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# Principal Systems Software Engineer job in Champaign

- **Company:** University of Illinois
- **Location:** Champaign, IL, United States
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Salary:** $272,000.0
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Java (Programming Language), Apache HTTP Server, C++ (Programming Language), Nvidia CUDA, Computer Programming, Computer Engineering, Continuous Integration, Data Centers, Database Queries, Distributed Systems, JSON, Open Source Technology, DataOps, Scala (Programming Language), Software Engineering, Strategies of Testing, Parquet, Data Processing, Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), Apache Spark, Data Lakes, Information Technology, Presto
- **Published:** August 22, 2026
- **Apply:** https://jobs.diversity.com/career/2460076/principal-systems-software-engineer-champaign

## About the Role

* BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or closely related field (or equivalent experience)
 * 15+ years of work experience in software development
 * Outstanding technical skills in designing and implementing high-quality distributed systems
 * Excellent programming skills in C++, Java, and/or Scala
 * Ability to work with teams across organizational boundaries and geographies
 * Familiarity with the open source data platform ecosystem (Apache Spark, Velox, Presto, Apache Arrow, Apache DataFusion, etc.). Meaningful contributions to the OSS community a plus.
 * Highly motivated with strong interpersonal skills
 * Database query optimization is a strong plus

## Description

At NVIDIA, we have been invested in accelerating Apache Spark, providing an open source plugin for Apache Spark. Apache Spark is the most popular data processing engine in data centers. We strive to accelerate Spark applications on GPUs without any code changes. We are passionate about working on hard problems that have an impact. You will need to have strong programming skills, a deep understanding of software development related to C++. You will work with a team that is using open source libraries like RAPIDS to accelerate reading, writing and batch data operations in Spark., * Develop Java, Scala and CUDA/C++ libraries to accelerate DataFrames and I/O operations on common file formats such as Parquet, ORC and JSON

 * Enable interoperability with table formats such as Apache Iceberg and Delta Lake, and metastores such as Unity Catalog
 * Work with open source communities to enhance libraries like NVIDIA cuDF, CCCL and UCX through technical discussion and code contributions
 * Collaborate with distributed systems teams to craft solutions to distributed processing problems challenges at large scale
 * Provide recommendations and feedback to teams regarding decisions surrounding topics such as infrastructure, continuous integration and testing strategy
 * Build, test and optimize CUDA/C++ libraries across different platforms


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