AI SoC Validation / Bring-up Lead
Graphcore designs Intelligence Processing Units (IPUs) purpose-built to accelerate machine learning and AI workloads. The company is looking for an AI SoC Validation / Bring-up Lead, based in Bristol. This position is part of the UK's expanding AI semiconductors landscape.
About Graphcore
Graphcore is one of the world’s leading innovators in Artificial Intelligence compute.
It is developing hardware, software and systems infrastructure that will unlock the next generation of AI breakthroughs and power the widespread adoption of AI solutions across every industry.
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. Together, they share a bold vision: to enable Artificial Super Intelligence and ensure its benefits are accessible to everyone.
Graphcore’s teams are drawn from diverse backgrounds and bring a broad range of skills and perspectives. A melting pot of AI research specialists, silicon designers, software engineers and systems architects, Graphcore enjoys a culture of continuous learning and constant innovation.
The Role:
We are developing the next generation of AI compute, a large-scale system-on-chip (SoC) designed to power future high-performance AI systems. As the SoC Validation Lead, you will be responsible for enabling pre-production software to run reliably on new silicon quickly and efficiently, before showing that the silicon meets the highest standards of quality, reliability and functionality, ready for production deployment.
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.
Responsibilities:
- Define and lead post-silicon validation strategy
Develop and refine the overall post-silicon validation approach for our AI SoCs, ensuring reliable and timely delivery of validated silicon, architectural correctness, feature robustness, and at-scale system reliability. - Drive cross-domain debug and issue resolution
Lead investigation and resolution of complex issues spanning silicon, firmware, operating systems, and platform interactions. Ensure that fixes are effective and sustainable. - Promote collaboration and shared understanding
Work closely with design, software, and validation teams to align on quality objectives and debug priorities. Use data-driven insights and clear communication to maintain focus and alignment across teams. - Advance automation and scalable validation
Encourage the use of emulation, prototyping, and large-scale validation infrastructure to improve coverage and reduce time to debug. - Support continuous improvement
Foster a culture that values learning, transparency, and improvement in validation methods, automation, and analysis. - Engage with leadership and customers
Provide clear and concise updates on validation progress, risks, and quality indicators to executive teams and key partners. Contribute to product readiness assessments and roadmap decisions.
About you:
- A systems thinker comfortable working across hardware, software, and integration boundaries.
- A collaborative leader who builds trust and alignment across diverse teams.
- Skilled in technical problem solving and debugging complex post-silicon issues.
- A clear communicator who can simplify complexity and support sound decision-making in fast-paced environments.
- Committed to developing people and promoting an inclusive, high-performing team culture.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering or equivalent; Master’s preferred.
- 20+ years in silicon, system, or platform validation, including 10+ years in technical leadership.
- Proven experience leading post-silicon validation and bring-up for complex SoCs (AI, GPU, or CPU).
- Strong understanding of SoC architecture, coherency protocols, power management, and interconnects.
- Expertise in debug tools, DFT infrastructure, and validation automation frameworks.
- Proficient in C/C++, Python, and Linux-based environments; experience with large-scale validation clusters is an advantage.
- Excellent communication, collaboration, and stakeholder management skills.
Benefits
In addition to a competitive salary, Graphcore offers flexible working, a generous annual leave policy, private medical insurance and health cash plan, a dental plan, pension (matched up to 5%), life assurance and income protection. We have a generous parental leave policy and an employee assistance programme (which includes health, mental wellbeing, and bereavement support). We offer a range of healthy food and snacks at our central Bristol office and have our own barista bar! 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.
Applicants for this position must hold the right to work in the UK. Unfortunately at this time, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship or support for visa applications
About Graphcore
Graphcore is a Bristol-based AI semiconductor company founded in 2016 by serial semiconductor entrepreneurs Nigel Toon and Simon Knowles. Toon previously led XMOS and Picochip, while Knowles co-founded Element14 (acquired by Broadcom) and Icera (acquired by NVIDIA for $435M). The company developed Intelligence Processing Units (IPUs), novel AI accelerators designed from the ground up for machine learning workloads, alongside the proprietary Poplar graph programming framework. Graphcore raised $767M in total funding, reaching a $2.77B valuation, with backing from Sequoia Capital, Atomico, Amadeus, Microsoft, and others. In July 2024, SoftBank Group acquired Graphcore for approximately $500M to $600M. The company continues to operate from Bristol with plans to expand its UK headcount to 750.