Senior Firmware Validation Engineer

Graphcore•Austin, TX

About The Position

Graphcore is a globally recognised leader in Artificial Intelligence computing systems. The company designs advanced semiconductors and data centre hardware that provide the specialised 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. Reporting to the Firmware Manager and working as a member of the Firmware Team, the Senior Staff Firmware Engineer is responsible for the design, development, and delivery of complex firmware systems across Graphcore’s next-generation hardware platforms. This role requires significant technical breadth and deep embedded systems expertise. You will contribute to shaping the firmware architecture and design, guide engineering practices, and solve highly challenging problems while maintaining a strong hands-on focus. You will partner closely with hardware, drivers, silicon and platform teams to deliver robust, scalable, production-quality firmware. The Firmware Team develops the low-level software responsible for the complete boot, configuration, and monitoring of Graphcore silicon and hardware platforms. Our work includes: Boot and power sequencing, Low-level hardware interfaces and drivers, Telemetry, monitoring and SMBus/BMC data exposure, Silicon and system bring-up.

Requirements

Significant industry experience in embedded/firmware engineering using C/C++
Expertise in designing and delivering real-time embedded systems and complex boot logic
Strong understanding of modern silicon and hardware interfaces (I2C, I3C, SMBus, SPI, PCIe, DDR, power management, etc.)
Demonstrated ability to design and implement complex technical initiatives
Excellent problem-solving skills with a track record of resolving complex, cross-layer issues
Ability to define and communicate architectural direction at subsystem or multi-subsystem scale
Strong communication skills and the ability to document large system designs clearly
Experience with CI/CD systems, build tools, and modern software engineering practices

Nice To Haves

Experience with server architectures or datacentre hardware
Understanding of server/platform security concepts and their application to firmware
Experience working directly with silicon vendors or hardware partners
Knowledge of OS kernel, secure firmware flows, or trusted execution environments
Experience with device driver development

Responsibilities

Act as a technical authority for complex firmware features, flows, and subsystems
Contribute to architectural development and design for substantial parts of the firmware stack, ensuring long-term maintainability and scalability
Influence technical decision-making both within your immediate team and beyond
Work closely with the Tech Lead to provide technical direction and maintain the long-term architecture of Graphcore’s firmware and tooling
Design, implement, and deliver high-quality, production-ready firmware in C
Take ownership of technically challenging areas such as boot flows, real-time embedded logic, platform security, or silicon bring-up
Perform deep system debugging using oscilloscopes, logic analysers, JTAG, emulation, and other low-level tools
Review and improve code, designs, and implementation approaches across the team
Collaborate closely with hardware, silicon, platform, drivers and test teams to define requirements and resolve interdependent issues
Work directly with external partners, firmware vendors, or silicon suppliers on integration and technical problem-solving
Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both expert and non-expert audiences
Ensure correctness, robustness, security, and maintainability of firmware solutions
Support improvements to validation frameworks, CI/CD systems, automated testing and firmware packaging
Drive root-cause investigations and long-term corrective actions for complex issues in the field or during bring-up
Mentor other engineers within the Firmware team and across the broader System Software organisation
Raise engineering standards through guidance, best practices, design patterns and consistent high-quality execution
Contribute to long-term improvements in engineering culture, team capabilities, and quality bar
Contribute to improving Agile workflows, estimation, and team execution models
Drive enhancements to build systems, integration environments and development tooling
Introduce new technologies, frameworks, or design approaches that increase efficiency or product capability