Principal Debug Validation Engineer

Graphcore is hiring a Principal Debug Validation Engineer in Austin, United States. Level rates it ; you can apply on Graphcore.

Level's read on this job

Level rates this role Builds AI ●●●●: the job is building AI systems.
Tools and skills the posting cites include Python, Linux and C.
Level classifies it as a senior role.
Level lists 196 other open roles at Graphcore.

AI in this role

Validate cutting-edge, high-performance AI chips and platforms through post-silicon bringup and testing.

PythonLinuxC

post-silicon-validationembedded-systemsdebuggingfpgamachine-learning

Principal Embedded SW/FW Engineer (Bringup) - Austin, Tx, USA

Job Summary

We have an exciting opportunity to be part of a collaborative, cross-functional development team validating cutting-edge, high-performance AI chips and platforms.

You will play a key role in supporting new product introductions and post-silicon validation.

Working within the Post-Silicon Validation team, you will be involved with bringing first silicon to life, functionally validating it and working closely with many other teams to help it become a fully characterised and working product, reporting project status/progress to program management on a regular basis. You will have the opportunity to provide technical guidance to other engineering team members. In this role, you can leverage our experience and industry knowledge to architect and drive implementation of continuous improvements to test infrastructure and processes.

The Team

The Post-Silicon Bringup team sits within the Architecture and Validation team, we are responsible for bringup and validation of new silicon when it returns from manufacture, enabling and supporting the production SW and FW teams to bring up their software and supporting the Silicon Characterisation team.

Responsibilities and Duties

Plan, design, develop and debug silicon validation tests in bare metal C/C++ on FPGA/Emulator prior to first silicon
Deploy silicon validation tests on first silicon and debugging them
Develop automated test framework and regression test suites in Python to optimize validation efficiency
Collaborate closely with engineers from many other disciplines on a variety of topics
Work with Validation and Production Test engineering peers to implement best practices and continuous improvements to test methodologies
Analyse test results, identify and debug failures/defects
Contribute to shared test and validation infrastructure
Provide feedback to architects

Candidate Profile

Essential:

Understanding of ML applications and their workloads
A self-starter who can apply independent judgement
A team player able to lead and support colleagues with difficult concepts
Strong experience in Bare metal / embedded C/C++

Excellent problem-solving, analytical & diagnostic skills

Ability to work across teams and programming languages to find root causes of critical and complex issues

Experience of the post-silicon validation process applied in digital ASIC environments

Python, Linux

Excellent communication skills and the ability to explain difficult concepts to resolve issues

Desirable

5 to 10 years’ experience
Experience building and leading, multi-site teams
Driver level experience with one or more of the following is highly desirable:

PCIe
Ethernet
Memory technologies (LPDDR, DDR, HBM, …)
Other peripherals such as I2C, I3C, SPI, …

Good knowledge of mixed-signal building blocks such as PLLs, high speed PHYs and IC control/communication protocols is highly desirable.
Experience of Arm CPUs, System IP and debug tools.
Experience of AMBA protocols.
Experience in Characterization, Failure Analysis, Test Development, Statistical analysis,

How we rate this

Principal Debug Validation Engineer at Graphcore rates 85 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Builds AI (AI Level 4 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Builds AI. The job is building AI systems.

●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Key facts

Principal Debug Validation Engineer is an open job at Graphcore.
Level rates this role AI Level 4 of 4: Builds AI.
The role is based in Austin, Texas, United States.
The job was posted on June 25, 2026.
Seniority: senior.
Applications are handled by Graphcore. Apply on Graphcore

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

Post Silicon ValidationEmbedded SystemsDebuggingFPGAMachine learningPythonLinuxC

Questions you could be asked

Tell me about a project where post silicon validation was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where embedded systems was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where debugging was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where fpga was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where machine learning was part of your work. What did you do?

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Post Silicon Validation, Embedded Systems, Debugging, FPGA, and Machine learning. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
Lead with what you built, trained or shipped. This role is judged on the AI system itself, not the tools around it.

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