Software Engineer - Fleet Orchestration

In 2012, Lambda started with a crew of AI engineers publishing research at top machine-learning conferences. We began as an AI company built by AI engineers. That hasn't changed. Today, we're on a mission to be the world's top AI computing platform. We equip engineers with the tools to deploy AI that is fast, secure, affordable, and built to scale. Whether they need powerhouse GPU hardware on-site or the flexibility of cloud-based solutions, we've got the horsepower to make it happen. Lambda’s AI Cloud has been adopted by the world’s leading companies and research institutions including Anyscale, Rakuten, The AI Institute, and multiple enterprises with over a trillion dollars of market capitalization. Our goal is to make computation as effortless and ubiquitous as electricity.

If you'd like to build the world's best deep learning cloud, join us. 

*Note: This position requires presence in our San Francisco office location 4 days per week; Lambda’s designated work from home day is currently Tuesday.

About the Role

Lambda is hiring a Software Engineer to join our Fleet Orchestration Team, where we’re building the systems that automate and coordinate the lifecycle of thousands of GPU hosts across Lambda’s global infrastructure. Our systems act as the control and data planes for our physical fleet, enabling dynamic allocation of machines between products, full automation of provisioning workflows, and accurate tracking of infrastructure state.

You’ll be responsible for developing services and tooling that convert product needs into infrastructure actions—handling everything from initial host onboarding to reconfiguration and retirement. This is an opportunity to build core backend systems that make Lambda’s infrastructure more flexible, observable, and reliable.

What You’ll Do

• Develop Control Plane Services: Design and build backend software that manages physical host allocation, deployment workflows, and state reconciliation.

• Automate Host Lifecycle Management: Implement systems that orchestrate provisioning, OS installation, firmware updates, and decommissioning of GPU machines.

• Ensure Infrastructure Accuracy: Build tools to validate and maintain consistency between intended and actual system state across large-scale hardware environments.

• Enable Dynamic Resource Allocation: Create mechanisms that support shifting machine usage across internal and customer-facing products based on real-time demand.

• Collaborate with Cross-Functional Teams: Partner with teams across infrastructure, security, and product engineering to deliver scalable, maintainable solutions.

You

• 3+ years of experience building production systems in Python or Go.

• Are comfortable with Linux systems and understand systems-level operations.

• Understanding of control plane design patterns, including reconciliation loops, desired vs. actual state, and event-driven orchestration.

• Familiarity with scheduling, bin packing, and resource allocation strategies at scale.

• Think clearly about system architecture, automation, and the gap between desired and actual state.

Nice to Have

• Experience contributing to large-scale infrastructure projects or open-source platforms (e.g., OpenStack, Kubernetes, or similar).

• Familiarity with bare metal provisioning, firmware workflows, and host reimaging.

• Knowledge of configuration management systems and infrastructure-as-code patterns.

• Exposure to CI/CD pipelines, observability tools, or container orchestration concepts.

Salary Range Information

Based on market data and other factors, the annual salary range for this position is $180,000 - $250,000. However, a salary higher or lower than this range may be appropriate for a candidate whose qualifications differ meaningfully from those listed in the job description.

About Lambda

• Founded in 2012, ~350 employees (2024) and growing fast

• We offer generous cash & equity compensation

• Our investors include Andra Capital, SGW, Andrej Karpathy, ARK Invest, Fincadia Advisors, G Squared, In-Q-Tel (IQT), KHK & Partners, NVIDIA, Pegatron, Supermicro, Wistron, Wiwynn, US Innovative Technology, Gradient Ventures, Mercato Partners, SVB, 1517, Crescent Cove.

• We are experiencing extremely high demand for our systems, with quarter over quarter, year over year profitability

• Our research papers have been accepted into top machine learning and graphics conferences, including NeurIPS, ICCV, SIGGRAPH, and TOG

• Health, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents

• Commuter/Work from home stipends for select roles

• 401k Plan with 2% company match (USA employees)

• Flexible Paid Time Off Plan that we all actually use

A Final Note:

You do not need to match all of the listed expectations to apply for this position. We are committed to building a team with a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and skills.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Lambda is an Equal Opportunity employer. Applicants are considered without regard to race, color, religion, creed, national origin, age, sex, gender, marital status, sexual orientation and identity, genetic information, veteran status, citizenship, or any other factors prohibited by local, state, or federal law.