Staff Engineer

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 9fin 9fin is the AI platform powering global debt markets — the world’s largest asset class at over $145 trillion. Debt markets are vast, global, and mission-critical, yet still run on fragmented data, PDFs, and manual workflows. 9fin replaces this broken infrastructure with a single platform that centralises proprietary credit data, deep analysis, and high-value workflows across global markets. Today, 9fin powers teams at 300+ blue-chip institutions worldwide, including global banks, asset managers, private equity firms, law firms, and advisors. The business is scaling at exceptional speed, with rapid expansion in the US and best-in-class retention driven by deep workflow adoption. We’re at a defining inflection point. With proven product-market fit and strong, global market pull, 9fin is accelerating toward becoming the category-defining platform for debt markets worldwide. We’re looking for a Staff Engineer to lead the technical vision and architecture for 9fin’s Core Markets engineering organisation.   In this role, you’ll define and evolve the system design that underpins our future expansion—owning the end-to-end architecture, setting technical direction, and ensuring our platforms scale effectively. You’ll create clear technical documentation, align multiple engineering teams around a shared vision, and guide execution by helping teams make thoughtful trade-offs.   This is a high-impact, hands-on leadership role on the IC track. You’ll operate across strategy and execution—partnering with 6+ teams, contributing directly to critical code paths when needed, and raising the engineering bar across the organisation.   WHAT YOU'LL DO * Define technical strategy and architecture across Platform, AI, Retrieval, and shared engineering services. * Partner with Engineering Leaders and Staff Engineers to drive technical direction and platform investments. * Design scalable backend systems, APIs, and shared platform capabilities. * Guide architecture across teams, helping reduce complexity and establish common patterns. * Partner with AI and Retrieval teams to build scalable search and RAG capabilities. * Lead complex cross-team technical initiatives from design through production. * Improve platform reliability, scalability, observability, and developer experience. * Contribute hands-on to critical technical work and set a high engineering bar through design reviews, mentoring, and technical leadership. * Leverage AI-assisted engineering to improve productivity and accelerate delivery.     WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR * Experience designing and building large-scale backend systems and distributed architectures. * Strong systems design skills and experience leading cross-team technical initiatives. * Experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS), Kubernetes, APIs, and modern backend development. * Familiarity with AI-powered systems, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), search platforms, or vector databases. * Strong programming experience in Python or another modern backend language. * Comfortable influencing technical direction without direct authority. * Excellent communication skills and a passion for mentoring engineers and raising engineering standards.     Nice to have: * Experience as a founding engineer or CTO at a startup, or building systems from scratch in early-stage environments * Experience modernising legacy systems. Benefits We’re a scaling start up and we enjoy sharing our success, when the company succeeds, we always reinvest that in our people. We also offer huge amounts of responsibility, an abundance of opportunity for growth and a platform to truly excel. Financial & Insurance * Competitive Salary (our salary bands are benchmarked at the top end of the market) * Equity options * Pension (your minimum contributions are 4% with 9fin matching up to 7%) * Private Medical Insurance * Paid sick leave with Income Protection for long periods of illness * Group Life Assurance * Season Ticket Loan & Cycle to Work schemes Time off * 25 holiday days per year * Local public holidays (with the ability to exchange them for alternative days) * Hybrid working model, to allow you the flexibility to decide how, where and when you do your best work * Work abroad for up to 3 months a year * 1 month paid sabbatical after 5 years of service * Enhanced parental leave & flexible working arrangements available Training & Culture * Professional learning and development budget * Quarterly team socials * Summer and Winter company social events 9fin is an equal opportunities employer At 9fin we are dedicated to building and promoting a fair and inclusive workplace where everyone can reach their full potential and truly belong. We recognize that building diverse teams enables a more creative and productive environment. If you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t perfectly align with the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You might just be who we’re looking for — either for this role, or perhaps another.