Principal Engineer, Local AI - Agents and Systems
At a glance
Senior Engineering Leadership role at NVIDIA. US, CA, Santa Clara · full-time · $272,000–$431,250 base.
techroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Lead native Windows development for AI agent frameworks that run on GeForce RTX PCs and laptops
- Set the technical direction for always-on assistants, then improve their runtime performance on Windows
- Build safeguards for filesystem access, private inference routing and network connections used by autonomous agents
- Coordinate with AI research, driver teams and the OpenClaw community to support agents on consumer hardware
- Mentor engineers, set deployment practices and write reliable code for production systems
What you bring
- At least fifteen years in professional software engineering, including three or more years as a staff engineer or lead architect
- A computer science, computer engineering or related technical degree, or equivalent experience
- Strong knowledge of Windows internals, process isolation, sandboxing and system security design
- Hands-on work with local LLM inference, GPU computing and agent frameworks, plus experience running models on consumer hardware
- Proficiency in C++ and Python, with experience building Windows virtualization, containerization or sandboxing tools
Who this fits
This senior technical leadership role suits an experienced engineer who still builds production software while setting direction and mentoring others. You'll focus on Windows and local AI agents for consumer PCs, working across research, driver and open-source teams. The stated base salary range is $272,000 to $431,250 per year.
From the employer
Artificial intelligence is shifting from passive help to autonomous, always-on workflows. Our mission is to make this change seamless, efficient, and secure for millions globally. We seek a Senior Engineer to lead technical efforts in deploying advanced AI agent frameworks and local runtimes on Windows and NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs. You will guide development so open-source AI agents (such as Nemoclaw and OpenClaw) operate locally, safely, and efficiently on consumer PCs. By combining powerful local inference (Nemotron models) with strong privacy routers and sandboxed execution, you will help develop the foundation of the desktop AI operating system.
What You Will Be Doing:
Act as the lead engineer for developing the agent frameworks natively on Windows environments. You will build the technical roadmap to bring always-on, self-evolving AI assistants to GeForce RTX PCs and laptops.
Lead the engineering efforts to optimize the agent runtimes for Windows. You will ensure that autonomous agents operate within detailed, policy-based privacy and security frameworks (e.g., handling filesystem access, secure inference routing, and network egress).
Partner closely with internal AI research teams, driver teams, and the open-source OpenClaw community. Ensure our consumer hardware provides an excellent ecosystem for autonomous agents.
Foster a collaborative engineering culture by mentoring other engineers, establishing guidelines for AI agent deployment, and writing reliable, production-ready code.
What We Need to See:
15 + years of relevant professional software engineering experience, with at least 3+ years in Staff, or Lead Architect role.
BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field (or equivalent experience).
Deep understanding of Windows OS internals, process isolation, sandboxing technologies, and system-level security architecture.
Proven understanding of LLM inference pipelines (Ollama, Llama.cpp, vLLM), GPU-accelerated computing (CUDA, TensorRT), and experience running local models on consumer-grade hardware.
Practical experience with modern AI orchestration and agentic frameworks (e.g., OpenClaw, Hermes, LangChain) and an understanding of how multi-agent systems plan, act, and use tools.
Proficiency in multiple languages, particularly C++ (for performance-critical systems/OS integration) and Python (for AI/blueprint logic).
Experience building virtualization, containerization, or robust sandboxing tools natively for the Windows ecosystem.
Widely considered to be one of the technology world’s most desirable employers, NVIDIA offers highly competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package. As you plan your future, see what we can offer to you and your family www.nvidiabenefits.com/
Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and other objective job-related factors. The expected base salary range for this position is 272,000 USD – 431,250 USD.You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.
Applications for this job will be accepted at least until November 3, 2026.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.
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