---
title: 'Director, Silicon Verification at Graphcore'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/director-silicon-verification-graphcore-bristol-twh4qdnxmqmm'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-08'
---

# Director, Silicon Verification at Graphcore

- **Company:** Graphcore
- **Location:** Bristol, United Kingdom
- **Posted:** 2025-12-10
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/graphcore/jobs/8331005002

## Job description

## About Graphcore

At Graphcore, we’re building the future of AI compute.

We’re a team of semiconductor, software and AI experts, with deep experience in creating the complete AI compute stack - from silicon and software to infrastructure at datacenter scale.

As part of the SoftBank Group, backed by significant long-term investment, we are delivering key technology into the fast-growing SoftBank AI ecosystem.

To meet the vast and exciting AI opportunity, Graphcore is expanding its teams around the world.

We are bringing together the brightest minds to solve the toughest problems, in a place where everyone has the opportunity to make an impact on the company, our products and the future of artificial intelligence.

The Team

The Verification team sits within the Silicon Design organisation. We ensure that the RTL delivered by Logical Design and used by Physical Design team implements Graphcore’s architectural needs and meets the company's quality standards.  As a Director of Silicon Verification, you will help lead this multi-site organisation, define verification strategies across multiple silicon programs, and drive best in class execution to ensure high-quality, high-performance silicon delivery.

## Role Summary

We are seeking a proven leader to help direct Graphcore’s verification strategy and methodologies. This role sets direction for the verification lifecycle including - planning, infrastructure, execution, coverage closure, debug strategy and sign-off for Graphcore’s complex, high performance AI accelerators.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Verification the Director will partner closely with other teams such as Architecture, Logical Design, Physical Design, DFT, Systems as well as Program Management teams to ensure accurate implementation, accelerated debug cycles, high coverage confidence and predictable silicon delivery.

## Responsibilities

Leadership & Strategy

- Define the long-term vision, roadmap and strategy for silicon functional verification across all Graphcore silicon programs.
- Build, lead, and develop a high performing, globally distributed verification organisation.
- Establish scalable methodologies, leading edge verification techniques, and best practice processes.
- Drive automation, tooling and infrastructure evolution to improve productivity and verification quality.
- Evaluate emerging tools and technologies and drive adoption to deliver competitive advantage.

Technical Ownership

- Own verification planning, execution and sign off for all RTL blocks and top-level SoCs.
- Oversee definition of test plans including functional coverage targets. Drive close through prioritisation of test content and coverage signoff. Iterate plans to close verification gaps.
- Direct debugging strategies, triage processes and root-cause analysis workflows to enhance team productivity.
- Steer integration of verification technologies including formal methods, simulation acceleration/emulation and system level validation.

Cross Functional Collaboration

- Ensure high quality feedback to other functions within the Silicon Team.
- Partner with Architecture to influence and refine specifications for verifiability and risk reduction.
- Collaborate with Logical Design to align on design intent, architectural corner cases and test scenarios.
- Work closely with Physical Design and DFT teams to ensure coherent verification of interfaces, timing assumptions and test structures.
- Lead post-silicon debug alignment where needed, ensuring learning cycles feed back into RTL and verification methodology.

Execution & Delivery

- Deliver verification sign off on schedule across multiple parallel projects.
- Guide program risk management, resource planning, milestone creation, and verification budgeting.
- Drive consistent metrics-based verification management (structural and functional coverage, bug funnels, simulation performance, CI health, etc.).
- Provide scheduled reports into program management on progress with associated metrics based collaterol.

Essential Skills

- Demonstrated ability to lead, scale and inspire high performing verification teams.
- Extensive verification leadership experience within CPU, GPU, ASIC or SoC environments.
- Deep understanding of modern verification methodologies, flows, and infrastructure.
- Strong capability in SystemVerilog, Python, C++ and Linux-based workflows.
- Expertise in diagnosing complex logic issues across RTL, testbench and system level domains.
- Strong communication, collaboration and stakeholder management skills across global sites.

Desirable Skills

- UVM and advanced SystemVerilog Assertions (SVA).
- Experience with assembly languages and compiler toolchains (LLVM, GCC).
- Knowledge of DVCS tools (e.g., Git).
- Familiarity with distributed compute systems (SGE or other DRMS).
- Experience with XML, XPath/XSLT.
- Web technologies such as HTML/DOM, JavaScript, SQL.
- Exposure to emulation, FPGA prototyping, or formal verification tools.

## Benefits

In addition to a competitive salary, Graphcore offers flexible working, a generous annual leave policy, private medical insurance and health cash plan, a dental plan, pension (matched up to 5%), life assurance and income protection. We have a generous parental leave policy and an employee assistance programme (which includes health, mental wellbeing, and bereavement support). We offer a range of healthy food and snacks at our central Bristol office and have our own barista bar! 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.

## About Graphcore

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Graphcore designs and builds the Intelligence Processing Unit (IPU), a processor purpose-built for machine intelligence, and provides a complete AI compute stack from silicon to software.
- **Entity Type**: Private (wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp as of 2025/2026)
- **Headquarters**: Bristol, England, UK
- **Founded**: 2016
- **Founders**: Nigel Toon and Simon Knowles

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: AI hardware/accelerators, semiconductor design, AI software platform
- **Target customers**: Cloud providers (Microsoft Azure), enterprises, AI researchers, hyperscalers
- **Mission statement**: “Let innovators create the next breakthroughs in machine intelligence to enhance human potential”

## Products & Services
- **[IPU (Intelligence Processing Unit)](https://www.graphcore.ai/)**: A processor designed from the ground up for machine intelligence workloads; uses a massively parallel architecture (MIMD) with fine-grained compute and on-chip memory.
- **[IPU-Machine M2000](https://www.graphcore.ai/about)**: Second-generation IPU platform – a 1U server appliance housing 4 MK2 GC200 IPU processors, delivering an 8× performance uplift over the first generation.
- **[C2 IPU Accelerator PCIe Card](https://www.graphcore.ai/about)**: PCIe form factor accelerator for server integration, first demonstrated at ICML 2018.
- **[Poplar Software Stack](https://www.graphcore.ai/)**: Full SDK and framework integration (PyTorch, TensorFlow) that lets developers target the IPU directly.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Acquired by SoftBank Group Corp (amount undisclosed); prior to acquisition valued at $2.77 B (Series E, lead by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board).
- **Key Metric**: Total funding raised prior to acquisition – over $680 M across Series A through E.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: SoftBank (owner), Microsoft (customer and investor), BMW, Samsung, Dell Technologies, Bosch, Sequoia Capital, Atomico, Fidelity, Baillie Gifford, Ontario Teachers’.
- **Growth Signals**: Part of the fast-growing SoftBank AI ecosystem; expanding teams globally (Bristol, London, Cambridge, Gdańsk, Hsinchu, Bengaluru); first customer (Microsoft Azure) live since 2018.

## Competitive Advantages
- **First purpose-built AI processor**: The IPU architecture is fundamentally different from GPUs – designed specifically for the sparse, parallel nature of neural network computation.
- **Full stack ownership**: Graphcore controls silicon, system hardware, and software (Poplar), enabling tight optimisation across the entire compute chain.
- **Cloud + on‑prem availability**: IPUs are available in the cloud on Microsoft Azure and as hardware from Dell, giving customers flexible deployment options.
- **Strong IP and ecosystem**: 99+ engineering staff; deep expertise in semiconductor, systems, and AI software, backed by long-term SoftBank investment.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale AI infrastructure**: Delivering key technology into SoftBank’s global AI ecosystem and expanding the IPU platform to meet growing demand for AI compute.
- **Expand into new regions**: Opening offices and hiring in India (Bengaluru) and across Europe (Gdańsk, London, Cambridge) to accelerate R&D and customer support.
- **Democratise AI**: Continuing to lower the barrier for machine intelligence by providing accessible, high-efficiency hardware and software for innovators worldwide.

## Why Work Here
- **Flexible hybrid work**: Employees are expected on-site three days a week, with trust and flexibility to balance work and life.
- **Comprehensive benefits**: Unlimited annual leave, private medical insurance (UK), dental & health cash plan, income protection, life assurance, pension matched up to 5%, generous parental leave, and a personal development plan.
- **Culture and growth**: ML reading groups, board game socials, book clubs, yoga, running, watersports, team events; strong DE+I initiatives; ambitious but supportive environment.
- **Perks**: Free barista‑made coffee, snacks, and wellbeing rooms; cycle‑to‑work scheme; gym membership discount; education/training allowances.
- **Purpose-driven work**: Opportunity to shape the future of AI compute and see your contributions used by global innovators.

## Sources
1. [graphcore.ai/about](https://www.graphcore.ai/about)
2. [graphcore.ai/](https://www.graphcore.ai/)
3. [graphcore.ai/careers](https://www.graphcore.ai/careers)
4. [graphcore.ai/jobs](https://www.graphcore.ai/jobs)
5. [builtin.com/company/graphcore](https://builtin.com/company/graphcore)

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