Staff Hardware Engineer

Graphcore
Austin, TX

Who this role is best for

Strong fit for experienced hardware engineers who troubleshoot and validate AI compute platforms in collaborative, on-site environments.

Best fit for

  • Experienced hardware engineers with a focus on AI compute platforms and server validation
    — “advanced operational, diagnostic, and engineering support for Graphcore’s Arm-based hardware platforms”
  • Candidates with a background in HPC or rack-scale infrastructure and strong collaboration skills
    — “Hands-on experience with HPC systems, AI compute platforms, or rack-scale infrastructure”
  • Individuals who can mentor others and take ownership of complex hardware issues
    — “Provide guidance and mentorship to junior technicians and engineers on troubleshooting methodologies”

Things to consider

  • On-call rotations during critical milestones may impact work-life balance
    — “Participate in on-call rotations or off-hours support during critical engineering milestones”
  • The role is likely for someone with a long-term career focus in AI hardware engineering
    — “10+ years experience with server hardware architectures and board-level debugging”

How to stand out

  • Highlight experience with system-level failure analysis and thermal/power metrics
    — “Diagnose system-level failures involving thermal behavior, power anomalies”
  • Demonstrate ability to create SOPs and documentation for hardware validation
    — “Develop and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs), troubleshooting guides”
  • Showcase collaboration with firmware, server, and data center teams in past roles
    — “collaborate closely with engineering, platform, and data center teams”
  • Emphasize involvement in hardware bring-up and prototype testing
    — “Experience supporting prototype or pre-production hardware bring-up”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • advanced break-fix troubleshooting
  • engineering bring-up activities
  • system-level failures diagnosis
  • deployment and rollout support
  • standard operating procedures development
Typical background
Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science10+ years experience with server hardware architectures and board-level debugging

Skills & requirements

Required

Server Hardware ArchitecturesBoard-level DebuggingSystem Logs AnalysisHardware TelemetryPower/thermal Metrics IsolationHPC SystemsAI Compute Platforms

Preferred

Firmware Interaction TestingRoot Cause AnalysisCorrective Actions DesignValidation DocumentationTroubleshooting MethodologiesHardware Diagnostics

Stack & domain

Server Hardware ArchitecturesBoard-level DebuggingSystem LogsHardware TelemetryPower/thermal MetricsHPC SystemsAI Compute PlatformsCollaborationProblem-solvingTroubleshooting MethodologiesMentorshipAIHardware Engineering

About the role

Original posting from Graphcore via Greenhouse

About us

Graphcore is one of the world’s leading innovators in Artificial Intelligence compute. It is developing hardware, software and systems infrastructure that will 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. Together, they share a bold vision: to enable Artificial Super Intelligence and ensure its benefits are accessible to everyone.

Graphcore’s teams are drawn from diverse backgrounds and bring a broad range of skills and perspectives. A melting pot of AI research specialists, silicon designers, software engineers and systems architects, Graphcore enjoys a culture of continuous learning and constant innovation.

Job Summary

We are seeking a Staff Hardware Engineer to provide advanced operational, diagnostic, and engineering support for Graphcore’s Arm-based hardware platforms across lab and data center environments.

This role focuses on supporting hardware bring-up, validation, and troubleshooting of complex AI compute platforms, including server blades, racks, and rack-scale infrastructure. The successful candidate will collaborate closely with engineering, platform, and data center teams to ensure the reliability and performance of next-generation AI systems.

The Team

The Systems Engineering and Hardware Engineering teams are responsible for enabling the bring-up, validation, and operational reliability of Graphcore’s AI infrastructure platforms.

The team works closely with server engineering, firmware teams, platform architects, and data center operations to support the development, testing, and deployment of next-generation AI compute systems.

This collaborative environment enables rapid problem-solving and continuous improvement of Graphcore’s hardware platforms from early development through production deployment.

Responsibilities and Duties

Lead advanced break-fix troubleshooting for server blades, motherboards, power systems, and rack-scale infrastructure.

Support engineering bring-up activities, including component validation and firmware interaction testing.

Diagnose system-level failures involving thermal behavior, power anomalies, network configuration, and BIOS/BMC issues.

Collaborate with server engineering teams to perform root cause analysis and propose corrective actions or design improvements.

Support deployment and rollout of next-generation hardware platforms through structured validation and qualification cycles.

Interface with facilities and infrastructure teams to understand environmental factors impacting system reliability.

Develop and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs), troubleshooting guides, and validation documentation.

Provide guidance and mentorship to junior technicians and engineers on troubleshooting methodologies and hardware diagnostics.

Participate in on-call rotations or off-hours support during critical engineering milestones or hardware bring-up phases.

Candidate Profile

Essential

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related discipline.

10+ years experience with server hardware architectures and board-level debugging.

Experience analyzing system logs, hardware telemetry, and power/thermal metrics to isolate hardware failures.

Hands-on experience with HPC systems, AI compute platforms, or rack-scale infrastructure.

Strong collaboration skills and ability to work effectively in fast-paced engineering environments.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Desirable

Experience supporting prototype or pre-production hardware bring-up.

Familiarity with data center facilities, including liquid cooling and power distribution systems.

Experience using Python, Bash, or automation tools for hardware validation or troubleshooting.

Exposure to structured failure analysis and reliability engineering methodologies.

USA Benefits

In addition to a competitive salary, Graphcore offers flexible working and a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your health, wellbeing and financial future. Our benefits include medical, dental and vision coverage, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), disability and life insurance, a 401(k) retirement plan, commuter benefits, wellness services and an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). We welcome people of different backgrounds and experiences; we're committed to building an inclusive work environment that makes Graphcore a great home for everyone. We offer an equal opportunity process and understand that there are visible and invisible differences in all of us. We can provide a flexible approach to interview and encourage you to chat to us if you require any reasonable adjustments.

Source: Graphcore careers (Greenhouse)

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