
Lightcast Discovery · Cambridge
At Lightcast we are enabling scientists to gain a deeper understanding of human health and disease at the cellular level. Our technology enables the direct, pr...
At Lightcast we are enabling scientists to gain a deeper understanding of human health and disease at the cellular level.
Our technology enables the direct, precise interrogation of single cell heterogeneity, interactions and functional behaviours with
a level of flexibility and scale that was previously inaccessible. Across a broad range of disciplines from basic and
translational research to drug discovery, we provide the freedom to accelerate discovery and apply novel biological insights.
We are seeking a senior electronic systems engineer to join us and take a leading role in system design and engineering activities
on the Lightcast Platform. The ideal candidate will be an established engineering professional with extensive experience
developing and delivering complex systems within a product business.
We’re a friendly and open-minded team where flexible working is available, career development is fully supported and many learning
opportunities are provided. Due to the nature of the role, you will be based in our West Cambridge offices with frequent visits to
our Manufacturing site 2 miles away, though some remote working is possible.
Your responsibilities will include
improve product designs
and verification tests
maintain our products
Requirements
and delivering complex systems within a product business
test equipment and methodologies
to improve designs for manufacture and ensure delivery to specification
engineering processes
setbacks, excellent attention to detail, problem-solving skills and creativity.
engineering, other technical and commercial disciplines, across a range of projects and initiatives
acceptable
Lightcast Discovery is committed to equal employment opportunity. Learn more about Lightcast Discovery
We have agreements with our preferred suppliers and will not be adding to this list. Any resume submitted in the absence of a
signed agreement will become the property of Lightcast Discovery, and will not incur a placement fee.
ABOUT THE JOB Validate the ML stack that turns accelerator hardware into trusted AI performance. This role sits where modern ML models meet Graphcore’s software and hardware stack. You will test, benchmark and validate complex systems before they reach customers. Your work will expose regressions, correctness issues and performance limits across frameworks, models and execution environments. You will help teams understand what is working, what is breaking and why. You will run open source models, build automated benchmarking pipelines and create targeted tests for low level ML behaviour. That includes numerical precision, quantisation, attention mechanisms, distributed execution and model subgraphs. This is a role for someone who wants to stay close to how AI systems really work. You will not design new models, but you will make them run reliably on ambitious infrastructure. THE TEAM AND CULTURE The ML QA team is where Graphcore’s ML software stack comes together for validation. Work spans unit tests, full model benchmarks, distributed workloads, simulators, emulators and hardware targets. Engineers are expected to take ownership, question assumptions and improve how testing is done. The team moves quickly, but decisions are grounded in evidence, benchmark data and technical discussion. You will work closely with software, infrastructure and hardware teams. Squads organise around priorities, with space for engineers to shape roadmaps and raise the quality bar. WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR · Strong experience in Machine Learning or ML-adjacent software engineering roles. · A solid grasp of neural networks, training, inference, numerical precision and performance trade-offs. · Hands-on experience with PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX, Triton or similar ML frameworks and tools. · Strong Python skills for automation, experimentation, benchmarking and reporting. · Experience designing, running and analysing ML benchmarks or model experiments. · Confident debugging skills in Linux, with curiosity about model behaviour and system performance. 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) 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 validate the systems behind next generation AI compute, we’d love to hear from you. Apply now to help build what comes next.
ABOUT THE JOB Help prove the ML software stack that future AI systems will depend on. Graphcore is expanding the software systems behind AI compute at datacenter scale. This role focuses on validating a complex machine learning stack before it reaches customers and hardware.You will build the test infrastructure, automation and tooling that engineers trust every day. Your work will help raise reliability, performance and maintainability across frameworks, simulators, emulators and future hardware. You will shape test architecture across large codebases, CI pipelines and representative ML workloads. You will use strong software engineering judgement to turn complex technical goals into scalable validation systems. This is a role for someone who enjoys depth, ownership and useful engineering. You will make quality easier, faster and more visible for teams building at the edge of AI compute. THE TEAM AND CULTURE The ML QA team sits where Graphcore’s software components come together. Engineers work across unit tests, integration tests, full model runs, subgraph validation and benchmarking. Work is organised through focused squads with clear ownership. People are expected to step up, speak openly and improve how the team builds, tests and learns. Decisions are grounded in evidence from code, data and system behaviour. The team works closely with software teams to identify gaps, improve tooling and move priorities forward quickly. WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR · Strong software design skills, with experience building maintainable systems across large codebases. · Production Python experience, including testable, reliable code used by other engineers. · Experience with CI/CD, automated testing and Linux based development workflows. · Familiarity with C or C++, with confidence reading and debugging low level code. · Understanding of ML frameworks, workloads or model execution beyond simple API usage. · Ability to mentor engineers, improve practices and take ownership of complex technical problems. 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) 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 shape how complex ML software is tested, trusted and improved, we’d love to hear from you. Apply now to be part of the journey.
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. JOB SUMMARY Join our dynamic Software Infrastructure team and take a pivotal role in scaling and managing our infrastructure. You will develop essential tools and services that empower our broader software team. Your contributions will enhance the build, test, deployment, and productisation processes of our Machine Learning Software components. Work with our High-Performance Computing (HPC) AI platforms and gain invaluable experience in distributed systems. THE TEAM The Software Infrastructure team provides critical platforms and services for software development teams across the business. Our responsibilities include managing the CI platform and services, build engineering, component integration, and packaging and release systems. We operate in squads, fostering a culture of service ownership and empowerment for our engineers. We focus on long-term engineering solutions and strive to eliminate toil wherever possible. RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES * Develop, own, and maintain tools and services to support the software build and release process * Deploy and maintain services with Kubernetes and Docker * Manage our Cloud Infrastructure using tools such as Terraform * Support the technical development of junior and graduate engineer * Embody a strong engineering discipline for high reliability and minimal toil CANDIDATE PROFILE Essential: * Knowledge of Python/Go/C++ (or similar language) * Experience deploying services in the cloud (AWS preferred) * Deep understanding of Linux environments * Native user of CI/CD for production deployments * Experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools (e.g. Terraform/OpenTofu) Desirable * Experience using Kubernetes (k8s) or OpenStack * Experience with GitHub Actions * Experience with build tools (e.g. CMake) * Experience with modern observability tooling (e.g. Prometheus) * Experience with Grafana 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