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Senior Research Scientist, EDA and AI

NVIDIA

Santa Clara, CAFull-time$192–357K/yrPosted 2 days agoStill listed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$192–357K/yr
Location
Santa Clara, CA
Schedule
Full-time
Work Authorization
Not specified

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Job overview

NVIDIA seeks a Senior Research Scientist to advance research at the intersection of AI, GPU computing, and electronic design automation. The role develops EDA algorithms and machine-learning methods, collaborates with circuit design, VLSI, and architecture teams, and translates research into products. It also engages the research community through publications and presentations and fosters collaborations with external researchers and internal product teams.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

EDA AlgorithmsVLSI DesignMachine LearningSupervised LearningUnsupervised LearningReinforcement LearningGPU ComputingHigh-Performance ComputingParallelismOptimizationSoftware DevelopmentLarge-Scale Software EngineeringResearch LeadershipMentoringCross-Functional CollaborationAcademic CollaborationWritten CommunicationVerbal CommunicationConference PresentationsOpen-Source Development

Qualifications

PhD in CS or ECE or Related2+ Years Post-PhD Research5+ Years AI Techniques5+ Years Software DevelopmentImpactful PublicationsResearch Direction ExperienceResearch Project Leadership

Full job description

We are now looking for a Senior Research Scientist!

NVIDIA is seeking a Senior Research Scientist to drive groundbreaking research at the intersection of AI, GPU computing, and Electronic Design Automation (EDA). AI and GPU acceleration are transforming the future of chip design, and this role offers the opportunity to shape that future.

What you'll be doing:

  • Define and conduct original research across EDA algorithms, VLSI design methodology, and advanced machine learning techniques.
  • Innovate in EDA software and algorithms, with applications spanning supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning, as well as GPU-accelerated optimization methods.
  • Collaborate cross-functionally with circuit design, VLSI, and architecture teams, ensuring research translates into real-world product impact.
  • Engage with the global research community by publishing in premier conferences, presenting at leading venues, and driving thought leadership.
  • Foster collaboration with external researchers and diverse internal product teams to amplify research outcomes.

What we need to see:

  • Research Excellence: PhD in Computer Science, Electrical/Computer Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience), with 2+ years of post-PhD research experience and a strong record of impactful publications in top EDA and AI/ML venues; proven ability to set research direction and translate ideas into tools or products.
  • Domain & Technical Expertise: Deep knowledge in EDA/VLSI (e.g., synthesis, formal verification, timing, reliability, or physical design algorithms) combined with 5+ years applying AI techniques (supervised, unsupervised, RL) and GPU/accelerator-based computing to large-scale problems.
  • Programming & Systems Skills: 5+ years of experience in software development; strong expertise in high-performance computing, parallelism, optimization, and large-scale software engineering.
  • Leadership & Collaboration: experience in leading research projects or teams, with a track record of mentoring junior scientists, driving cross-functional initiatives with circuits/VLSI/architecture groups, and fostering collaborations with academia or industry.
  • Communication & Impact: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with demonstrated experience presenting at top conferences; track record of releasing high-impact open-source tools, datasets, or frameworks; ability to influence both technical and non-technical audiences.

Widely considered to be one of the technology world’s most desirable employers, NVIDIA has some of the most forward-thinking and hardworking people in the world inventing the future for us. Are you a creative and collaborative researcher interested in seeking new challenges? If so, we want to hear from you!

Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and the pay of employees in similar positions. The base salary range is 192,000 USD - 304,750 USD for Level 4, and 224,000 USD - 356,500 USD for Level 5. You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.

Applications for this job will be accepted at least until November 2, 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.

How this job compares

Set against the 2,320 open Research Scientist jobs on Olive Jobs, counted October 31, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$192–357K/yr
  • California median$183–273K/yr508 salary ranges
  • US median$151–231K/yr1,561 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $274K, is 21% above the California median midpoint ($226K) — in the middle half of Research Scientist salary ranges in California.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 728 open Research Scientist jobs in California and 2,320 across the US. 3% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in California
Experience
This posting asks for at least 2 years of experience; Research Scientist postings that state a minimum ask for 5 years at the median (1,275 postings).
Education
1,205 of the 2,320 open Research Scientist jobs (52%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on October 31, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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