Director, ISV Software Optimization & Performance Engineering Job Listing at AMD in Santa Clara, CA (Job ID 78366-en-us)

Description

WHAT YOU DO AT AMD CHANGES EVERYTHING 

At AMD, our mission is to build great products that accelerate next-generation computing experiences—from AI and data centers, to PCs, gaming and embedded systems. Grounded in a culture of innovation and collaboration, we believe real progress comes from bold ideas, human ingenuity and a shared passion to create something extraordinary. When you join AMD, you'll discover the real differentiator is our culture. We push the limits of innovation to solve the world's most important challenges—striving for execution excellence, while being direct, humble, collaborative, and inclusive of diverse perspectives. Join us as we shape the future of AI and beyond.  Together, we advance your career.  

THE ROLE:

AMD's Software and Solutions Team is seeking a Director of ISV Software Optimization & Performance Engineering to lead a team focused on delivering industry-leading performance for enterprise software applications on AMD EPYC-based platforms. This role requires deep expertise in software performance engineering, workload optimization, and system-level tuning across modern enterprise and cloud environments. The Director will work closely with Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), open-source communities, OEM partners, and internal engineering teams to optimize real-world applications, influence software ecosystems, and ensure AMD platforms deliver best-in-class performance across key workloads. This is a highly technical leadership role with a strong emphasis on hands-on engagement, performance analysis, and execution — not a program management or alliance-focused position.

THE PERSON:

A highly accomplished and technically deep leader with a proven track record in software optimization, performance engineering, and systems-level analysis across enterprise and cloud workloads. This individual thrives in fast-paced, highly technical environments and leads from the front—combining strong technical depth with the ability to guide teams and influence outcomes across the ecosystem.

They will lead and mentor a team of experienced engineers, setting clear goals, expectations, and technical direction while driving accountability for execution. The ideal candidate is deeply engaged in performance analysis, system-level optimization, and cross-stack tuning, and is comfortable working directly with partners and internal teams to solve complex performance challenges.

This individual brings strong experience working with OEMs, ISVs, customers, and open-source communities to influence software design, improve performance characteristics, and ensure alignment with AMD architecture capabilities. They are comfortable operating across both strategic and execution levels—driving technical direction while remaining hands-on and engaged in delivering results.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Define and establish ecosystem partnerships with ISVs, OEMs, and open-source communities to enable optimized solution components on AMD EPYC platforms.
• Lead and mentor a team of highly skilled engineers, setting clear goals, expectations, and technical direction while fostering a culture of accountability and execution.
• Drive performance engineering efforts across enterprise workloads, ensuring best-in-class performance and price-performance outcomes on EPYC-based systems.
• Engage directly with customers and partners to understand workload requirements, guide optimization strategies, and deliver measurable performance improvements.
• Analyze performance data and profiling results to inform system configurations, benchmark methodologies, and optimization strategies.
• Drive execution for AMD EPYC platform launches and key partner engagements, ensuring performance readiness and competitive positioning.
• Actively manage technical deliverables, ensuring timely and high-quality execution across the team.
• Lead cross-functional collaboration with architecture, software, product, and ecosystem teams to influence roadmap decisions and improve platform competitiveness.
• Think beyond isolated performance metrics to deliver holistic, end-to-end solutions across hardware, software, and deployment environments.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE:

• Extensive experience in software performance engineering, workload optimization, and system-level analysis across enterprise applications and cloud environments.
• Strong familiarity with profiling and telemetry tools, performance debugging methodologies, and optimization techniques across CPU, memory, storage, and networking subsystems are essential.
• Experience working directly with ISVs, OEMs, customers, and open-source communities to improve software performance and scalability is highly desirable.
• Deep knowledge of Linux-based systems, compilers, runtimes, and modern application frameworks is expected.
• Proven ability to lead highly technical teams, drive execution, and deliver measurable performance and price-performance improvements on server-class platforms is critical.

ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS:

MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field, with significant experience in performance engineering, systems optimization, and technical leadership roles.

This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

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Benefits offered are described:  AMD benefits at a glance.

AMD does not accept unsolicited resumes from headhunters, recruitment agencies, or fee-based recruitment services. AMD and its subsidiaries are equal opportunity, inclusive employers and will consider all applicants without regard to age, ancestry, color, marital status, medical condition, mental or physical disability, national origin, race, religion, political and/or third-party affiliation, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.   We encourage applications from all qualified candidates and will accommodate applicants' needs under the respective laws throughout all stages of the recruitment and selection process.

AMD may use Artificial Intelligence to help screen, assess or select applicants for this position.  AMD's “Responsible AI Policy” is available here.

This posting is for an existing vacancy.