Intel
Software Optimization Engineer – GPU / Hardware-Accelerated Media (FFmpeg / HandBrake / Intel® Quick Sync Video) (f/m/d)
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Software Optimization Engineer – GPU / Hardware-Accelerated Media (FFmpeg / HandBrake / Intel® Quick Sync Video) (f/m/d)
Lead Software Engineer – GPU/Media Architecture & Open-Source Contributions
About the Role
A dynamic and influential Software Engineering position blending cutting-edge media software development, hardware-architecture storytelling, and deep GPU/media expertise to deliver industry-leading hardware-accelerated video solutions for Intel Graphics architecture.
In this role, you’ll collaborate with:
- Leading open-source communities (FFmpeg, HandBrake, VLC, etc.),
- Independent software vendors (ISVs), broadcasters, and content partners,
- Internal Intel engineering teams,
- To optimize hardware-accelerated video processing (encode, decode, transcode, and real-time workflows) for Intel client and workstation platforms.
You’ll drive impact by:
- Leveraging expertise in Intel® Quick Sync Video (QSV), oneVPL/VPL, VA-API (Linux), D3D11/12 Video (Windows), and modern codecs (AVC/H.264, HEVC/H.265, AV1, VP9, VVC).
- Researching, prototyping, and upstreaming software innovations to foster open-source adoption of Intel media acceleration.
- Supporting professional and consumer media workflows—ranscoding farms, live streaming, content creation via hardware-accelerated AI-enhanced pipelines.
Key Responsibilities
- Software Development & Upstream Contributions
- Design, develop, debug, and upstream patches to FFmpeg, HandBrake, GStreamer, VLC, and related open-source projects (e.g., OBS, x264/x265, SVT-AV1, dav1d).
- Optimize and maintain Intel® Quick Sync Video code paths via oneVPL, libmfx, VA-API, and Direct3D video backends.
- Collaborate with open-source maintainers and ISVs to ensure smoother integration with Intel’s graphics and media technology strategy.
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Performance Analysis & Benchmarking
- Conduct benchmarking of encode/decode/transcode pipelines, assessing metrics like PSNR, SSIM, VMAF.
- Analyze real-world performance across Intel vs. competitive platforms.
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Technical Leadership & Community Engagement
- Serve as an Intel champion of open-source—actively influencing media workflows and maintaining industry standards.
- Provide hands-on guidance to developers on media architecture, testing, and optimization.
- Publish technical documentation, blog posts, conference talks, and training materials.
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Multidisciplinary Collaboration
- Bridge hardware-software gaps by influencing Intel’s future media technology roadmaps with insights from real-world workloads.
- Work with intellectual property (IP) teams, AI performance teams, and related domains (e.g., OpenVINO, GPU acceleration, NPUs).
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Strategic Partnerships & Open-Source Influence
- Strengthen Intel’s media tech ecosystem by engaging with ISVs, streaming platforms, industries.
Essential Qualifications
- Degree (or higher) in engineering, computer science, or related field.
- Advanced proficiency in modern C, C++.
- Deep experience in hardware-accelerated media frameworks:
- Proficiency in Intel® QSV (Quick Sync), oneVPL, libmfx, VA-API, DXVA/Direct3D media APIs.
- Familiarity with competing tech stacks (e.g., NVENC/NVDEC).
- Practitioner-level hands-on contributions to FFmpeg, HandBrake, or comparable open-source codebases.
- Strong understanding of video compression standards: H.264, HEVC/H.265, AV1, VP9.
- Experience analyzing encoders, containers, and streaming protocols (e.g., HLS, DASH).
- Technical writing, mailing-list discussions, and collaboration with public open-source communities.
- Excellent command of English in writing and verbal communication.
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Preferred Qualifications
- Ph.D. in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or related field.
- Verified record of accepted upstream patches (provide commit/PR links upon request).
- Extensive exposure to Intel’s software stack (e.g., Media SDK, graphics drivers, libva).
- Experience with AI-assisted media tools (OpenVINO/TensorFlow, ML-based pipelines).
- Proficiency in low-level GPU programming (Vulkan Video, DirectX, Metal), performance profiling, or CUDA.
- Tooling expertise (VTune, Intel Compiler, OpenCL, DPC++).
- Background in understanding memory, CPU/GPU/NPU IP architectures, development environments, and CI pipelines.
- Familiarity with streaming/broadcast workflows (OBS, ingest pipelines, VMAF).
Location & Compensation
- Primary Location: Munich, Germany (hybrid model).
- AXIS salary range (Germany): 62,220.00 € - 112,550.00 € (includes competitive total remuneration package).
- Additional locations: Paris (France), Leixlip (Ireland), Tel Aviv (Israel), London (UK).
All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to protected characteristics.
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