Senior Software Engineer – Benchmarking, Performance & Competitive Analysis

At Renesas, we are more than just a semiconductor company; we are the engine behind a "safer, smarter, and more sustainable" future. Headquartered locally in the heart of San Jose, our Silicon Valley team is at the forefront of innovation in Automotive, Industrial, Infrastructure, and IoT technologies. By blending cutting-edge embedded processing with world-class analog and power expertise, we develop "Winning Combinations" that power billions of intelligent devices globally. Joining our San Jose office means joining a collaborative, forward-thinking environment where your work directly impacts the next generation of AI-driven infrastructure and green energy solutions.

We are seeking a Senior Benchmarking Engineer to establish and lead our benchmarking and competitive analysis program in Austin. This role will drive interface benchmarking as well as comprehensive solution-level benchmarking covering industrial networking, latency, bandwidth, graphics performance, and AI workloads. The insights generated by this role will directly inform product positioning, roadmap decisions, and customer engagements against competing silicon solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and execute systematic benchmarking programs comparing Renesas solutions against competitor platforms

• Develop standardized, repeatable, and defensible benchmark methodologies for fair cross-vendor comparisons

• Conduct interface benchmarking across key connectivity standards (Ethernet, PCIe, USB, DDR memory interfaces, serial interfaces, etc.)

• Perform solution-level benchmarking across application domains:

  • Industrial Networking: TSN, PROFINET, EtherCAT, Modbus, OPC UA throughput and determinism

  • Latency & Bandwidth: Real-time interrupt latency, memory bandwidth, network throughput characterization

  • Graphics Performance: GPU/rendering benchmarks, display pipeline, OpenGL/Vulkan workloads

  • AI Benchmarks: NPU/DSP/CPU inference performance (MLPerf, common ML models, energy efficiency)

• Build automated benchmark frameworks and test harnesses to enable continuous regression tracking

• Author detailed competitive analysis reports and present findings to engineering leadership, product management, and sales teams

• Support customer-facing activities by providing objective performance data and demonstrations

• Stay current with industry-standard benchmarks and emerging workload requirements

• Collaborate with architecture and marketing teams to translate benchmark insights into product requirements

• Collaborate with architecture and marketing teams to translate benchmark insights into product requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or Electrical Engineering

• 7+ years of experience in embedded systems performance analysis, benchmarking, or competitive analysis roles in the semiconductor industry

• Demonstrated experience designing and executing rigorous, reproducible benchmark campaigns

• Technical Skills and Benchmarking Domains

• Industrial communication protocols (TSN, EtherCAT, PROFINET, CAN-FD)

• Network latency and bandwidth measurement methodology (RFC 2544-style testing, packet generators)

• Graphics/compute APIs and profiling (OpenGL ES, Vulkan, OpenCL, OpenGL)

• Standard industry suites: SPEC, CoreMark, Dhrystone, LMbench, GLMark, LuxMark, Stream

• Measurement & Analysis

• Proficiency with performance profiling tools

• Oscilloscope, logic analyzer, and protocol analyzer usage for interface characterization

• Statistical rigor: variance analysis, confidence intervals, controlled A/B comparisons

• Automation via Python scripting for test orchestration and data analysis

• Systems Background

• Embedded Linux and RTOS administration and configuration (Yocto, buildroot, FreeRTOS, Zephyr)

• ARM/RISC-V architecture expertise, including SIMD vector extensions (NEON, RVV)

• Solid understanding of cache hierarchy, DMA, and SoC data-path architecture

• Competitor ecosystem familiarity (TI Sitara/AM-series, NXP i.MX, ST, Microchip) a strong plus

  Preferred Qualifications

• Experience publishing or contributing to industry benchmark standards (EEMBC, MLPerf)

• AI/ML inference benchmarking (MLPerf, ONNX Runtime, TensorFlow Lite, CMSIS-NN)

• Prior experience in a competitive analysis or product marketing technical role

• Background supporting sales teams with technical due diligence against competitors

• Experience with hardware emulation or early silicon bring-up for pre-silicon benchmarking

Renesas is an embedded semiconductor solution provider driven by its Purpose, To Make Our Lives Easier. With a global team of over 21,000 engineers and problem solvers in more than 30 countries, we offer the opportunity to work on world-leading technology for Automotive, Industrial, Infrastructure, and IoT, shaping a safer, healthier, greener, and smarter future.

At Renesas, TAGIE is our culture, grounded in being Transparent, Agile, Global, Innovative, and Entrepreneurial. It shapes how we work, grow and deliver on our purpose together. This collaborative spirit and mindset drive our semiconductor technology to transform industries and impact millions of lives.

We believe in rewarding our employees with a competitive benefits package alongside their salary. More information will be provided during the hiring process.

Are you ready to join our team and shape the future with us?

Renesas Electronics is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer, committed to supporting diversity and fostering a work environment free of discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, military status, veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. For more information, please read our Diversity & Inclusion Statement.

Renesas Electronics deals with dual-use technology that is subject to U.S. export controls regulations. Under these regulations it may be necessary for Renesas to obtain U.S. government export license prior to release of technology to certain persons. The decision whether or not to file or pursue an export license application is at the sole discretion of Renesas.