Architect & Staff Embedded Software Engineer in London

About OLIXAI is growing faster than any technology in history and the explosion in demand has created a massive infrastructure gap; we can no longer build chips or power stations fast enough to keep up. The industry is still leaning on a ten-year-old hardware blueprint that has reached its limit. A new paradigm that is faster and more efficient will be the biggest economic opportunity of the next century and create the most important company of the next decade. The OLIX Decode Accelerator 1 (DX-1) is the first accelerator architected specifically for decode. Rack-scale co-design of logic, data movement, packaging, optics and interconnect enables a step change in system level performance.

The Role As a Architect & Staff Embedded Software Engineers, you will be the foremost technical authority on hardware-software integration across the DX-1, spanning the ASIC, BMC, and photonic interconnect fabric, from pre-silicon through post-silicon and into sustainment engineering. We are looking for experienced Architect, Staff, and Principal-level engineers who will help shape OLIX's direction through systems thinking and deep technical expertise. You will partner closely with the Director of Software Engineering to define the technical direction of the organization, establish architectural standards, and make the critical technical decisions that determine how the hardware-software boundary is defined.

You bring exceptional depth across the full stack, the judgment to identify what matters most and why, and the ability to influence and align engineering teams without relying on formal authority. You are comfortable navigating complex technical tradeoffs, driving cross-functional collaboration, and ensuring that system architecture supports both current requirements and future scalability.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical direction for your team. Partner with the Engineering Manager to set technical direction within the team's scope, and take ownership of the architectural decisions that shape how the team builds and operates.
• Translate priorities into execution. Work with the Engineering Manager to break down complex technical problems into concrete plans, and ensure the team is building the right things in the right way.
• Hold the technical bar. Define the principles, interface contracts, and standards the team builds to — whether that's firmware interfaces, ASIC validation methodology, or interconnect fabric integration — and ensure they are applied consistently.
• Make the hard calls in your domain. Own technical decision-making within your area: BSP and firmware architecture, ASIC validation methodology, BMC platform design, or interconnect fabric integration — depending on your focus.
• Drive alignment within the team. Build shared understanding across engineers through rigour, clarity, and well-reasoned technical decisions. Collaborate with adjacent teams where your work has dependencies.
• Own the full lifecycle within your domain. Lead technically across pre-silicon, post-silicon, and sustainment — from emulation and bring-up through to production reliability and field issue resolution.
• Raise the level of the team. Support the growth of engineers around you — through code review, design feedback, and sharing technical judgment — as a senior individual contributor who holds the bar high.

Skills & Experience

• Deep expertise across firmware and hardware-software co-development - specifically in one or more of: ASIC bring-up and validation, BMC/OpenBMC platform firmware, or high-speed SerDes and photonic interconnect bring-up.
• Deep expertise in embedded Linux BSP: Yocto/OpenEmbedded, U-Boot or UEFI, device driver development, and device tree authoring for custom silicon platforms.
• Deep expertise in server management protocols IPMI/IPMB, Redfish, MCTP, PLDM - and low-speed peripheral integration (I2C, SPI, UART, CPLD) in a rack-scale hardware context.
• Experience with cycle-deterministic or precision timing systems - IEEE 1588 / PTP, SyncE, or White Rabbit Protocol — is a significant advantage.
• Proven track record delivering complex hardware-software integration architecture that has shipped, across multiple generations in large and fast-moving organizations.
• Track record driving technical outcomes in organisations with high reliability expectations, including robust observability, incident management, and close collaboration with hardware and silicon teams on field issues.
• Outstanding technical communicator. You can articulate architectural decisions and their consequences clearly to engineers, managers, and senior leadership alike, and write design documents that become the reference point for the organisation.

Compensation & Equity

• Competitive Salary: Commensurate with your experience, skills, and location.
• Equity & Ownership: Meaningful stock options. You’re not just joining the mission; you’re owning a piece of it.
• Proximity Bonus: We value your time. To minimise your commute and maximise your life, we offer an annual Living-Local Bonus if your residence is within 20 minutes of the office.
• Retirement Benefits: Employer-contributed retirement plans to help you build long-term financial security.

Due to U.S. export control regulations, candidates’ eligibility to work at OLIX depends on their most recent citizenship or permanent residency status. We are generally unable to consider applicants whose most recent citizenship or permanent residence is in certain restricted countries (currently including Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Russia, Belarus, China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Venezuela). Applicants who have subsequently obtained citizenship or permanent residency in another country not subject to these restrictions may still be eligible.