Software Development Engineer - Gaming

In This Role

In this role, you will focus on triaging and diagnosing real‑world DirectX 12 game performance issues by analyzing GPU and CPU behavior across different graphics stacks. You’ll collect and interpret detailed performance traces, compare behavior between Windows and Linux environments, and clearly communicate findings and recommended next steps to graphics driver and runtime engineers. This role is highly hands‑on and sits at the intersection of graphics architecture, performance tooling, and low‑level systems analysis.

• Reproduce reported DirectX 12 performance issues using data and scenarios provided by an internal testing lab.
• Capture and analyze GPU and CPU profiles and traces using performance tools such as PIX (timing captures), GPUView/ETW, Windows Performance Analyzer (WPA/WPR), and vendor‑specific profilers (e.g., Radeon GPU Profiler).
• Identify performance bottlenecks, including GPU‑bound vs. CPU‑bound workloads, synchronization issues, shader inefficiencies, pipeline stalls, and memory bandwidth constraints.
• Analyze performance counters, timing data, and traces to isolate likely root causes and form clear, testable hypotheses.
• Create clear, concise performance write‑ups that include reproduction steps, captured data, key metrics, and a summary of suspected hotspots.
• Collaborate closely with graphics driver and runtime engineers to validate findings, test fixes, and confirm performance improvements or regressions.
• Perform first‑level performance triage and determine appropriate next steps for deeper investigation or escalation.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field.
• 2–4 years of hands‑on experience in graphics performance analysis or low‑level graphics engineering.
• Solid understanding of real‑time rendering fundamentals and the GPU graphics pipeline, including draw calls, shaders, textures, buffers, and state changes.
• Strong knowledge of GPU architecture fundamentals such as waves/warps, occupancy, caches, memory bandwidth, and pipelining behavior.
• Practical experience with DirectX 12, including command queues and lists, descriptor heaps, resource states and barriers.
• Experience working with shaders, including HLSL and SPIR‑V, and a high‑level understanding of shader ISA concepts.
• Hands‑on experience using graphics and performance analysis tools such as PIX, GPUView, Radeon GPU Profiler (RGP), and ETW‑based workflows.
• Proficiency in C/C++ with the ability to read, understand, and reason about performance‑sensitive code paths.
• Comfortable working in Windows environments, including command‑line usage, runtime or driver builds, and debugging workflows.
• Comfortable working in Linux environments, including shell usage, services, and basic scripting.
• Strong written communication skills, with the ability to produce clear bug reports, triage summaries, and technical findings.

• Experience comparing and analyzing performance differences across multiple operating systems or graphics stacks.
• Exposure to Windows graphics stack internals, including WDDM, DXGI, ETW providers, and driver symbol debugging.
• Familiarity with scripting or automation using Python, PowerShell, or Bash.
• Experience performing basic data analysis using CSV files, spreadsheets, or simple plots to visualize performance trends.
• Prior experience partnering directly with driver, compiler, or runtime engineering teams to diagnose and resolve performance issues.
• Background in game engines, graphics middleware, or real‑time rendering applications.