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High Performance Computing Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Intel

Senior CPU Performance Architect

Santa Clara, CA

$196K/yr

The Role and Impact As a CPU Performance Architect, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of Intel's cutting-edge CPU designs, driving innovation across high-performance computing and ...

Intel

Senior CPU Performance Architect

Folsom, CA

$178K/yr

The Role and Impact As a CPU Performance Architect, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of Intel's cutting-edge CPU designs, driving innovation across high-performance computing and ...

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High Performance Computing information

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$39.5K

$98.2K

$151.5K

How much do high performance computing jobs pay per year?

As of Jun 11, 2026, the average yearly pay for high performance computing in California is $98,224.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $64,600.00 and $124,400.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the career opportunities in high performance computing?

Career opportunities in high performance computing (HPC) include roles such as HPC system administrators, computational scientists, software developers, and data analysts. These positions often require skills in parallel programming, Linux systems, and knowledge of HPC tools like MPI and CUDA, with certifications and experience in managing large-scale computing environments being advantageous.

What are the typical responsibilities of someone working in High Performance Computing?

Professionals in High Performance Computing (HPC) are often responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining powerful computing clusters tailored for processing large data sets or running complex simulations. Daily tasks may include optimizing code and workflows for parallel environments, troubleshooting hardware and software issues, and supporting researchers or engineers in using HPC resources efficiently. Collaboration is common, as HPC specialists work closely with IT staff, domain scientists, and software developers to ensure systems meet project and organizational goals. This role provides a challenging and dynamic work environment, offering opportunities to continually learn about emerging technologies and methodologies in computational science.

What engineers make $500,000?

High Performance Computing engineers, especially those with advanced skills in parallel programming, system architecture, and experience with supercomputers or cloud HPC environments, can reach salaries of $500,000 or more, often in senior or specialized roles. Such compensation typically includes base salary, bonuses, and stock options, and is common in industries like aerospace, defense, and large tech companies.

What is the highest paid job in computing?

In high performance computing, roles such as HPC Director, Chief Technology Officer, or senior research scientists often have the highest salaries, especially with advanced skills in parallel programming, system architecture, and large-scale data management. These positions typically require extensive experience, leadership abilities, and often advanced degrees or certifications.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the High Performance Computing position, and why are they important?

To thrive in High Performance Computing, you need expertise in parallel computing, computer architecture, and programming languages such as C/C++ or Fortran, often backed by a relevant degree in computer science or engineering. Familiarity with HPC cluster management, job scheduling systems (e.g., SLURM), and experience with accelerators like GPUs or cloud platforms is crucial; certifications in Linux administration or HPC technologies are advantageous. Strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and effective communication abilities help professionals excel in complex, collaborative environments. These qualifications enable the efficient design, deployment, and maintenance of advanced computing infrastructure to support scientific and engineering applications.

What is a High Performance Computing job?

A High Performance Computing (HPC) job involves designing, managing, and optimizing advanced computing systems used for complex calculations, simulations, and data processing. Professionals in this field work with supercomputers, parallel computing frameworks, and high-speed networks to enhance computational efficiency. HPC specialists are commonly employed in scientific research, engineering, finance, and artificial intelligence to solve large-scale problems. Responsibilities often include developing algorithms, maintaining HPC clusters, and improving system performance.

What is high performance in computing?

High performance in computing refers to systems or applications that deliver rapid processing speeds and handle large-scale computations efficiently. High Performance Computing (HPC) jobs often utilize parallel processing, specialized hardware like supercomputers or clusters, and optimized software to solve complex problems in fields such as scientific research, engineering, and data analysis.
What are the most commonly searched types of High Performance Computing jobs in California? The most popular types of High Performance Computing jobs in California are:
What are popular job titles related to High Performance Computing jobs in California? For High Performance Computing jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching High Performance Computing jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for High Performance Computing jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for High Performance Computing jobs? Cities in California with the most High Performance Computing job openings:
High Performance Computing jobs near you
Infographic showing various High Performance Computing job openings in California as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 100% Contract. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution, with an average salary of $98,224 per year, or $47.2 per hour.
Distinguished Engineer - High Performance AI

Distinguished Engineer - High Performance AI

NVIDIA Corporation

Santa Clara, CA

Other

Posted 25 days ago

Job description

NVIDIA has been transforming computer graphics, PC gaming, and accelerated computing for more than 25 years. It's a unique legacy of innovation that's fueled by great technology-and amazing people. Today, we're tapping into the unlimited potential of AI to define the next era of computing. An era in which our GPU acts as the brains of computers, robots, and self-driving cars that can understand the world. Doing what's never been done before takes vision, innovation, and the world's best talent. As an NVIDIAN, you'll be immersed in a diverse, supportive environment where everyone is inspired to do their best work. Come join the team and see how you can make a lasting impact on the world.
We are looking for an outstanding Distinguished Engineer - High Performance AI to build groundbreaking agentic AI systems for the CUDA ecosystem. We build full-stack agentic AI platforms-spanning multi-agent runtimes and orchestration, data and evaluation pipelines, training and inference stacks, and GPU-accelerated execution-deeply integrated with NVIDIA's software and hardware stack to advance accelerated computing end-to-end. As a leader on the team, you will define technical direction and drive execution across the stack, including building advanced multi-agent systems, scalable training (including multi-agent RL) and inference, hardware/software co-design, and production-grade engineering solutions that improve agent planning, reasoning, tool-use, code generation, and end-to-end engineering workflows. You will collaborate closely with internal NVIDIA software and hardware teams to translate the latest advances into production capabilities and NVIDIA products.
What you'll be doing:
  • Set strategy and lead execution for agentic AI systems for the CUDA ecosystem, defining roadmaps and measurable success metrics (performance, quality, reliability, developer productivity)..
  • Co-design agentic system solutions with software, hardware and algorithm teams; influence and adopt new capabilities as they become available.
  • Develop reproducible, high-fidelity evaluation frameworks covering performance, quality and developer productivity.
  • Collaborate across the AI stack and help drive architecture and key technical decisions -from hardware through compilers/toolchains, kernels/libraries, frameworks, distributed training, and inference/serving-and with model and research/engineering teams.
  • Scale impact through leadership: mentor and grow senior technical talent.
What we need to see:
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience); MS or PhD preferred.
  • 17+ years industry and/or academia experience with AI systems development; strong exposure to building foundational models, agents or orchestration frameworks; hands-on experience with deep learning frameworks and modern inference stacks.
  • Strong C/C++ and Python programming skills; solid software engineering fundamentals; ability to set engineering standards and review architecture at scale.
  • Experience with GPU programming and performance optimization (CUDA or equivalent).
  • Proven track record leading large, cross-team efforts from concept through production, including navigating ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, and delivering measurable outcomes.
Ways To Stand Out From The Crowd:
  • Track record building/evaluating deep learning models, coding agents and developer tooling, and driving broad adoption across teams or customers.
  • Demonstrated ability to optimize and deploy high-performance models, including on resource-constrained platforms. Deep expertise in GPU performance optimizations, evidenced by benchmark wins or published results.
  • Publications or open-source leadership in deep learning, multi-agent systems, reinforcement learning, or AI systems; contributions to widely used repos or standards.
  • Experience leading projects end-to-end, mentoring small teams; ability to drive concepts to production.
  • Recognized technical leadership (e.g., setting platform direction, creating widely used architectures/APIs, or establishing evaluation/benchmarking standards).
With competitive salaries and a generous benefits package, we are widely considered to be one of the technology world's most desirable employers. We have some of the most forward-thinking and hardworking people in the world working for us and, due to unprecedented growth, our exclusive engineering teams are rapidly growing. If you're a creative and autonomous engineer with a real passion for technology, 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 320,000 USD - 488,750 USD.
You will also be eligible for equity and benefits .
Applications for this job will be accepted at least until January 19, 2026.
This posting is for an existing vacancy.
NVIDIA uses AI tools in its recruiting processes.
NVIDIA is committed to fostering a diverse 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.
Nvidia logo

About Nvidia

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

NVIDIA has been transforming computer graphics, PC gaming, and accelerated computing for more than 25 years. It's a unique legacy of innovation that's fueled by great technology--and amazing people. Today, we're tapping into the unlimited potential of AI to define the next era of computing. An era in which our GPU acts as the brains of computers, robots, and self-driving cars that can understand the world. Doing what's never been done before takes vision, innovation, and the world's best talent.

Industry

Computer and electronic product manufacturing

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Santa Clara, CA, US

Year founded

1993

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