Systems Design Eng. - Client Systems Special Projects & Strategy

WHAT YOU DO AT AMD CHANGES EVERYTHING

At AMD, our mission is to build great products that accelerate next-generation computing experiences—from AI and data centers, to PCs, gaming and embedded systems. Grounded in a culture of innovation and collaboration, we believe real progress comes from bold ideas, human ingenuity and a shared passion to create something extraordinary. When you join AMD, you’ll discover the real differentiator is our culture. We push the limits of innovation to solve the world’s most important challenges—striving for execution excellence, while being direct, humble, collaborative, and inclusive of diverse perspectives. Join us as we shape the future of AI and beyond. Together, we advance your career.

The Role

AMD is seeking a Principal Member of Technical Staff to lead client systems special projects and multi‑generation strategy across our client platform portfolio. This role is designed for a senior technical leader operating at company scope, with deep experience spanning silicon design, system design, and platform integration, combined with a proven track record of technical leadership, cross‑organizational influence, and strategic decision‑making.

The Systems Design Engineer - Client Systems – Special Projects & Strategy role operates horizontally across Client Systems, Architecture, SoC/Platform teams, Product Management, and Customer Engineering, addressing complex, high‑impact problems that do not naturally reside within a single organization. The role focuses on next‑generation and follow‑on generation platforms (2–4 year horizon), influencing direction early—before architectural and program commitments are locked.

The Person

This position requires exceptional systems‑level judgment, credibility with senior technical and engineering leadership, and the ability to lead through influence rather than authority. This person restores critical system‑level and cross‑organizational connective tissue across AMD’s client platform ecosystem—without adding organizational complexity. By combining silicon experience, system‑level thinking, leadership credibility, and strategic scope, the role enables faster, higher‑quality decisions and ensures AMD’s client platforms are architected deliberately for the future, not optimized one generation at a time.

Key Responsibilities

Special Projects & Strategic Initiatives

* Lead high‑impact special projects that span silicon, system, platform, and ecosystem boundaries, particularly where ownership is distributed across multiple organizations.

* Frame ambiguous technical and organizational problems, define scope and objectives, and drive alignment to resolution.

* Act as a single‑threaded technical owner for initiatives that exceed the normal capacity or charter of existing execution teams.

Multi‑Generation Client System Strategy

* Drive and contribute to long‑range client system strategy, shaping platform direction for next‑generation and future‑generation products (2–4 years forward).

* Identify system‑level architectural opportunities and risks across compute, graphics, memory, I/O, power, thermals, firmware, and software integration.

* Ensure long‑lead system requirements are surfaced early and reflected in architectural and platform planning.

Silicon, Architecture, and Platform Alignment

* Partner closely with SoC Architecture, Platform Architecture, and Silicon Design teams to provide system‑informed input into architectural tradeoffs and capability planning.

* Influence SoC and platform decisions early, based on system behavior, integration risk, and real‑world constraints—without assuming formal architecture ownership.

* Translate system‑level insights into actionable guidance for silicon and platform roadmap discussions.

Cross‑Organization Technical Leadership

* Operate as a trusted senior technical peer to other senior engineers and technical leadership across Client Systems, Architecture, Product, and CE organizations.

* Drive cross‑functional alignment through technical credibility, structured reasoning, and clear communication.

* Mentor senior engineers and raise the bar for system‑level and strategic thinking across the organization.

Product and Customer Interface

* Provide system‑level technical input to Product Management to support roadmap definition and prioritization.

* Partner with Customer Engineering to elevate recurring customer and ecosystem themes into forward‑looking system and platform strategy.

* Ensure external and ecosystem dependencies are factored into future platform decisions.

Scope & Impact

* Company‑level influence across multiple client product generations and platforms.

* Direct impact on architectural decisions, roadmap alignment, and execution effectiveness.

* Trusted technical authority for complex, under‑defined initiatives spanning multiple organizations.

Preferred Experience

Silicon & Low‑Level Engineering Experience

* Direct experience in silicon design, silicon bring‑up, or SoC/platform integration, including interactions between hardware, firmware, and software.

* Working knowledge of SoC architecture, power/performance domains, memory subsystems, and I/O at a level sufficient to influence architectural decisions.

* Experience in silicon architecture, design, pre-silicon verification or post-silicon validation, with a focus on HW/SW co-design and SoC/platform integration, including hardware, firmware and software interactions

System Design & Platform Integration

* Extensive hands‑on experience in client system design and platform integration, spanning HW/FW/OS/driver interactions.

* Proven ability to reason about end‑to‑end system behavior rather than isolated components.

* Experience delivering or supporting complex client platforms through multiple product generations.

* Experience in power / performance tuning and strategies

Leadership & Engineering Management Exposure

* Demonstrated leadership in direct, matrixed or cross‑functional environments, including technical leadership roles, program leadership, or prior engineering management responsibilities.

* Experience influencing outcomes across teams without direct reporting authority.

* Background working with or leading senior engineering teams, architects, or platform groups.

Strategy & Long‑Range Planning

* Experience contributing to or owning multi‑generation technical or platform strategy.

* Ability to connect technical depth to strategic business outcomes, including roadmap tradeoffs and long‑lead decision making.

* Demonstrated comfort operating with ambiguity and incomplete data.

Academic Credentials

* Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent required.

* Master’s or PhD in a relevant discipline strongly preferred.

LOCATIONS:

This role is open to Markham, Ontario, Canada (preferred) or Austin, Texas.

This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Benefits offered are described: AMD benefits at a glance.

AMD does not accept unsolicited resumes from headhunters, recruitment agencies, or fee-based recruitment services. AMD and its subsidiaries are equal opportunity, inclusive employers and will consider all applicants without regard to age, ancestry, color, marital status, medical condition, mental or physical disability, national origin, race, religion, political and/or third-party affiliation, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We encourage applications from all qualified candidates and will accommodate applicants’ needs under the respective laws throughout all stages of the recruitment and selection process.

AMD may use Artificial Intelligence to help screen, assess or select applicants for this position. AMD’s “Responsible AI Policy” is available here.

This posting is for an existing vacancy.