We are now looking for a Principal Hardware Security Architect – Advanced Technologies & Threat Modeling! NVIDIA is seeking an experienced and visionary Hardware Security Architect to help drive the security roadmap for our next-generation SoCs and GPUs. This is a senior-level individual contributor position that will define, craft, and guide the implementation of security architecture for our innovative platforms, with a specific focus on emerging threats in advanced packaging, connectivity, and physical attack vectors.
You will work with diverse teams across NVIDIA, external partners, and industry bodies to meet and exceed security requirements for our mobile, automotive, gaming, and data center platforms.
What You'll Be Doing:
- Define Security Roadmap: Collaborate across the company to guide the direction of platform security and develop a long-term security roadmap for our products, working with hardware, software, research, and marketing teams.
- Physical Security & Standards: Research, design, and develop architecture solutions that provide mitigations against physical attacks, including fault injection and side-channel attacks. Drive the adoption of and compliance with industry standards such as the Open Compute Project (OCP) S.A.F.E. (Security Appraisal Framework and Enablement) program, ensuring our firmware and hardware supply chain meets rigorous assurance requirements.
- Advanced Packaging & Photonics Threat Modeling: Analyze and develop threat models for new technologies, including advanced packaging (2.5D/3D ICs, chiplets) and silicon photonics connectivity. Investigate vulnerabilities such as hardware Trojans in multi-chiplet photonic neural network accelerators, inter-chiplet side-channel analysis, and threats to optical on-chip networks.
- AI-Accelerated Discovery: Employ AI and other new tools to accelerate the discovery and triage of hardware vulnerabilities. Leverage AI systems to uncover deep, previously invisible flaws at scale and shift from manual triage to AI-driven direction. Lead the evaluation of AI-assisted hardware security verification methodologies and autonomous research agents for fuzzing GPU kernel drivers.
- Architecture & Verification: Review architectural, microarchitectural, and verification specifications published by internal teams to ensure all IPs align with platform security requirements. Work with customers and partners to identify and address security issues and threats.
What We Need to See:
- Education: MS, or PhD (or equivalent experience) in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or Computer Engineering.
- Experience: 15+ years of meaningful relevant work or research experience.
- Technical Depth:
- Experience with the ASIC design process and architecture of large SoCs or GPUs.
- Programming and debugging fundamentals across languages such as C/C++, Verilog, ARM assembly, and Python/Perl scripting.
- Deep understanding of SoC security architecture, including secure/measured boot and ARM or RISCV CPU architectures.
- Security Expertise:
- Direct experience with security mitigations against physical attacks including fault injection and side-channel attacks.
- Knowledge of security threat modeling and penetration testing.
- Familiarity with OCP S.A.F.E. or similar industry security frameworks.
- Soft Skills: The ability to work in a dynamic, customer-focused team with strong interpersonal skills.
Ways to Stand Out from the Crowd:
- Advanced Packaging Security: Published research or hands-on experience securing 2.5D/3D ICs, chiplets, or System-in-Package (SiP) designs against supply-chain tampering, interconnect attacks, and hardware Trojans.
- Photonics Security: Expertise in the security risks of silicon photonics (SiPH) and optoelectronic systems, including vulnerabilities in microring resonators and quantum key distribution (QKD) hardware.
- AI for Security: Demonstrated experience deploying AI/ML models for hardware vulnerability discovery, automated triage, or autonomous fuzzing of complex systems.
- Industry Impact: Active participation in standards bodies (e.g., OCP, IEEE) or a track record of patenting security inventions (e.g., current flattening circuits for power side-channel protection).
NVIDIA is widely considered to be one of the technology world’s most desirable employers. We have some of the most forward-thinking and hardworking people in the world working for us. Are you a creative and autonomous architect with a genuine passion for advancing innovative security features into silicon? If so, we want to hear from you.
Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and the pay of employees in similar positions. The base salary range is 272,000 USD - 431,250 USD.You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.
This posting is for an existing vacancy.
NVIDIA uses AI tools in its recruiting processes.
NVIDIA is committed to fostering an inclusive work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. As we highly value diversity in our current and future employees, we do not discriminate (including in our hiring and promotion practices) on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or any other characteristic protected by law.Skills Required
- MS, PhD, or equivalent experience in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or Computer Engineering
- 15 or more years of relevant work or research experience
- Experience with ASIC design processes and large SoC or GPU architecture
- Programming and debugging experience with C/C++, Verilog, ARM assembly, and Python or Perl scripting
- Deep understanding of SoC security architecture, secure boot, measured boot, and ARM or RISC-V architectures
- Direct experience designing mitigations against fault injection and side-channel attacks
- Knowledge of security threat modeling and penetration testing
- Familiarity with OCP S.A.F.E. or similar industry security frameworks
- Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work in dynamic, customer-focused teams
- Experience securing 2.5D/3D ICs, chiplets, or System-in-Package designs
- Expertise in silicon photonics and optoelectronic system security
- Experience deploying AI or machine learning for hardware vulnerability discovery, automated triage, or autonomous fuzzing
- Participation in OCP, IEEE, or other standards bodies
- Patents or published research in hardware security
NVIDIA Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about NVIDIA and has not been reviewed or approved by NVIDIA.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity awards and a discounted ESPP are highlighted as core parts of total compensation, enabling employees to share in the company’s success. Stock-based compensation and the two-year lookback ESPP are consistently described as especially valuable.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is portrayed as robust, with comprehensive medical, dental, and vision options alongside mental health support and on-site care resources. Employer HSA contributions and wellness perks reinforce the depth of the offering.
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Retirement Support — Retirement programs are depicted as strong, featuring a meaningful 401(k) match with Roth options and support for Mega Backdoor Roth contributions. These elements position long-term savings as a notable advantage of the total rewards package.
NVIDIA Insights
What We Do
NVIDIA’s invention of the GPU in 1999 sparked the growth of the PC gaming market, redefined modern computer graphics, and revolutionized parallel computing. More recently, GPU deep learning ignited modern AI — the next era of computing — with the GPU acting as the brain of computers, robots, and self-driving cars that can perceive and understand the world. Today, NVIDIA is increasingly known as “the AI computing company.”
