Software Optimization Engineer – GPU, Hardware-Accelerated Media (FFmpeg, HandBrake, Intel® Quick Sync Video)

Role Overview

• A unique Software Engineering position combining leading-edge media software engineering work with software and hardware architectural influence and deep GPU/media domain expertise.
• Deliver industry-leading hardware-accelerated video solutions on Intel Graphics architecture to the market.
• Work with leading open-source media communities (FFmpeg, HandBrake, VLC, etc.), independent software vendors, broadcasters, and content-creation partners.
• Ensure that hardware-accelerated encode, decode, transcode, and video-processing pipelines run optimally on Intel client and workstation platforms.
• Utilize deep expertise in Intel® Quick Sync Video (QSV), oneVPL/VPL, Video Acceleration APIs (VA-API on Linux, D3D11/12 Video on Windows), and modern codec standards.
• Research, develop, prototype, and upstream contributions that drive adoption of Intel media capabilities across the open-source ecosystem.
• Support and influence software development during all phases of the lifecycle, including feature definition, project setup, execution, upstream review and integration, and go-to-market activities.
• Provide technical training, consultation, and hands-on assistance to open-source maintainers and ISV developers.
• Engage with open-source maintainers and ISV partners to provide performance analysis and technical guidance throughout the software lifecycle.
• Interface with Intel engineering groups to resolve issues affecting customer and community success.
• Serve as the voice of the open-source media ecosystem within Intel, researching emerging codecs and standards, and staying current with industry advancements.

Requirements

• Degree or equivalent experience in a scientific or engineering discipline.
• Advanced experience programming in modern C and C++.
• Advanced experience with hardware-accelerated video programming using one or more of the following: Intel® Quick Sync Video / oneVPL / libmfx VA-API DXVA and Direct3D 11/12 video on Windows NVENC/NVDEC Equivalent technologies.
• Hands-on experience contributing to or extending FFmpeg, HandBrake, or comparable open-source media projects (e.g., libav, GStreamer, x264/x265, SVT-AV1, dav1d).
• Solid understanding of modern video codec standards (AVC/H.264, HEVC/H.265, AV1, VP9, and awareness of VVC).
• Understanding of media containers and streaming protocols such as MP4, MKV, MPEG-TS, RTMP, SRT, HLS, and DASH.
• Strong problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills, including the ability to work effectively within public mailing lists and open-source review processes.
• Self-motivated and capable of working independently.
• Excellent written and verbal English communication skills.
• Ph.D. in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field. (Additional Qualification)
• Demonstrated record of accepted upstream patches in FFmpeg, HandBrake, or related projects (please provide commit or pull request links). (Additional Qualification)
• Experience with oneVPL/VPL runtime, Intel Media SDK legacy stack, or Intel Graphics media driver components (e.g., media-driver, libva, intel-vaapi-driver). (Additional Qualification)
• Experience with AI-assisted media workloads such as super-resolution, denoising, frame interpolation, and scene or shot detection using OpenVINO™, DirectML, ONNX Runtime, or PyTorch. (Additional Qualification)
• Experience with low-level GPU programming using Vulkan Video, OpenGL, DirectX, Metal, or compute APIs such as SYCL, DPC++, OpenCL, or CUDA. (Additional Qualification)
• Experience with Intel software development and performance analysis tools such as VTune™, Graphics Trace Analyzer, Metrics Discovery API, Intel® C/C++ Compiler, or TBB. (Additional Qualification)
• Proven experience with performance profiling, debugging tools, and bitstream analysis for media applications. (Additional Qualification)
• Understanding of CPU, GPU, fixed-function media IP, SoC, or DSP architectures. (Additional Qualification)
• Working knowledge of Windows and Linux development environments, including building, packaging, and CI workflows for open-source media stacks. (Additional Qualification)
• Familiarity with streaming and broadcast workflows, including OBS, FFmpeg-based ingest pipelines, live transcoding, and quality metrics tools such as VMAF and SSIMULACRA2. (Additional Qualification)
• Experience managing relationships with open-source maintainers and ISV partners. (Additional Qualification)
• Experience planning and executing software projects, benchmarking, and CI-driven validation of media software stacks. (Additional Qualification)
• Additional language skills are a plus.

Tech Stack

• FFmpeg
• Linux
• PyTorch
• TypeScript