Senior Site Reliability Engineer, AI Inference

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Job Title: AI Inference Engineer

Role Objective

The   AI Inference Engineer   plays a critical role in the AI lifecycle by bridging the gap between high-performance model development and optimized deployment environments. This position focuses on optimizing   Large Language Models (LLMs)   for inference, serving diverse environments—from GPU-rich data centers to resource-constrained edge devices—with a strong emphasis on maximizing throughput, minimizing latency, and maintaining model accuracy.

This role is pivotal in advancing F5’s AI capabilities, ensuring enterprise-grade reliability by leveraging hardware acceleration, designing scalable infrastructure, and monitoring system performance.

Key Responsibilities

High-Performance AI Serving

- Build and maintain robust inference engines using tools like   vLLM ,   TGI (Text Generation Inference) , and   NVIDIA Triton , ensuring high performance at scale.

- Handle deployment optimizations to deliver low-latency AI serving solutions for multiple business applications.

Hardware Acceleration and Optimization

- Profile and optimize models for specialized hardware backends, including   NVIDIA GPUs   (CUDA/ TensorRT ),   Apple Silicon ( CoreML ) , and AI accelerators like   TPUs   and   LPUs .

- Collaborate with hardware teams to maximize utilization and performance across various computational environments.

Inference Orchestration and Scalability

- Design and implement   auto-scaling architectures   for online (real-time) and batch inference pipelines, leveraging   Kubernetes   for inference routing and orchestration.

- Ensure software solutions are optimized for peak performance during traffic spikes, maintaining reliability and scalability.

Performance Monitoring and Observability

- Establish robust observability frameworks to monitor   Time to First Token (TTFT) , tokens per second, and memory bandwidth utilization against service-level agreements (SLAs).

- Build and execute   performance and load testing suites   to identify bottlenecks and ensure consistent reliability at scale.

Technical Requirements

Required Skills:

- Programming Languages:   Proficiency in programming languages such as   Python ,   C++ ,   Rust , or   Golang   specifically for high-performance AI workflows.

- Inference Tools:   Proven hands-on experience with tools like   vLLM ,   TensorRT ,   Llama.cpp , and   Ollama   for inference development and optimization.

- Infrastructure Expertise:   Strong familiarity with infrastructure technologies, including   Docker ,   Kubernetes , and cloud platforms such as   AWS ,   GCP , and   Azure .

- Hardware Optimization Expertise:   Comprehensive understanding of GPU and AI hardware, including techniques for profiling and optimizing performance for accelerators like NVIDIA GPUs and TPUs.

Preferred Experience:

- Prior experience deploying   Large Language Models (LLMs)   with advanced techniques like   Speculative Decoding   or   PagedAttention .

- Contributions to   open-source inference libraries   or hardware-level kernel development (e.g., CUDA, Triton kernels).

- Background in   MLOps   or   SRE   roles focused on   high-performance AI endpoints   and reliability during demand surges.

- Proficiency in designing scalable solutions for high-throughput inference environments optimized for traffic bursts.

Success Metrics (KPIs):

- Latency Reduction:   Continuously improve inference latency metrics, ensuring minimal   Time to First Token (TTFT)   and maximum tokens per second.

- Cost Efficiency:   Achieve lower "Cost per 1K Tokens" through better resource utilization and hardware optimization.

- Scalability:   Maintain system stability and reliability during   traffic spikes , ensuring performance consistency across environments.

- Throughput Maximization:   Deploy models optimized for peak hardware usage and maximized process throughput.

Why Join F5?

F5 empowers you to push boundaries in   AI optimization   and   high-performance engineering . Joining our team means:

- Collaborating with cutting-edge technologies and hardware solutions to support real-time AI applications.

- Advancing your career in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary environment focused on innovation, scalability, and problem-solving.

- Driving transformative projects that deliver real-time AI reliability to global customers while maintaining cost and efficiency standards.

- Working on advanced   MLOps   solutions   that seamlessly scale enterprise AI systems and shape the future of intelligent deployment.

What Success Looks Like:

As an   AI Inference Engineer   at F5, success is measured by your ability to:

- Combine technical expertise and problem-solving skills to deliver low-latency, scalable, and high-performing AI prediction systems.

- Collaborate efficiently across cross-functional teams, participating in knowledge sharing and system refinement.

- Demonstrate initiative by driving optimizations across hardware, tools, and orchestration processes, balancing immediate solutions with long-term architectural goals.

- Translate   complex AI and inference workflows into practical solutions that align with F5's strategic objectives.

The Job Description is intended to be a general representation of the responsibilities and requirements of the job. However, the description may not be all-inclusive, and responsibilities and requirements are subject to change.

Please note that F5 only contacts candidates through F5 email address (ending with @f5.com) or auto email notification from Workday (ending with f5.com or @myworkday.com ) .

Equal Employment Opportunity

It is the policy of F5 to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and employment applicants without regard to unlawful considerations of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, sensory, physical, or mental disability, marital status, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other classification protected by applicable local, state, or federal laws. This policy applies to all aspects of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, job assignment, compensation, promotion, benefits, training, discipline, and termination.  F5 offers a variety of reasonable accommodations for candidates . Requesting an accommodation is completely voluntary. F5 will assess the need for accommodations in the application process separately from those that may be needed to perform the job. Request by contacting [email protected] .