ on Linux.
• Prior experience in technical leadership or management roles (e.g., Team Lead, Manager, or similar) with a track record of guiding engineering efforts.
• Strong understanding of Linux kernel internals, networking transport protocols, HPC/AI communication middleware and applications, etc.
• Hands-on experience with high-performance networking concepts, RDMA, or communication middleware.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for both technical and executive audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in software engineering with significant time spent in management or director-level roles.
• Advanced Fabric Knowledge: Deep experience with libfabric/OFI, UCX, verbs-style concepts, or specific interconnect technologies (Omni-Path, InfiniBand, RoCE).
• AI/HPC Expertise: Familiarity with HPC/AI communication libraries (MPI/SHMEM/NCCL/RCCL) and cluster-scale benchmarking and profiling.
• Experience utilizing AI-augmented development tools to increase team efficiency and code quality.
• Proven track record of meaningful contributions to major open-source systems projects such (e.g., the Linux kernel).

Location

This is a remote position for employees residing within the United States. We offer a competitive compensation package that includes equity, cash, and incentives, along with health and retirement benefits. Our dynamic, flexible work environment provides the opportunity to collaborate with some of the most influential names in the semiconductor industry.