Staff Software Engineer, Google Cloud Compute, Performance

About the job

Google's software engineers develop the next-generation technologies that change how billions of users connect, explore, and interact with information and one another. Our products need to handle information at massive scale, and extend well beyond web search. We're looking for engineers who bring fresh ideas from all areas, including information retrieval, distributed computing, large-scale system design, networking and data storage, security, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, UI design and mobile; the list goes on and is growing every day. As a software engineer, you will work on a specific project critical to Google’s needs with opportunities to switch teams and projects as you and our fast-paced business grow and evolve. We need our engineers to be versatile, display leadership qualities and be enthusiastic to take on new problems across the full-stack as we continue to push technology forward.

With your technical expertise you will manage project priorities, deadlines, and deliverables. You will design, develop, test, deploy, maintain, and enhance software solutions.

As a Staff Software Engineer on the Google Cloud Compute (GCE) Performance team, you will provide technical leadership and drive the architectural direction for Google Cloud’s foundational Virtual Machine (VM) offerings.

The AI and Infrastructure team is redefining what’s possible. We empower Google customers with breakthrough capabilities and insights by delivering AI and Infrastructure at unparalleled scale, efficiency, reliability and velocity. Our customers include Googlers, Google Cloud customers, and billions of Google users worldwide.

We're the driving force behind Google's groundbreaking innovations, empowering the development of our cutting-edge AI models, delivering unparalleled computing power to global services, and providing the essential platforms that enable developers to build the future. From software to hardware our teams are shaping the future of world-leading hyperscale computing, with key teams working on the development of our TPUs, Vertex AI for Google Cloud, Google Global Networking, Data Center operations, systems research, and much more.

US: $207000 - $300000 (USD) + 20% bonus target + equity + benefits

Learn more about benefits at Google.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Product Management and cross-functional engineering teams to define the roadmap for GCE’s next-generation VM offerings, translating high-level business goals into concrete technical execution plans.
• Design, architect, and develop scalable technical solutions that optimize VM performance, push the boundaries of hardware efficiency, and maximize infrastructure utilization.
• Lead complex, multi-functional initiatives across hardware, kernel, virtualization, and product teams to drive critical GCE performance initiatives from conception to production.
• Act as a trusted technical advisor to GCE’s most critical, high-profile customers. Analyze, benchmark, and optimize their massive-scale workloads to ensure performance exceeds expectations and unlocks business value.
• Shape the technical culture of the broader organization by mentoring junior and senior engineers, conducting design reviews, and establishing engineering best practices for performance analysis.

Qualifications

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.

• 8 years of experience programming in C++.

• 5 years of experience building and developing large-scale infrastructure, distributed systems or networks, or experience with compute technologies, storage, or hardware architecture.
• Experience with CPU/memory architectures (e.g., x86, ARM) and modern server hardware performance characteristics.
• Experience as an architect or technical lead for multi-year infrastructure initiatives from conception to global deployment.
• Experience in one or more of the following domains: OS kernels, hypervisors/virtualization stacks (e.g., KVM, Xen), high-performance networking drivers, storage stacks.

Preferred qualifications:

• Master’s degree or PhD in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• 8 years of experience with data structures and algorithms.
• 3 years of experience in a technical leadership role leading project teams and setting technical direction.
• Experience collaborating directly with principal engineers at strategic enterprise client organizations to root-cause and resolve complex, large-scale system performance bottlenecks.
• Understanding of hardware/software boundaries, including performance profiling tools, microarchitectural optimization, and hardware acceleration techniques.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and drive technical alignment across distinct organizational boundaries, including Product Management, Hardware Engineering, and foundational Software teams.