Principal Network Engineer

Graphcore; Milpitas (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Graphcore, a leader in AI computing, seeks an experienced Network Engineer to maintain high-performance network fabrics in its data centers. The role requires 9+ years in network engineering and expertise in AI datacenters.

You'll collaborate with Network Architects to ensure stable network operations while managing advanced network technologies. The work environment values inclusivity and innovation, making Graphcore a great place to thrive in your career.

Qualifications

• 9+ years of hands-on experience in network engineering.
• 3+ years supporting networking on AI or hyperscale datacenters.
• Extensive troubleshooting experience for data center routing protocols.

Responsibilities

• Maintain network fabrics and topologies in Graphcore data centers.
• Collaborate with the Network Architecture team through all design phases.
• Support deployed internal fabrics in AI datacenters.

Skills

Network Engineering/Security

Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA)

Networking on AI datacenters

NetDevOps

Python programming

High-bandwidth network infrastructure

Multi-tier CLOS networks

Troubleshooting BGP and OSPF

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Network Engineering or related field

Tools

Terraform

Ansible

Network switches (Broadcom, Arista, Cisco)

Job description

Graphcore is a globally recognized leader in Artificial Intelligence computing systems. The company designs advanced semiconductors and data centre 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. We are opening a new AI Engineering Campus in Austin, which will play a central role in Graphcore's work building the future of AI computing.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for maintaining all the network fabrics and network topologies operating at peak performance in Graphcore data centers housing AI server platforms.
• Collaborate closely with the Network Architecture team through all phases of the design and development lifecycle — from concept to deployment — ensuring timely, high-quality, and stable high-speed network fabrics.
• Primary support of deployed internal fabrics in our AI datacenters.
• Direct escalation for hardware, link and performance issues on network fabrics.
• Escalation support for customer network fabrics (aligned to reference architecture).
• Triage day-to-day network topology issues (scale-up, scale-out, and front-end networks) of fabrics deployed in Graphcore datacenters.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s, master’s degree or equivalent experience in Network Engineering/Security, Information Technology, Computer Science, Computer engineering, or a related field.
• 9+ years of hands-on experience in network engineering and 3+ years supporting networking on AI or hyperscale datacenters.
• Knowledge of Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) and its implementations, specifically ROCEv2 or InfiniBand.
• Knowledge of lossless networks — experience with congestion control and lossless Ethernet technologies including PDF, ECN and DCQCN.
• Experience with high-bandwidth network infrastructure including operating 400G and 800G network fabrics and tackling challenges at the physical layer for networks operating at these speeds, including familiarity with specific optical transceivers.
• Experience sustaining non-blocking, multi-tier CLOS networks (i.e., Spine/Leaf/Super-Spine) optimized for high-density GPU clusters.
• Extensive troubleshooting experience for data center routing protocols such as BGP and OSPF as well as troubleshooting of VXLAN implementations.
• Cross-functional collaboration — the candidate should excel at working closely with network architects, systems hardware engineers, AI software engineers, and datacenter infrastructure teams to optimize the full stack from the application layer down to the network infrastructure, including controllers (NICs, SmartNICs, DPUs), network switches, cabling and optical transceiver operation in our datacenter.

Differentiators

• Deep hands-on experience with NetDevOps to automate tasks using tools such as Terraform or Ansible to manage network configurations and state.
• Strong scripting skills such as Python, Go, or JSON to build custom automation, interact with APIs, and develop internal network tools.
• Hands-on experience with modern, high-performance hardware from network switch and NIC providers such as Broadcom, Arista, Cisco, or Pensando.
• Knowledgeable in advanced network telemetry beyond traditional SNMP, including telemetry protocols such as gNMI, Sflow, NetFlow, Redfish, and Prometheus to characterize and detect transient congestion events, micro-bursts in the network fabric, or defective network hardware.

We welcome people of different backgrounds and experiences and are committed to building an inclusive work environment that makes Graphcore a great home for everyone. We are an equal opportunity employer and want to build a work environment where everyone is happy, productive and respectful so they can do their best work. If you have a disability or additional need that requires accommodation, just let us know.