Principal Engineer, Rack-Scale GPU Architecture

The role

We are looking for a Principal Engineer to own how rack-scale GPU systems are architected, orchestrated, and operated for inference at DigitalOcean.

DigitalOcean is the Inference Cloud. The unit of GPU capacity is changing underneath the entire industry: for a decade the server was the boundary, and now it is the rack. GB300 NVL72 and the Vera Rubin generation behind it present 72 or more GPUs inside a single coherent NVLink domain, which breaks most of the assumptions our scheduling, networking, failure-handling, and capacity models were built on. Getting this right determines whether we can serve trillion-parameter models with the economics our customers expect.

What you will do

Owning the end-to-end reference architecture for rack-scale inference systems—GB300 NVL72 today, Vera Rubin–class NVL144 and successors next—from fabric design through to what a customer can actually schedule
Defining how NVLink domains are partitioned, allocated, and isolated across tenants and workloads, including multi-node NVLink and IMEX domain provisioning, fabric manager configuration, and the blast radius each choice implies
Architecting the scale-out RDMA fabric that connects racks—RoCEv2 or InfiniBand, rail-optimized topologies, congestion control, GPUDirect RDMA paths—and tuning NCCL to actually use it well
Making Kubernetes topology-aware for these systems: DRA for GPU and NVLink-domain allocation, multi-node inference primitives such as LeaderWorkerSet, gang scheduling, Topology Manager and NUMA alignment, and the GPU and Network Operators that underpin all of it
Driving multi-node disaggregated serving on this hardware in partnership with the inference platform team—how prefill and decode pools map onto NVLink domains and rail boundaries, and where the KV cache moves between them
Owning failure semantics and serviceability at rack scale: health checking and DCGM-based diagnostics, drain and repair workflows, degraded-domain scheduling, and firmware and driver lifecycle across a fleet of racks
Establishing the validation and burn-in methodology that qualifies a rack for production—collective bandwidth and latency characterization, NCCL and end-to-end inference benchmarks, and the acceptance gates a rack must pass
Partnering with our data center engineering team on power, liquid cooling, and rack density constraints, and translating those into what is actually deployable and at what cost
Working directly with NVIDIA and ODM partners on pre-silicon enablement, early hardware bringup, and roadmap feedback
Setting technical direction, mentoring senior and staff engineers across teams, and representing DigitalOcean upstream, at conferences, and in customer architecture reviews

What You'll Add to DigitalOcean

12+ years in large-scale compute, HPC, or GPU infrastructure engineering, including hands-on responsibility for systems in production
Deep understanding of GPU interconnect and system topology—NVLink and NVSwitch, NVLink domains, PCIe, NUMA, and how each shapes what a workload can be placed where
Strong RDMA networking background: RoCEv2 or InfiniBand at scale, GPUDirect RDMA, congestion control and lossless fabric tuning, and rail-optimized cluster topologies
Practical NCCL expertise—not just running it, but debugging it: algorithm and protocol selection, topology detection, and diagnosing collectives that are slow for non-obvious reasons
Substantial Kubernetes depth for accelerated workloads: device plugins and DRA, scheduling extensions, operators, and a clear-eyed view of where Kubernetes' model breaks down against rack-scale hardware
Strong systems programming and automation skills in Go and Python, and comfort at the driver, firmware, and BMC layer when the problem lives there
Experience operating fleets where hardware failure is routine, including the diagnostics, automation, and blast-radius thinking that makes that survivable
Excellent written and verbal communication, and a track record of leading architecture across organizational boundaries—hardware, networking, platform, and product

Why You’ll Like Working for DigitalOcean

We innovate with purpose. You’ll be a part of a cutting-edge technology company with a high-growth trajectory, who are proud to simplify cloud and AI so builders can spend more time creating software that changes the world. As part of our team, you’ll embody our "Shark" mindset: bold, ambitious, and scrappy. You'll lead with a bias for action and take true ownership of our products, customer success, and team culture.
We prioritize career development. At DigitalOcean, you’ll do the best work of your career. You will join a community of exceptional talent, collaborating closely with some of the brightest and most interesting people in the industry. We are a high-performance and fast-paced organization that will always challenge you to think big. Our talent development team prioritizes your professional development and provides resources to support your growth. We provide employees with reimbursement for relevant conferences, training, and education, subject to company policy.
We care about your well-being. We take a comprehensive approach to our total rewards packages because we know different things drive different people. Our benefits are designed to support you and may include flexible time off, local team meetups, and mental health and well being support. Our benefits philosophy is consistent globally, but specific benefits and eligibility vary by location to reflect local needs and regulations.
We reward our employees. The salary range for this position is based on market data, relevant years of experience, and skills. Eligible employees may also receive equity compensation, which may include a new hire equity grant and, in participating countries, the opportunity to participate in our Employee Stock Purchase Program. Equity awards are subject to approval and the terms of the applicable plan.
Non-sales roles: In addition to base salary, this role is eligible to participate in DigitalOcean’s annual bonus plan and may be eligible for a new hire equity grant, subject to plan terms and local eligibility. Bonus amounts depend on company and individual performance.
Sales roles (sales compensation eligible): In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible to earn incentive compensation under the applicable sales compensation plan and may be eligible for a new hire equity grant, subject to plan terms and local eligibility.
DigitalOcean is an equal-opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Application Limit: You may apply to a maximum of 3 positions within any 180-day period. This policy promotes better role-candidate matching and encourages thoughtful applications where your qualifications align most strongly.

Principal Engineer, Rack-Scale GPU Architecture

The role

Principal Engineer, Rack-Scale GPU Architecture

The role

What you will do

What You'll Add to DigitalOcean

Nice to have

Why You’ll Like Working for DigitalOcean

Pay and benefits

About DigitalOcean

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