Principal Technical Program Manager, Hardware Engineering

Graphcore•Milpitas, CA

About The Position

Graphcore is one of the world’s leading innovators in Artificial Intelligence compute, developing hardware, software, and systems infrastructure to 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. Graphcore’s teams are drawn from a diverse set of backgrounds and bring a broad range of skills and perspectives, enjoying a culture of continuous learning and constant innovation. We are seeking an experienced Network Program Manager to lead cross-functional programs focused on next-generation AI networking infrastructure, optical connectivity, and hyperscale datacenter technologies. This role combines technical depth in networking and optical interconnect technologies with strong program leadership across engineering, operations, suppliers, manufacturing, and deployment organizations. The ideal candidate will drive alignment between network architecture, hardware development, optical connectivity suppliers, and the state of being operation-ready to ensure scalable, high-performance AI infrastructure delivery. The person selected for this position brings strong experience managing complex networking programs involving high-speed interconnects, optical transceivers, silicon photonics, and hyperscale datacenter ecosystems. This role requires close collaboration with network architects, systems engineers, AI infrastructure teams, suppliers, and manufacturing partners throughout the product lifecycle. The System Engineering Program Management team is responsible for driving cross-functional execution and delivery of next-generation AI compute and networking systems across the full product lifecycle. The team partners closely with architecture, hardware, networking, software, operations, and supply chain organizations to coordinate complex engineering programs, align technical and business priorities, manage dependencies and risks, and ensure scalable, high-quality system deployment for Graphcore’s AI infrastructure platforms.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in Engineering, Physics, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical discipline
Proven experience in technical program management, product management, or engineering leadership within networking, optical connectivity, or datacenter infrastructure environments
Strong understanding of AI and hyperscale datacenter networking technologies
Experience with high-speed optical interconnect technologies
Experience leading cross-functional programs involving hardware, software, networking, operations, and supplier organizations
Proven ability to manage external supplier relationships and drive technical roadmap alignment
Experience coordinating product lifecycle activities from architecture and development through qualification and deployment
Strong communication and stakeholder leadership skills across executive, engineering, and external partner organizations
Experience operating within fast-paced, highly technical infrastructure environments

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of networking protocols and infrastructure technologies including Ethernet, PCIe, UCIe, RDMA, RoCEv2, or related high-performance interconnect technologies
Experience with silicon photonics, optical compute interconnects, or co-packaged optics technologies
Familiarity with AI networking architectures and large-scale GPU/accelerator cluster infrastructure
Knowledge of hyperscale datacenter operations and network fabric deployment
Experience collaborating with organizations that develop technical standards such as IEEE, OIF, PCI-SIG, or related consortiums
Background in supplier sourcing strategy, manufacturing ramp, or operational scaling
Experience supporting networking infrastructure for AI or HPC platforms
Understanding of advanced networking telemetry, optical diagnostics, or infrastructure resiliency strategies

Responsibilities

Lead cross-functional network infrastructure programs from concept through deployment and operational readiness
Coordinate engineering execution across networking, optical connectivity, systems hardware, operations, manufacturing, and supplier teams
Drive program schedules, technical milestones, dependency tracking, risk management, and executive reporting
Partner with network architecture and hardware engineering teams on development and deployment of high-speed network solutions
Lead supplier engagement and roadmap alignment for optical connectivity and networking infrastructure components
Coordinate qualification, validation, and production readiness activities for networking and optical technologies
Support deployment and scaling of AI datacenter networking infrastructure including high-bandwidth optical interconnect solutions
Align networking technology roadmaps with operational scalability, supply chain resilience, quality, and cost objectives
Collaborate with hyperscale datacenter customers, ecosystem partners, and industry standards organizations where required
Facilitate collaboration across geographically distributed engineering and operations teams
Drive issue escalation and cross-functional resolution for complex technical and operational challenges
Support continuous improvement initiatives for networking deployment processes and infrastructure program execution