Senior System Architect

NIF; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Fractile is seeking a Senior System Architect to define and drive the end-to-end hardware architecture underpinning our AI-focused products. You will work across chip, board, thermal, and system levels, collaborating with hardware, firmware, and software teams to translate architecture into reliable platforms.

You will lead system-level design with emphasis on power, performance, and scalability, mentor the team, and engage in early prototyping, bring-up, and system testing.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Systems Architect or similar in semiconductor or HPC domains.
• Deep understanding of system-level design including power, thermal, I/O, memory and interconnect architectures.
• Strong grasp of digital design flows.
• Experience taking complex hardware systems from concept to mass production.

Responsibilities

• Define and own the system architecture roadmap, balancing performance, power, and scalability.
• Coordinate system-level design with chip design, mechanical, and manufacturing teams.
• Specify system interfaces, power delivery networks, interconnects, and control subsystems.
• Guide board and platform design for early bring-up and validation.
• Partner with software and firmware leads to ensure coherent system-level performance.
• Evaluate emerging technologies to inform architectural decisions.
• Mentor the team and maintain architecture documentation.
• Represent system architecture in reviews, partner discussions, and customer engagements.

Skills

Systems Architect

SoC Architect

Digital design flows

System-level design

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Communication skills

Hardware-software integration

Tools

SystemC

MATLAB

Job description

Fractile is building silicon, systems and software which will redefine the frontier of AI: running the world’s most advanced models at radically higher speed and lower cost. We have an exceptional team across hardware and software capable of bringing about this change, and we are growing fast to meet demand and deliver our product at scale.

Senior System Architect, you’ll define and drive the end-to-end hardware architecture that underpins our products from chip-level interfaces and interconnects through to board design, thermal management, and system-level integration. This isn’t just about designing elegant systems on paper. You’ll work closely with digital, and verification teams to translate architecture into working silicon and reliable hardware platforms. Expect to be hands-on in early prototyping, bring-up, and system testing. You’ll be the connective tissue between hardware, firmware, and software, ensuring architectural coherence and technical excellence across all layers.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and own the system architecture roadmap, balancing performance, power, and scalability.
• Contribute to system-level design from concept through production, coordinating with chip design, mechanical, and manufacturing teams.
• Specify system interfaces, power delivery networks, interconnects, and control subsystems.
• Guide board and platform design for early bring-up and validation.
• Partner with the software and firmware leads to ensure seamless integration and coherent system-level performance.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and components to inform architectural decisions.
• Act as a technical mentor, raising the bar for design discipline and documentation across the team.
• Represent system architecture in technical reviews, partner discussions, and customer engagements.

Skills & Experience

• Proven experience as a Systems Architect, SoC Architect, or similar role in semiconductor or high-performance computing domains.
• Deep understanding of system-level design, including power, thermal, I/O, memory, and interconnect architectures.
• Strong grasp of digital design flows.
• Experience taking complex hardware systems from concept through to mass production.
• Demonstrated ability to define and manage system requirements and trade-offs.
• Comfortable working across many disciplines, hardware, firmware, and software.
• Excellent communicator who can bridge technical depth with practical execution.

Desirable

• Background in AI acceleration, HPC, or data-centric architectures.
• Experience with FPGA prototyping and system bring-up.
• Familiarity with modern toolchains and modelling environments (SystemC, MATLAB, etc.).
• Prior start-up or scale-up experience, someone who thrives in ambiguity and fast iteration.

How we work

• Ownership and execution: you will have full agency to drive your work forward
• Rapid iteration: we all work directly with top leadership to move from idea to hardware on ambitious timelines
• Full-stack engagement: hardware, software, silicon, and modelling teams all work closely together to create a product with generational impact
• Optimistic and pragmatic: we possess the will to win, and to do the hard work to get us there
• Team player mentality: the mission is bigger than any of us, and we have the curiosity and technical focus to see the best idea shipped, no matter who’s it is

About us

• Founded in 2022, team of 80+ which is expanding rapidly
• Modern, open offices in London and Bristol
• Collaborative, problem-solving culture built on deep curiosity, entrepreneurial initiative and technical fluency

Export control and security clearance

Certain roles may involve working on technologies subject to export restrictions. Applicants may be required to undergo additional eligibility checks to ensure compliance with applicable law.