At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the design of next-gen mobile GPU architecture and drive AI integration.
- Company: Join Huawei, a global leader in ICT with a focus on innovation.
- Benefits: Enjoy 33 days annual leave, private medical insurance, and a pension scheme.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with opportunities for learning and development.
- Why this job: Shape the future of mobile computing and make a real impact in tech.
- Qualifications: 15+ years in GPU architecture and strong leadership skills required.
The predicted salary is between 100000 - 150000 £ per year.
About Huawei Research and Development UK Limited. Founded in 1987, Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. We have 207,000 employees and operate in over 170 countries and regions, serving more than three billion people around the world.
Our vision and mission are to bring digital to every person, home and organisation for a fully connected, intelligent world. To this end, we will drive ubiquitous connectivity and promote equal access to networks; bring cloud and artificial intelligence to all four corners of the earth to provide superior computing power where you need it, when you need it; build digital platforms to help all industries and organizations become more agile, efficient, and dynamic; redefine user experience with AI, making it more personalised for people in all aspects of their life, whether they’re at home, in the office, or on the go.
This spirit of innovation has led Huawei to work in close partnership with leading academic institutions in the UK to develop and refine the latest technologies. With a shared commitment to innovation and progress, both parties have worked together to achieve common goals and establish a strong partnership. The partnership between the UK and Huawei helps to develop the technologies of the future that will transform the way we all communicate, work and live.
For the past 30 years, we have maintained an unwavering focus, rejecting shortcuts and easy opportunities that don't align with our core business. With a practical approach to everything we do, we concentrate our efforts and invest patiently to drive technological breakthroughs.
This strategic focus is a reflection of our core values: staying customer-centric, inspiring dedication, persevering, growing by reflection.
Huawei’s vision is a fully connected, intelligent world. To achieve this, we work to inspire passion for basic research around the world. Our combined passion drives development across the global innovation value chain. Huawei has the largest Research and Development organization in the world, with 96,000+ employees in research centres around the globe. In the UK, we already have design centres in Cambridge, London, Edinburgh and Ipswich. We continue to explore and define new research directions and new services. We have expanded our collaborations with academic researchers, researched new network architectures, integration of communications and key enabling technologies, and developed the fundamental theories of these technologies.
We invite you to join us on this exciting journey and drive your career forward.
Job Summary
- We are seeking a highly experienced GPU architect to lead the definition and execution of next-generation mobile GPU architecture in our Kirin SOC, while driving architectural convergence between GPU and NPU toward a coherent xPU sub-system design.
- This role requires deep expertise in GPU microarchitecture, strong system-level architectural capability, including both hardware and software, and a thorough understanding in graphics and AI common workload. A proven track record of delivering related sub-system IP or complex SoC silicon is highly desirable.
- The successful candidate will lead the effort in shaping a converged xPU architecture native for future AI compute, optimised for performance, power efficiency, and silicon area in the next generation mobile compute platforms.
Key Responsibilities:
- xPU Converged Architecture Design: Based on 1st order principle, analyse and characterise future mobile graphics and AI workload, redefine an xPU (GPU & NPU) converged architecture, including hardware and software, from the ground up that is optimal for future applications. Ensure compatibility or easy transition from the old architecture. Define unified or partially unified execution resources (vector, scalar, tensor units). Develop shared scheduling and workload dispatch mechanisms for graphics and AI. Design resource sharing and isolation strategies under mixed workloads. Evaluate architectural trade-offs between dedicated and converged compute blocks.
- Mobile GPU Architecture Leadership: Ensure the timely delivery of next-generation mobile GPU architecture and long-term roadmap. Lead evolution of shader cores, execution pipelines, and cache hierarchy. Drive performance, power efficiency (Perf/W), and area efficiency (Perf/mm²). Provide architectural leadership from concept phase through tape-out.
- Memory & Interconnect Architecture: Define a memory hierarchy strategy for converged GPU/NPU workloads. Architect shared cache structures and bandwidth arbitration policies. Optimise on-chip interconnect for heterogeneous compute traffic. Reduce data movement overhead across compute domains.
- System-Level Architecture Collaboration: Collaborate with CPU, AI software, runtime, and system architecture teams. Participate in SoC-level power, thermal, and floorplanning trade-offs. Align hardware architecture with graphics APIs and AI frameworks. Support performance modelling, workload characterisation, and silicon bring-up.
This job description is only an outline of the tasks, responsibilities and outcomes required of the role. The jobholder will carry out any other duties as may be reasonably required by his/her line manager. The job description and personal specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of Huawei Research and Development UK Limited.
Required:
- 15+ years of experience in GPU, AI accelerator, or heterogeneous compute architecture.
- Deep understanding of GPU microarchitecture (SIMD/SIMT, scheduling, memory systems).
- Strong knowledge of tensor/matrix computation and AI acceleration techniques.
- Proven experience delivering high-volume silicon.
- Expertise in performance modelling and power analysis.
- Strong cross-functional communication and leadership capability.
What we offer:
- 33 days annual leave entitlement per year (including UK public holidays).
- Group Personal Pension.
- Life insurance.
- Private medical insurance.
- Medical expense claim scheme.
- Employee Assistance Program.
- Cycle to work scheme.
- Company sports club and social events.
- Additional time off for learning and development.
GPU Chief Architect / XPU Lab Director in Cambridge employer: Huawei R&D UK
Huawei Research and Development UK Limited is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work environment in Edinburgh that fosters innovation and collaboration. With a strong focus on employee growth, the company provides extensive benefits including generous annual leave, private medical insurance, and opportunities for professional development through partnerships with leading academic institutions. Joining Huawei means being part of a global leader in ICT, where your contributions can directly impact the future of data management and AI technologies.
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We think this is how you could land GPU Chief Architect / XPU Lab Director in Cambridge
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We think you need these skills to ace GPU Chief Architect / XPU Lab Director in Cambridge
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Huawei R&D UK.
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How to prepare for a job interview at Huawei R&D UK
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
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Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Huawei R&D UK uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
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Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
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