Director, Post-Silicon Validation

Graphcore; West of England; On-site; GBP 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Flexible working

Generous annual leave policy

Private medical insurance

Dental plan

Pension

Life assurance and income protection

Generous parental leave policy

Employee assistance programme

Job summary

Graphcore is seeking a Director of Post Silicon Validation to lead the Bristol team, driving post-silicon validation across a full AI SoC. You will manage hardware, firmware and software validation efforts, build scalable validation pipelines, and collaborate with engineering teams to ensure production-ready silicon.

The role requires deep technical expertise in SoC architectures, strong debugging skills, and a proven track record in leadership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electronic Engineering or equivalent.
• 20+ years in silicon, system, or platform validation.
• 10+ years in technical leadership.
• Proven experience leading post-silicon validation and bring-up for complex SoCs (AI, GPU, or CPU).
• Strong understanding of SoC architecture, coherency, power management, and interconnects.
• Expertise in debug tools, DFT infrastructure, and validation automation frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow the Post Silicon Validation team in Bristol.
• Define, plan and execute chip bring-up activities for AI SoCs.
• Drive cross-domain debug and issue resolution across silicon, firmware, OS, and platform layers.
• Promote collaboration with design, software and validation teams.
• Advance automation and scalable validation via emulation and large-scale infra.
• Support continuous improvement in validation methods and analysis.
• Provide clear updates on progress, risks and quality to leadership.

Skills

Team leadership

Systems thinking

Cross-domain collaboration

Technical problem solving

Effective communicator

People development

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electronic Engineering

Master's degree preferred

Tools

C/C++

Python

Linux

Validation clusters

Job description

Graphcore is a globally recognized leader in Artificial Intelligence computing systems. The company designs advanced semiconductors and datacentre hardware that provide the specialized 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. Together, we are working to enable Artificial Super Intelligence and ensure that its benefits are accessible to everyone.

We are developing the next generation of AI compute, a large-scale system-on-chip (SoC) designed to power future high-performance AI systems. As the Director of Post Silicon Validation, you will be responsible for leading the Bristol team, enabling pre-production software to run reliably on new silicon quickly and efficiently, before showing that the silicon meets the highest standards of quality, reliability and functionality, ready for production deployment.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Post Silicon Validation, you will manage, develop and grow the Post Silicon Validation team in Bristol, delivering post-silicon validation across the full AI SoC, working across silicon, firmware, and platform levels. The role requires a deep technical understanding, strong hands-on debug experience, and the ability to collaborate effectively with hardware, software, and systems engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Manage, develop and grow the Post Silicon Validation team in Bristol: The Post Silicon Validation team is relatively new, with a strong remit and growing quickly to help Graphcore bring up new silicon quickly and effectively.
• Play a significant role in the definition, planning and execution of chip bringup activities: Develop and refine the overall post-silicon validation approach for our AI SoCs, ensuring reliable and timely delivery of validated silicon, architectural correctness, feature robustness, and at-scale system reliability.
• Drive cross-domain debug and issue resolution: Lead investigation and resolution of complex issues spanning silicon, firmware, operating systems, and platform interactions. Ensure that fixes are effective and sustainable.
• Promote collaboration and shared understanding: Work closely with design, software, and validation teams to align on quality objectives and debug priorities. Use data-driven insights and clear communication to maintain focus and alignment across teams.
• Advance automation and scalable validation: Encourage the use of emulation, prototyping, and large-scale validation infrastructure to improve coverage and reduce time to debug.
• Support continuous improvement: Foster a culture that values learning, transparency, and improvement in validation methods, automation, and analysis.
• Engage with leadership and partners: Provide clear and concise updates on validation progress, risks, and quality indicators to executive teams and key partners. Contribute to product readiness assessments and roadmap decisions

Essential Skills

• Building and running high performing teams
• A systems thinker, comfortable working across hardware, software, and integration boundaries
• A collaborative leader who builds trust and alignment across diverse teams
• Skilled in technical problem solving and debugging complex post-silicon issues
• A clear communicator who can simplify complexity and support sound decision-making in fast-paced environments
• Committed to developing people and promoting an inclusive, high-performing team culture
• Bachelor's degree in Electronic Engineering or equivalent; Master's preferred
• 20+ years in silicon, system, or platform validation, including 10+ years in technical leadership
• Proven experience leading post-silicon validation and bring-up for complex SoCs (AI, GPU, or CPU)
• Strong understanding of SoC architecture, coherency protocols, power management, and interconnects
• Expertise in debug tools, DFT infrastructure, and validation automation frameworks
• Proficient in C/C++, Python, and Linux-based environments; experience with large-scale validation clusters is an advantage

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Flexible working
• Generous annual leave policy
• Private medical insurance and health cash plan
• Dental plan
• Pension
• Life assurance and income protection
• Generous parental leave policy
• Employee assistance programme (health, mental wellbeing, and bereavement support)

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.