Staff Firmware Test Engineer – Embedded Systems in Bristol

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.

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. Join our dynamic and ambitious team as a Staff System Software Engineer in Test – Firmware at Graphcore Ltd. You will take on a meaningful role in advancing AI technology’s future. This position gives you the opportunity to build innovative AI solutions with a team dedicated to superior performance and world‑class achievements.

Responsibilities

• Act as a technical authority for crafting test features.
• Contribute to test infrastructure build to ensure scalability and reproducibility.
• Influence technical development both within the immediate team and beyond.
• Build, implement, and complete high-quality tests to ensure the team has a high-quality gate for the production firmware.
• Take ownership of technically challenging areas and ensure near 100% coverage.
• Perform initial triage and debugging of bugs detected using hardware and analysers.
• Review and improve code, build, and implementation processes across the team.
• Collaborate closely with lower and upper stack teams to understand use‑cases and ensure all requirements are met.
• Develop acceptance tests covering use‑cases across teams using our firmware.
• Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both expert and non‑expert audiences.
• Ensure correctness, robustness, security, and maintainability of firmware solutions.
• Contribute to improvements to validation frameworks, CI/CD systems, automated testing, and firmware packaging.
• Drive root‑cause investigations and long‑term corrective actions for all incoming issues.
• Mentor junior engineers within the team.
• Raise quality and coding standards through mentorship, established guidelines, and setting an example.
• Contribute to long‑term improvements in culture and team ceremonies.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in firmware qualification.
• Experience in handling real-time embedded systems and intricate boot logic.
• Experience in handling hardware and debuggers.
• Strong understanding of modern silicon and hardware interfaces (I2C, I3C, SMBus, SPI, PCIe, DDR, power management, etc.).
• Experience with CI/CD, build tools, and modern testing practices.
• Excellent problem‑solving skills and a track record of working with complex cross-layer issues.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to detail technical processes effectively.

Differentiators

• Experience handling server‑class systems.
• Experience in Zephyr OS.
• Experience handling OpenBMC.

At Graphcore Ltd., we provide an encouraging environment where your talents will be challenged and grown. We strive to ensure that everyone is given the chance to contribute to our world‑class solutions and fulfill their potential. Join us in driving forward AI innovation and leave a lasting mark!

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 with us if you require any reasonable adjustments.