Senior Power and Performance Validation Engineer

Power and Performance Validation Engineer ABOUT US 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 Reporting to senior leadership within Architecture and Validation, the Power and Performance Validation Lead will drive validation strategy and execution for advanced AI compute silicon and systems. The role is responsible for leading power, thermal and performance validation activities across pre-silicon and post-silicon environments to ensure products meet efficiency, reliability and scalability expectations. This role requires strong technical expertise and collaboration across multiple engineering disciplines to deliver robust validation methodologies, scalable automation frameworks and actionable performance insights. THE TEAM The Power and Performance Validation team sits within the Architecture and Validation organisation and is responsible for validating the performance, efficiency and thermal behaviour of Graphcore silicon and systems. The team supports the full product lifecycle, from early architectural modelling through to first silicon bring-up, characterization and production readiness. Engineers work closely with cross-functional teams globally to debug complex issues, optimize workloads and continuously improve validation infrastructure and methodologies. RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES * Define and contribute validation strategies for power, thermal and performance characterization of AI compute silicon and platforms * Contribute to planning and execution of validation activities across multiple projects and milestones * Develop comprehensive validation plans covering functional, stress, workload and corner-case scenarios * Work autonomously on post-silicon bring-up and characterization activities for power and performance validation * Drive validation of CPU, memory, interconnect and high-speed I/O subsystems under complex workload conditions * Develop scalable automation frameworks, regression infrastructure and reporting tools using Python * Design and execute benchmark workloads, parameter sweeps and performance experiments to identify optimization opportunities * Collaborate with architecture, RTL, firmware, software and systems teams to debug and resolve complex technical issues * Define validation metrics, pass/fail criteria and reporting methodologies to ensure repeatable and high-quality analysis * Guide development of custom workload generators and micro-benchmarks where required * Analyse power, thermal and performance data to identify bottlenecks and recommend improvements * Contribute to continuous improvement of validation processes, tooling and engineering practices * Communicate technical findings, project status, risks and recommendations clearly to stakeholders and engineering leadership * Support knowledge sharing and contribute to continuous improvement across the validation organisation CANDIDATE PROFILE ESSENTIAL: * Strong experience in power and performance validation, silicon characterization or system performance engineering * Deep understanding of modern SoC architecture, including CPU, memory, interconnect and high-speed I/O technologies * Strong Linux systems knowledge and low-level performance analysis experience * Strong Python programming skills for automation, orchestration and data analysis * Experience with benchmarking and profiling tools such as stress-ng, fio, perf, iperf or equivalent technologies * Experience debugging complex hardware and software interactions * Ability to define structured validation methodologies, workload models and test strategies * Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret large datasets and identify system bottlenecks * Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills * Ability to work independently on complex technical tasks while collaborating effectively across teams DESIRABLE * Experience with AI accelerator, GPU or high-performance compute architectures * Experience with pre-silicon modelling or simulation environments * Knowledge of power management technologies and silicon characterization methodologies * Programming experience in C/C++ for low-level system or benchmark development * Familiarity with hardware instrumentation and telemetry systems * Experience working with high core-count or large-scale compute systems * Experience contributing to shared validation infrastructure and engineering best practices 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.

Senior Post Silicon Validation Engineer (Bringup) Salary $156,500 - $211,700 + Phantom Equity + Benefits  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 which will play a central role in Graphcore's work building the future of AI computing.   We are looking to hire Post-Silicon Validation Engineers to join our collaborative, cross-functional development team validating cutting edge, high performance AI chips and platforms. You will play a critical role in supporting new product introductions and post-silicon validation. Working within the Post-Silicon 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, and be responsible for, leading, mentoring, and providing technical guidance to other engineering team members. In this role, you can leverage your experience and industry knowledge to architect and drive implementation of continuous improvements to test infrastructure and processes.  The Post-Silicon Validation team sits within the Architecture and Validation team, we are responsible for validation of new silicon when it returns from manufacture, enabling and supporting the production SW and FW teams to bring up their software and also supporting the Silicon Characterisation team.   Responsibilities and Duties  * Plan, design, develop and debug silicon validation tests in bare metal C/C++ on FPGA/Emulator prior to first silicon  * Deploy silicon validation tests on first silicon and debugging them  * Develop automated test framework and regression test suites in Python to optimize validation efficiency  * Collaborate closely with engineers from many other disciplines on a variety of topics  * Work with Validation and Production Test engineering peers to implement best practices and continuous improvements to test methodologies  * Analyse test results, identify and debug failures/defects  * Contribute to shared test and validation infrastructure  * Provide feedback to architects  Essential skills:  * Strong experience in Bare metal / embedded C/C++  * Good knowledge of digital ASICs * Be highly motivated, a self starter, and a team player   * Ability to work across teams and programming languages to find root causes of deep and complex issues  * Experience of the post-silicon validation process applied in digital ASIC environments  * Python, Linux  * Excellent communication skills and the ability to collaborate with others to solve problems * Excellent problem-solving, analytical & diagnostic skills    Desirable skills:  * Driver level experience with one or more of the following is highly desirable:  * PCIe  * Ethernet  * Memory technologies (LPDDR, DDR, HBM, …)  * Other peripherals such as I2C, I3C, SPI, …  * Good knowledge of mixed-signal building blocks such as PLLs, high speed PHYs and IC control/communication protocols is highly desirable * Experience of Arm CPUs, System IP and debug tools * Experience of AMBA protocols * Understanding of ML applications and their workloads * Experience in Characterization, Failure Analysis, Test Development, Statistical analysis, and Customer Support    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.