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
We are seeking an experienced Hardware Validation Manager to lead the validation of Graphcore hardware platforms from prototype through production release. This role is responsible for defining validation strategies, building and leading a high-performing validation engineering team, and ensuring our hardware products meet electrical, functional, and reliability targets across all development phases.
The successful candidate will combine deep technical expertise in hardware validation with strong leadership, cross‑functional collaboration, and program execution to deliver high‑quality products at scale.
The Team
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
The Hardware Validation team ensures Graphcore’s AI hardware platforms meet performance, quality, and reliability targets before production release. Working closely with silicon, board design, system architecture, firmware, and manufacturing teams, the group develops and executes validation strategies across development phases.
The team plays a critical role in bridging design and production by identifying issues early, driving root cause analysis, and enabling robust, production‑ready hardware platforms.
Responsibilities and Duties
- Define and implement board and multi-board hardware validation plans across Proto, EVT, DVT, and PVT phases.
- Develop and execute validation strategies covering electrical, functional, and system-level requirements.
- Ensure validation coverage aligns with product specifications, customer requirements, and industry standards.
- Drive root cause analysis and corrective actions for hardware validation failures.
- Build, mentor, and manage a team of hardware validation engineers.
- Collaborate with hardware design, silicon, firmware, and manufacturing teams across the product lifecycle.
- Establish validation milestones and deliverables aligned with program schedules and product release goals.
- Drive improvements in validation methodology, tooling, automation, and data analysis.
Candidate Profile
Essential
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field.
- 10+ years of experience in board-level hardware validation, system testing, or product validation.
- 3+ years of experience leading engineering teams.
- Strong understanding of hardware development lifecycle (Proto, EVT, DVT, PVT).
- Experience with lab instrumentation such as oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, and power analyzers.
- Proven track record delivering hardware products from prototype through production.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with experience driving root cause investigations.
Desirable
- Experience influencing validation requirements during architecture and schematic phases.
- Experience embedding validation hooks and testability features into hardware designs.
- Experience implementing automated hardware regression testing.
- Familiarity with data pipelines, dashboards, and validation data analytics.
- Experience validating multi-board systems and high-speed interfaces (PCIe, DDR, SerDes).
- Experience working with power-dense or high-performance compute systems.
What the Team is Saying
Graphcore Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage includes medical and dental insurance, with US plans through Cigna and Kaiser, HDHP options with employer‑funded HSA contributions, a health cash plan, EAP access, and dedicated mental‑health support. These provisions extend to family options in some regions, reinforcing broad medical and wellbeing support.
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Retirement Support — Retirement programs include a UK pension match up to 5% and a US 401(k) with a 100% company match up to 6% (with a true‑up). This pairing signals strong, predictable long‑term savings support across key locations.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time‑off policies feature “unlimited” holiday in the UK and flexible, generous PTO with paid US holidays. Paid family leave for birthing parents and bonding further broadens time‑away support.
Graphcore Insights
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What We Do
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.
Why Work With Us
Our team is at the forefront of the machine intelligence revolution, enabling innovators from all industries to build AI-native products to expand human potential. What we do at Graphcore really makes a difference.
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Graphcore Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
At Graphcore, we value wellbeing and flexibility to support a healthy work/life balance. Our hybrid approach encourages office-based colleagues to work onsite three days a week, with trusted flexibility built on trust and transparency for everyone.
