
Graphcore · Austin
Staff -Power and Performance Validation Engineer ABOUT US Graphcore is one of the world’s leading innovators in Artificial Intelligence compute. It is develo...
Staff -Power and Performance Validation Engineer
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.
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 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.
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.
Staff -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 lead 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 * Lead 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
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. Graphcore’s teams are drawn from diverse backgrounds and bring a broad range of skills and perspectives. JOB SUMMARY We are seeking a Staff System Validation Engineer to design and implement validation tests for Arm-based data center SoCs using a combination of open-source benchmarking tools and custom micro-benchmarks. Define test cases, tune workload parameters, and use Python to automate and analyze validation across processing units, system memory, communication links, and PCI Express components. THE TEAM The Systems Validation team validates Graphcore’s AI compute platforms across hardware, firmware, and software domains. RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES * Translate hardware features into structured, parameterized test cases, including: * Objectives, workload models, parameters, metrics, and pass/fail criteria. * Use and tune open-source tools such as: * Stress-ng, fio, iperf, sysbench, Imbench * Define workload parameters: * Concurrency (threads/cores), memory footprint, access patterns * Queue depth, block size, CPU/NUMA affinity. * Design and execute validation scenarios: * Functional, performance, stress, and corner-case testing. * Validate across domains: * CPU scaling and cache behavior * Memory (DDR/HBM) bandwidth, latency, and NUMA effects * Interconnect contention under multi-core load * PCIe/I-O throughput, latency, and multi-device scenarios * Develop custom micro-benchmarks (C/C++) when existing tools are insufficient * Use Python to: * Automate test execution and orchestration * Implement parameter sweeps and test matrices * Parse, analyze, and visualize results. * Debug system behavior and performance issues in collaboration with hardware and firmware teams CANDIDATE PROFILE Essential: * Strong background in Linux systems and low-level performance analysis * Experience in system validation, benchmarking, or performance testing * Solid understanding of one or more domains: * CPU architecture, memory systems, or PCIe * Experience using benchmarking tools (stress-ng, fio, iperf, etc.) * Ability to define test cases, parameters, and workload models * Proficiency in Python (essential) for automation, orchestration, and data analysis * Programming experience in C/C++ for micro-benchmark development Desirable: * Experience with Arm-based platforms * Strong programming skills in C/C++ and Python for system-level development and automation * Familiarity with performance tools (perf, numactl, taskset) * Experience with large-scale or high core-count 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. -
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 a best-in-class 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 a diverse group of 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 We are seeking a senior validation lead engineer to lead at-scale rack validation efforts for next-generation AI hyperscale systems. This role focuses on post-silicon system validation across the full lifecycle, ensuring functional, electrical, and thermal performance meets product objectives. You will own end-to-end blade and rack validation including planning, development, execution, and debug while collaborating across firmware, systems, and hardware teams. THE TEAM The Rack Validation team is responsible for ensuring system readiness and quality at scale. The team works cross-functionally with firmware, silicon, and system engineering teams to validate complex AI compute platforms. RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES * Lead post-silicon validation of AI compute blades and racks including test planning, development, and automation. * Drive provisioning and integration of system components (SoC FW, BMC, RMC, OS) for rack-level readiness. * Own execution against program achievements and report validation progress and risks. * Triage test failures, collect debug data, and collaborate on root cause analysis. * Track validation coverage and continuously improve test processes and infrastructure. * Collaborate with ODM/JDM partners on validation and quality. * Mentor engineers and drive engineering excellence. CANDIDATE PROFILE Essential: * Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or equivalent experience in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field. * Proven track record in system, rack, or embedded validation with leadership experience. * Strong experience in large-scale hardware validation environments. * Expertise in CPU/GPU, memory, IO, and firmware validation. * Experience with Linux/server OS and automation using Python/Bash. * Knowledge of IPMI, Redfish, PLDM. * Experience with CI/CD pipelines and hardware interfaces. Desirable: * Experience in hyperscale environments. * Familiarity with OpenBMC and processes for verifying firmware functionality. * Knowledge of firmware security and HIL testing. * Experience with test management tools. 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.