Hardware Platform Development Intern New Austin, Texas, United States

Graphcore; Austin, Northern (TX, KY); Hybrid; USD 28,000 - 41,000; Full time

Job summary

Graphcore, a global leader in AI compute, invites students to join its Systems Engineering Internship in Austin. You will work across hardware, firmware and software, contributing to subsystem design, lab testing, system validation, automation, and performance analysis under expert guidance.

The internship offers hands-on hardware development experience and ownership of clearly defined tasks. You will document methods, results, and conclusions and collaborate with hardware, firmware, software,

Qualifications

• Enrolled in a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral program in electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, or a closely related field.
• Hands-on lab testing and measurement experience through coursework, research, student teams, internships, or personal projects.
• Experience with at least one programming language such as Python, C, C++, or MATLAB.
• Foundational understanding of computer architecture, digital systems, embedded systems, or hardware–software interaction.
• Analytical approach to problem‑solving and ability to document technical work clearly.
• Willingness to learn unfamiliar tools and seek guidance when needed.

Responsibilities

• Support the design and testing of CPU and high‑speed I/O subsystems for advanced compute platforms.
• Run laboratory tests and measurements to evaluate performance, power, signal behavior, and reliability.
• Create scripts and tools to streamline testing, data collection, and analysis.
• Explore PCIe 6.0 and 800G Ethernet and how they support compute workloads.
• Investigate platform power, cooling, and energy efficiency, including liquid cooling.
• Use power meters, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, or similar lab equipment under supervision.
• Analyze test results, reproduce issues with engineers, and document findings clearly.
• Collaborate across hardware, firmware, software, mechanical, thermal, and systems teams.
• Maintain test procedures, scripts, data summaries, and engineering notes.
• Communicate progress and technical issues while following safety procedures.

Job description

Graphcore is a global leader in artificial intelligence computing systems. We design advanced semiconductors and data center hardware that provide the specialized processing power needed to advance AI while improving the efficiency required for broad adoption.

As part of SoftBank Group, Graphcore belongs to a family of companies developing transformative technologies. Our AI Engineering Campus in Austin plays an important role in building the hardware platforms that support the next generation of AI systems.

The Opportunity

As a Systems Engineering Intern, you will contribute to projects that combine hardware, firmware, and software engineering for advanced AI compute platforms. You will work with experienced engineers on subsystem design, laboratory testing, system validation, automation, and performance analysis.

The internship provides hands-on experience with modern hardware development and system-level engineering. You will own clearly defined technical tasks with guidance from the team and document your methods, results, and conclusions.

What You Will Do

• Support the design and testing of CPU and high-speed input and output subsystems for advanced compute platforms.
• Run laboratory tests and measurements to help evaluate performance, power, signal behavior, and reliability.
• Contribute to system-level validation by creating scripts and tools that streamline testing, data collection, and analysis.
• Explore emerging input and output technologies, including PCIe 6.0 and 800G Ethernet, and learn how they support advanced computing workloads.
• Assist with investigations into platform power, cooling, and energy efficiency, including liquid-cooling systems for high-performance processors.
• Use power meters, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, or comparable lab equipment under appropriate supervision.
• Analyze test results, identify unexpected behavior, and work with engineers to reproduce and investigate issues.
• Collaborate across hardware, firmware, software, mechanical, thermal, and systems teams to understand how components operate together.
• Maintain clear test procedures, scripts, data summaries, and engineering notes.
• Communicate progress and technical issues clearly and follow applicable engineering, laboratory, and safety procedures.

What You Will Bring

• Current enrollment in a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral program in electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, or a closely related field.
• Experience with hands-on lab testing and technical measurements through coursework, research, student teams, internships, or personal projects.
• Experience with at least one programming or scripting language, such as Python, C, C++, or MATLAB.
• Foundational understanding of computer architecture, digital systems, embedded systems, or hardware-software interaction.
• An analytical approach to problem-solving and interest in understanding how hardware and complete systems operate.
• Ability to document technical work, explain findings clearly, collaborate with others, and respond constructively to feedback.
• Willingness to learn unfamiliar tools and technologies and seek guidance when needed.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience using power meters, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, or similar laboratory equipment.
• Academic or project exposure to CPU subsystems, PCIe, Ethernet, high-speed interfaces, or platform validation.
• Experience creating test automation, data-analysis tools, or engineering scripts.
• Interest in platform performance, power delivery, thermal management, liquid cooling, or energy efficiency.
• Experience gained through research, hackathons, student engineering teams, or personal hardware projects.

These qualifications are helpful, not required. We encourage you to apply even if you do not meet every preferred qualification.

Equal Opportunity and Accommodations

Graphcore is an equal opportunity employer. We consider qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.

Graphcore is committed to an inclusive and accessible hiring process. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in the application or interview process, please let the recruiting team know.

Candidate Privacy

Personal information submitted during the recruiting process will be handled in accordance with Graphcore's applicable candidate privacy notices.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Graphcore’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service‑connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.