Systems Engineer, Platform

Description

VDURA is redefining high-performance data infrastructure for AI, HPC, and data-intensive workloads. Building on our heritage as the creators of PanFS, VDURA is delivering next-generation parallel file system solutions designed for extreme scale, performance, and reliability across modern compute environments. Our platforms integrate cutting-edge server, storage, and networking technologies to power some of the most demanding workloads in the world.

Role Overview

VDURA is seeking a Senior System Engineer to lead the specification, selection, and qualification of server, storage, and networking platforms used in VDURA parallel file system solutions. This role is critical to ensuring our hardware platforms meet the performance, scalability, reliability, and cost objectives required for AI and HPC workloads.

You will work closely with software engineering, QA, product management, and external partners to define reference architectures, evaluate emerging technologies, and qualify platforms for both internal development and customer deployment.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and own system architectures for VDURA parallel file system solutions, including compute, storage, and networking components
• Specify, evaluate, and select server, storage, and networking platforms from OEMs and technology partners for current and next-generation products
• Lead hardware bring-up, qualification, and validation efforts in collaboration with software, QA, and lab teams
• Recommend continuous improvement changes to the platform definition based on vendor roadmaps and customer feedback.
• Develop build and test instructions for integration and manufacturing partners.
• Drive performance characterization of platforms, including throughput, latency, IOPS, failover behavior, and scalability under real-world workloads
• Partner with software teams to ensure optimal alignment between hardware capabilities and PanFS datapath and control planes
• Work directly with OEMs, IHVs, and component vendors on roadmap alignment, issue resolution, and joint qualification efforts
• Support customer engagements by providing platform guidance, configuration recommendations, and technical deep dives as needed
• Contribute to lab infrastructure planning and ensure test environments reflect future customer-facing configurations

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field (Master's preferred)
• 10+ years of experience in hardware engineering, systems engineering, or platform architecture roles
• Strong hands-on experience specifying, benchmarking and qualifying servers, storage systems, and high-performance networking platforms
• Engineering experience with:
• x86 server architectures
• Storage - SAS, SATA, NVMe
• Networking - Ethernet, InfiniBand, RDMA, TCP, UDP
• Multicore - NUMA, memory management, caching
• PCIe Gen5/6
• Hypervisor technologies - particularly KVM
• Experience working with HPC, AI, or large-scale storage systems
• Proven ability to collaborate cross-functionally with software, QA, and product teams
• Comfortable working with vendors and partners at both technical and roadmap levels
• Strong analytical, documentation, and communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with parallel file systems, distributed storage, or scale-out data platforms
• Familiarity with GPU-accelerated systems and AI infrastructure requirements
• Experience with storage benchmarking tools and workload characterization
• Prior exposure to customer-facing technical roles or field engineering support
• Experience building or managing lab environments for system qualification

Location: We strongly prefer candidates in Pittsburgh, PA or Denver, CO. However, we are open to remote candidates who meet the qualifications and can work effectively from a remote location.

VDURA Culture & Values

At VDURA, we're committed to transforming data into the catalyst for groundbreaking human advancements. We're looking for collaborative and innovative minds to join our team and help us drive this mission forward. If you're passionate about mastering complex challenges, driving innovation, and making a tangible impact on the world, VDURA is the place for you. Join us and be part of a vibrant, "can do" culture where every individual has the potential to make a real impact on our business success.

At VDURA, we value diversity and are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.