Software Dev Engineer II - Neuron Kernel Interface , Annapurna Labs

Amazon

Amazon

Cupertino, CA, USA
Posted on Oct 24, 2025

Description

The Product: AWS Machine Learning accelerators are at the forefront of AWS innovation. The Inferentia chip delivers best-in-class ML inference performance at the lowest cost in cloud. Trainium will deliver the best-in-class ML training performance with the most teraflops (TFLOPS) of compute power for ML in the cloud. This is all enabled by edge software stack, the AWS Neuron Software Development Kit (SDK), which includes an ML compiler, Neuron Kernel Interface (NKI) compiler, and runtime that natively integrates into popular ML frameworks, such as PyTorch and TensorFlow.

Neuron Kernel Interface (NKI) is a bare-metal language and compiler for directly programming NeuronDevices available on AWS Trn/Inf instances. You can use NKI to develop, optimize and run new operators directly on NeuronCores while making full use of available compute and memory resources.

AWS Neuron and Inferentia are used at scale with customers and partners like PyTorch, Epic Games, Snap, AirBnB, Autodesk, Amazon Alexa, Amazon Rekognition and more customers in various other segments.

The Team: The Amazon Annapurna Labs team is a responsible for building innovative silicon and software for AWS customers. We are at the forefront of innovation by combining cloud scale with the world’s most talented engineers. Our team covers multiple disciplines including silicon engineering, hardware design and verification, software and operations. With such breadth of talent, there's opportunity to learn all of the time. We operate in spaces that are very large, yet our teams remain small and agile. There is no blueprint. We're inventing. We're experimenting. When you couple that with the ability to work on so many different products and services, it's a very unique learning culture.

Learn more about Our History: https://www.amazon.science/how-silicon-innovation-became-the-secret-sauce-behind-awss-success

You: The AWS Neuron Kernel Interface team is actively seeking skilled engineers to join our efforts in developing a state-of-the-art compiler stack. This stack is designed to optimize application models across diverse domains, including Large Language and Vision, originating from leading frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, and JAX. Your role will involve working closely with our custom-built Machine Learning accelerators, including Inferentia and Trainium, which represent the forefront of AWS innovation for advanced ML capabilities, powering solutions like Generative AI.

Key job responsibilities
The NKI team builds tools that enable our customers to optimize machine learning workloads for our global customer base. Working at the intersection of machine learning, high-performance computing, and distributed systems, you bring a passion for compilers, distributed systems, and machine learning.

In this role, you will:

- Develop state-of-the-art tools (compiler, debugger, profiler) that allow customers to maximize performance of their ML models.
- Work with customers to enable and optimize their ML kernels on AWS accelerators, understanding their requirements and use cases
- Design and implement compiler optimizations
- Collaborate across teams to develop innovative optimization techniques that enhance AWS Neuron SDK's performance capabilities
- Work in a startup-like development environment, where you’re always working on the most important stuff.

About the team
Inclusive Team Culture
Here at Annapurna Labs, we embrace our differences. We are committed to furthering our culture of inclusion. Amazon has ten employee-led affinity groups, reaching 40,000 employees in over 190 chapters globally. We have innovative benefit offerings, and host annual and ongoing learning experiences, including our Conversations on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) and AmazeCon conferences. Amazon’s culture of inclusion is reinforced within our 14 Leadership Principles, which remind team members to seek diverse perspectives, learn and be curious, and earn trust.

Work/Life Balance
Our team puts a high value on work-life balance. It isn’t about how many hours you spend at home or at work; it’s about the flow you establish that brings energy to both parts of your life. We believe striking the right balance between your personal and professional life is critical to life-long happiness and fulfillment. We offer flexibility in working hours and encourage you to find your own balance between your work and personal lives.

Mentorship & Career Growth
Our team is dedicated to supporting new members. We have a broad mix of experience levels and tenures, and we’re building an environment that celebrates knowledge sharing and mentorship. Our senior members enjoy one-on-one mentoring. We care about your career growth and strive to assign projects based on what will help each team member develop into a better-rounded engineer and enable them to take on more complex tasks in the future.