Software Developer Jobs in Santa Clara, CA
Software Developer jobs in Santa Clara are in high demand, concentrated in the Central Expressway corridor, the Rivermark area, and the tech campuses along El Camino Real, with strong hiring across semiconductors, enterprise software, and networking infrastructure. Employers actively hiring include NVIDIA, Palo Alto Networks, and Qualcomm. Scan the live roles below and apply to whichever ones fit.
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We are now looking for a Senior Software Engineer for Agent Simulation & Evaluation! Today, NVIDIA is tapping into the unlimited potential of AI to define the next era of computing. An era in which our GPUs act as the brains of computers, robots, and self-driving cars that can understand the world. Doing what’s never been done before takes vision, innovation, and the world’s best talent. As an NVIDIAN, you’ll be immersed in a diverse, encouraging environment where everyone is inspired to do their best work.
Demand for inference is growing rapidly, driven by reasoning models, coding agents, parallel subagents, and long-horizon tool use. These workloads are increasing the complexity of how AI systems must be evaluated, simulated, and optimized across different accelerator platforms. We are looking for an AI-native engineer who can combine a strong understanding of model architectures with performance analysis across GPU and LPU systems. You will use agentic methods to streamline simulation, evaluation, and critical engineering workflows for the LPU organization, helping NVIDIA develop a deeper understanding of emerging AI workloads and how they map to future hardware.
What you will be doing:
Building agentic systems that automate simulation, evaluation, performance analysis, and reporting.
Developing tools that configure experiments, run evaluations, analyze results, identify regressions, and recommend follow-up work.
Analyzing the inference characteristics of LLMs, reasoning models, coding agents, multimodal models, and agentic harnesses.
Building and validating performance models for GPU, LPU, and heterogeneous GPU–LPU systems.
Collaborating with inference, hardware, runtime, compiler, evaluation, and product teams to improve simulation quality and accelerate engineering decisions.
Automating critical LPU workflows such as benchmarking, workload characterization, capacity planning, and release qualification.
What we need to see:
Strong experience building AI agents or AI-backed engineering systems.
Familiarity with modern model architectures and AI inference workloads.
Experience evaluating AI models or agents and analyzing performance.
Experience with simulation, profiling, benchmarking, or performance modelling.
Strong Python skills and experience building reliable engineering tools.
MS in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
5+ years of relevant software development experience.
2 years of experience building AI agents or building AI-backed engineering systems.
Ways to stand out from the crowd:
Experience using coding agents such as Codex, Claude Code, or similar tools to automate technical workflows.
Knowledge of GPU or accelerator architecture, distributed inference, or high-performance computing.
Open-source projects demonstrating agentic AI, evaluation, or performance-engineering applications.
A rigorous analytical approach to experimentation, data collection, and validation.
NVIDIA is widely considered one of the technology world’s most desirable employers. We have some of the most forward-thinking and hardworking people in the world working for us. If you’re creative, analytical, and autonomous, we want to hear from you!
Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and the pay of employees in similar positions. The base salary range is 152,000 USD - 241,500 USD for Level 3, and 184,000 USD - 287,500 USD for Level 4.You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.
This posting is for an existing vacancy.
NVIDIA uses AI tools in its recruiting processes.
NVIDIA is committed to fostering an inclusive work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. As we highly value diversity in our current and future employees, we do not discriminate (including in our hiring and promotion practices) on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or any other characteristic protected by law.See All 854+ Software Developer Jobs in Santa Clara
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Find Software Developer JobsSoftware Developer Job Market in Santa Clara
Who's Hiring
- NVIDIA265

- Palo Alto Networks96

- Qualcomm84

- PlusAI72

- Amazon60

Top Industries Hiring
- Law & Legal Services
- Technology & Software
Software Developer Jobs in Santa Clara: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a software developer job in Santa Clara?
Focus on Santa Clara's dominant sectors: semiconductor design, networking hardware, and enterprise cloud platforms, where local employers consistently need software talent. Companies along the Central Expressway corridor and near Great America Parkway hire across the stack, from embedded systems to backend services. Familiarity with hardware-adjacent development, real-time systems, or chip toolchains gives candidates a real edge in this market over candidates with purely web-focused backgrounds.
Which companies hire software developers in Santa Clara?
Employers hiring software developers in Santa Clara right now include NVIDIA, Palo Alto Networks, and Qualcomm, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of August 2026. Santa Clara's employer mix skews heavily toward established semiconductor and networking firms alongside fast-growing infrastructure software companies, making it one of the more hardware-connected software hiring markets in the Bay Area.
Are there remote software developer jobs in Santa Clara?
Yes, though availability varies by role type. About 87% of software developer openings tied to Santa Clara are remote or hybrid as of August 2026, reflecting solid flexibility for roles in backend, cloud, and application development. Positions involving embedded firmware, chip verification, or lab-adjacent tooling tend to require more on-site presence at Santa Clara's hardware-focused campuses.
How can I get a software developer job in Santa Clara with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path in Santa Clara is targeting software tooling, test automation, or developer tools roles at mid-size networking and semiconductor companies, where teams often hire junior engineers to support larger product teams. Entry-level positions in quality engineering or internal platform tooling at Santa Clara-based firms can open the door, and candidates who demonstrate hands-on project work in C, Python, or systems programming stand out in this market.
Which industries hire the most software developers in Santa Clara?
Santa Clara software developer roles concentrate in Law & Legal Services and Technology & Software, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of August 2026. Santa Clara's position as the home base for major semiconductor and networking companies means software engineering here is closely tied to hardware product cycles, driving consistent demand even during broader tech hiring slowdowns.
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