Director - Post-Silicon Validation (Functional)
Graphcore
Salary undisclosed
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Description
Graphcore
Director-Post Silicon Validation (Functional)
Graphcore is a globally recognised leader in Artificial Intelligence computing systems. The company designs advanced semiconductors and data centre hardware that provide the specialised processing power needed to drive AI innovation, while delivering the efficiency required to support its broader adoption.
As part of the SoftBank Group, Graphcore is a member of an elite family of companies responsible for some of the world’s most transformative technologies. We are opening a new AI Engineering Campus in Austin, Texas which will play a central role in Graphcore's work building the future of AI computing.
We are developing the next generation of AI compute, a large-scale system-on-chip (SoC) designed to power future high-performance AI systems.
Job Summary
We have an exciting opportunity to be part of a collaborative, cross-functional development team validating cutting-edge, high-performance AI chips and platforms.
You will play a key role in supporting new product introductions and validation. You will lead a team delivering post-silicon validation across the full AI SoC, working across silicon, firmware, and platform levels. The role requires a deep technical understanding, strong hands-on debug experience, and the ability to collaborate effectively with hardware, software, and systems engineering teams.
Working within the Validation team, you will be involved with bringing first silicon to life, functionally validating it and working closely with many other teams to help it become a fully characterised and working product, reporting project status/progress to program management on a regular basis. You will have the opportunity to provide technical guidance to other engineering team members. In this role, you can leverage our experience and industry knowledge to architect and drive implementation of continuous improvements to test infrastructure and processes.
The Team
The Post-Silicon Bringup team sits within the Architecture and Validation team, we are responsible for bringup and validation of new silicon when it returns from manufacture, enabling and supporting the production SW and FW teams to bring up their software and supporting the Silicon Characterisation team.
Responsibilities and Duties:
Minimum Qualifications:
Preferred Qualifications:
- PCIe
- Ethernet
- Memory technologies (LPDDR, DDR, HBM, …)
- Other peripherals such as I2C, I3C, SPI, …
Why Join Us
This is an opportunity to play a central role in developing an advanced AI compute platform that pushes the boundaries of performance and efficiency. You will be part of a highly skilled and motivated team, working on technology that will have a significant impact across future AI systems.
USA Benefits
In addition to a competitive salary, Graphcore offers flexible working and a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your health, wellbeing and financial future. Our benefits include medical, dental and vision coverage, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), disability and life insurance, a 401(k) retirement plan, commuter benefits, wellness services and an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). We welcome people of different backgrounds and experiences; we're committed to building an inclusive work environment that makes Graphcore a great home for everyone. We offer an equal opportunity process and understand that there are visible and invisible differences in all of us. We can provide a flexible approach to interview and encourage you to chat to us if you require any reasonable adjustments.
Benefits
- health insurance
- vision insurance
- 401(k)
- life insurance
About this role
Graphcore is establishing a new AI Engineering Campus in Austin and seeking a Director to lead post-silicon validation of next-generation AI chips. This role sits at the intersection of hardware bringup and functional testing, requiring you to take first silicon from manufacture through full characterization. You'll own the validation strategy across the entire system-on-chip, working hands-on with bare metal C/C++ test development on FPGAs and emulators before silicon arrives, then deploying and debugging those tests on actual hardware. The position demands deep technical expertise in embedded systems, strong diagnostic skills, and the ability to architect test infrastructure and automation frameworks in Python while collaborating across silicon, firmware, and platform teams.
The ideal candidate brings 10+ years of post-silicon validation experience in digital ASIC environments, with proven capability in bare metal embedded development, Linux, and Python. You should have hands-on familiarity with key interfaces like PCIe, Ethernet, and memory technologies, plus knowledge of mixed-signal blocks such as PLLs and high-speed PHYs. Beyond technical depth, this role requires leadership maturity—you'll guide other engineers through complex debug challenges, mentor team members, and report progress to program management. Experience leading multi-site teams and exposure to Arm CPUs, System IP, and AMBA protocols are highly valued.
This is an in-office position in Austin requiring full-time commitment to a collaborative, cross-functional team working on transformative AI computing technology. Graphcore offers competitive compensation alongside comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, vision, 401(k), and wellness services.
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