Hardware Validation and Debug Engineer - DDR

Graphcore

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 expending our labs in Bristol which will play a central role in Graphcore's work building the future of AI computing.   We are looking for a Validation and Debug engineer to work with Architecture, Silicon Engineering, Hardware Engineering and the Firmware team to help create and execute the Validation and debug of our cutting-edge system platforms. As such you will need to develop a detailed understanding of our silicon and platform products. Your role will be to create and execute bring-up plans of our silicon devices and platforms in systems to show that they will operate correctly over all conditions in the final product. This bring-up will also involve debugging of hardware and firmware. You will concentrate on mainly manual testing of systems in the lab with the aid of some automation. Responsibilities and Duties  * Perform Validation for new hardware platforms. * Debug PCB, power, signal integrity, and interface issues. * Support validation of high-current multi-phase SMPS power systems, including sequencing, transient response, thermal behaviour, load regulation, and power integrity analysis. * Debug complex power delivery networks supporting high-speed ASICs, FPGAs, MCUs, and accelerator devices. * Validate voltage rails, sequencing requirements, ripple, noise, efficiency, and thermal performance of multi-phase regulators. * Identify root causes and drive corrective actions across hardware and firmware domains. * Create bring-up documentation, test procedures, and debug reports.   Working closely with: * PCB design engineers * Power engineers * Signal integrity engineers * Embedded software teams   Essential skills * Hardware Validation and Debug * Multi-phase SMPS validation * Power integrity analysis * Signal integrity analysis * Root-cause analysis * Embedded systems * Cross-functional collaboration * Low-level system integration * An ability to work independently without daily oversight. * Independently performs board bring-up and subsystem debug * Drives issue resolution across teams. * Use advanced lab instrumentation including: * High-bandwidth oscilloscopes * PCIe protocol analysers * Logic analysers * Electronic loads * Power analysers * Hands-on experience with: * Multi-phase SMPS and PDN validation *   Desirable skills: * Knowledge of PCBA and system level technologies * Background knowledge of ATE systems and capabilities. You may not be directly involved with such testing. * The ability to code or script automation and data analysis using appropriate coding languages such as Python, LabView and BASH. * Experience with Renesas controllers   Benefits: In addition to a competitive salary, Graphcore offers a competitive benefits package. 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.

Graphcore

ABOUT THE JOB Build the systems that prove the next generation of AI hardware works at scale. You will validate and debug Graphcore’s silicon platforms before they power advanced AI workloads worldwide. Your work will directly influence product quality, performance, and reliability across our hardware stack. You will lead hands-on system validation in the lab, working closely with architecture, silicon, hardware, and firmware teams. You will debug complex PCIe, Ethernet, and SerDes issues, drive root-cause analysis, and bring new platforms to life. This role offers deep technical ownership and exposure to some of the industry’s most demanding hardware challenges. You will help shape the future of AI computing from the lab bench upward. THE TEAM AND CULTURE You will join a team that moves quickly, solves hard problems, and values technical depth. Engineers are trusted to investigate issues, challenge assumptions, and drive decisions forward. Work is highly hands-on and collaborative across hardware, firmware, and silicon teams. Problems are tackled directly in the lab using real systems and real data. We value people who take ownership and enjoy figuring things out. The best ideas win, regardless of job title or background. WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR * Strong experience validating and debugging complex hardware systems * Hands-on expertise with PCIe Root Complex bring-up, debug, and protocol analysis * Experience debugging Ethernet SerDes systems and high-speed interfaces * Confident using oscilloscopes, BERT systems, VNA/TDR equipment, and protocol analysers * Strong root-cause analysis skills across signal integrity and subsystem issues * Ability to work independently and drive technical issues across multiple teams BENEFITS · Unlimited annual leave · Up to 5% matched pension · Phantom equity – share in Graphcore’s success · True flexibility in how and where you work · Office spaces designed for collaboration · Free food and an on-site barista · Health cash plan · Income protection · Life assurance · Along with other benefits you can choose from (private medical insurance, dental plan etc) INCLUSION STATEMENT We welcome people from all backgrounds and experiences and are committed to building an inclusive environment where everyone can do their best work. We’re an equal opportunity employer and recognise that everyone brings different strengths and perspectives. If you need any adjustments during the interview process, just let us know - we’re happy to support you. JOIN THE TEAM AT 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 brings together deep expertise to solve complex problems and deliver meaningful progress in AI compute. If you want to solve complex hardware challenges at the centre of AI innovation, we’d love to hear from you. Apply now and help bring the future of AI computing closer.

Graphcore

ABOUT GRAPHCORE  At Graphcore, we’re building the future of AI compute. We’re a team of semiconductor, software and AI experts, with deep experience in creating the complete AI compute stack - from silicon and software to infrastructure at datacenter scale. As part of the SoftBank Group, backed by significant long-term investment, we are delivering key technology into the fast-growing SoftBank AI ecosystem. To meet the vast and exciting AI opportunity, Graphcore is expanding its teams around the world. We are bringing together the brightest minds to solve the toughest problems, in a place where everyone has the opportunity to make an impact on the company, our products and the future of artificial intelligence JOB SUMMARY Applicants for this role should have strong experience designing, developing, and maintaining high-quality software systems. The role focuses on testing and validating a complex machine learning software stack, with particular emphasis on software architecture, automation, and engineering best practices. The ideal candidate is an experienced software engineer who values code quality, testability, and long-term maintainability, and enjoys building systems that other engineers rely on. This person will be comfortable working across large codebases, contributing to CI/CD infrastructure, and shaping technical direction through thoughtful design and mentoring in a technically demanding environment spanning ML frameworks, infrastructure, and AI accelerator hardware THE TEAM The ML QA team is composed of highly skilled software engineers with a strong focus on automation, software quality, and data-driven validation. The team works closely with industry-standard machine learning frameworks and models, contributing to upstream open-source projects and collaborating across the wider software organization.  Operating in a fast-paced environment, the team plays a critical role in ensuring reliability, performance, and maintainability across the ML software stack, helping to deliver robust and high-quality products to customers.  RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES * Design, implement, and maintain robust test infrastructure and automation for a complex ML software stack. * Architect and evolve test frameworks and tooling with a focus on scalability, maintainability, and developer experience. * Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines targeting simulators, emulators (e.g. QEMU), and physical hardware. * Create representative ML workloads and gain insights from their execution. (Numerical accuracy, performance analysis and benchmarking). * Work closely with all Software development teams, supporting a culture of quality, security and maintainability. * Review code and designs, setting a high bar for software engineering best practices. * Mentor and support junior engineers, helping raise the overall technical capability of the team. * Evaluate existing test strategies and infrastructure, identifying gaps and driving improvements aligned with team and organizational goals.  CANDIDATE PROFILE Essential: * Experience in production-quality software engineering roles. * Strong software design and architecture skills, with experience working on large or complex systems. * Strong proficiency in Python, including experience building and maintaining production codebases. * Solid experience with CI/CD systems and automated testing (preferably GitHub-based workflows). * Experience working in Linux environments. * Familiarity with C or C++, with the ability to read, debug, and reason about low-level code when needed. * Proven ability to mentor junior engineers and influence engineering practices within a team. * Strong problem-solving skills and a proactive, self-directed approach to work. * Bachelor/Master's/PhD or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Maths, Machine Learning, Data Science, or related field.  Desirable * Exposure to machine learning frameworks such as PyTorch, JAX, Triton, TensorFlow * Experience with distributed workload management systems such as Kubernetes, VLLM, Keras or MLOps pipelines * Experience working with hardware simulators or emulators (e.g. QEMU). * Experience developing for or working with FPGA-based systems. * Experience with people management or mentoring  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