--- title: 'Senior Systems Engineer - Commissioning and Characterisation at Graphcore' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-systems-engineer-commissioning-and-characterisation-graphcore-bristol-a6c5avrr70zt' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-08' --- # Senior Systems Engineer - Commissioning and Characterisation at Graphcore - **Company:** Graphcore - **Location:** Bristol, United Kingdom / London, United Kingdom - **Posted:** 2026-05-02 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/graphcore/jobs/8533904002 ## Job description ## About the job Explore how a next-generation AI architecture behaves from rack scale to data centre scale. As a Senior Systems Engineer, you will investigate a novel AI computing architecture under demanding real-world workloads. You will work on problems where answers aren't readily known, turning curiosity into measurable evidence. You will design experiments, benchmark representative AI workloads and explore how hardware components and software interact at scale. When behaviour is unexpected, you will turn this into new measurements. Your work will help infrastructure engineers, architects and application specialists understand system behaviour, performance, scalability and reliability across the stack. You will also help develop tooling and automation to collect, analyse and visualise system metrics. You do not need to be an AI expert. You will need strong judgement, curiosity and a clear preference for evidence over opinion. You will love this role if you are someone who takes initiative, questions assumptions and enjoys working in areas where the answers are not yet known. The team and culture The System QA team is distributed across multiple locations. We work hard to stay connected and collaborate closely. Our daily team meetings feel more like a virtual coffee break than a formal status update with space to share ideas, ask questions, discuss discoveries and solve problems together. We value trust, autonomy and openness, and we understand that great engineers don't all follow the same career path. What matters is the quality of your work, your curiosity, and your willingness to explore challenging problems. You will have regular 1:1s with your people manager where you will have the opportunity to discuss things that matter to you. You will have dedicated time each week to focus on your CPD. The technical lead will provide direction and help set priorities, but everyone in the team is there to support each other. One of our core principles is that we measure and report what we observe without trying to make results look better or worse than they are. ## What we're looking for - Comfortable using Python to write tests, automate tasks, analyse data or develop practical engineering tools. - Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. - A curiosity-driven approach to investigating complex systems. - Ability to explain technical findings clearly, using accurate and reproducible evidence. - Confidence to work independently, take responsibility and collaborate across engineering teams. - Experience in some of the following would be valuable: AI workloads and benchmarking, systems architecture, parallel and distributed computing, automation, containers or modern orchestration infrastructure While we have outlined a set of requirements, we value transferable skills and diverse experiences from different industries. We actively welcome applications from engineers to the profession through a returnship or after a career break. ## Benefits - Flexible working: Balance your work and personal life with greater flexibility - Generous leave: Take time to rest, recharge and enjoy life outside of work - Retirement planning support: Up to 5% matched pension - Phantom equity: Share in Graphcore’s success - Workplace experience: Enjoy thoughtfully designed office spaces for collaboration, with free food and an on-site barista to support your day - Peace of mind protection: Income protection and life assurance to provide financial security for you and your loved ones - Flexible benefits: Tailor your benefits package with a choice of additional options, including private medical insurance and dental cover - Optional benefits: Dental cover, health cash plan, private medical insurance, cycle to work scheme, give as you earn We welcome people from all backgrounds and experiences and are committed to building an inclusive environment where everyone can do their best work. We’re an equal opportunity employer and recognise that everyone brings different strengths and perspectives. If you need any adjustments during the interview process, just let us know - we’re happy to support you. Sponsorship Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship or support visa applications for this role. Join the Team at Graphcore 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. Together, they share a bold vision: to enable Artificial Super Intelligence and ensure its benefits are accessible to everyone. 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 brings together deep expertise to solve complex problems and deliver meaningful progress in AI compute. If you want to explore how complex AI systems really behave, we’d love to hear from you. Apply now to join the Systems Engineering team. ## 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. 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