Principal Firmware Validation Engineer

Graphcore • Austin, TX

20h

About The Position

We are seeking a Principal Firmware Validation Engineer to lead validation and quality assurance for the rack-level firmware stack across Graphcore’s ARM-based server platforms. This role focuses on ensuring reliability, security, and functionality of firmware components including SoC firmware, OpenBMC, rack management services, and platform infrastructure used in hyperscale AI data center environments.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of experience in firmware or platform validation for server or data center systems.
• Experience validating ARM server firmware stacks including UEFI/EDK II and OpenBMC platforms.
• Deep understanding of server architecture including power delivery, thermals, networking, and rack infrastructure.
• Strong experience validating platform management protocols such as Redfish, PLDM, MCTP, and IPMI.
• Experience validating firmware security features including Root of Trust and secure boot.
• Strong familiarity with firmware lifecycle management and update frameworks.
• Experience with server hardware interfaces including I2C, I3C, SPI, PCIe, SMBus, UART, and GPIO.
• Strong system debugging skills using JTAG, GDB, logic analyzers, and protocol analyzers.

Nice To Haves

• Experience validating rack-scale firmware platforms in hyperscale or AI cloud environments.
• Hands-on experience with EDK II/UEFI validation and OpenBMC system testing.
• Experience validating firmware for liquid-cooled or high-density server platforms.
• Experience building hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) or rack-level automated validation environments.
• Experience validating high-speed interconnects such as PCIe in large-scale deployments.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead validation strategy for rack-level firmware stacks across ARM-based server platforms.
• Develop comprehensive validation plans and automated test frameworks for platform bring-up and firmware lifecycle.
• Validate platform management interfaces including Redfish, PLDM, MCTP, IPMI, and D-Bus.
• Validate firmware update frameworks including signed updates, redundancy mechanisms, and rollback protection.
• Drive validation of platform security features including Root of Trust, secure boot chains, and TPM integration.
• Validate server RAS capabilities, telemetry pipelines, and system health monitoring.
• Lead system-level debugging and root cause analysis across firmware and hardware layers.
• Develop automation frameworks and CI/CD integration for firmware validation and regression testing.
• Validate high-speed platform interfaces including PCIe and server I/O subsystems.
• Collaborate with silicon vendors, ODM partners, and engineering teams during bring-up and production ramp.

Benefits

• In addition to a competitive salary, Graphcore offers a competitive benefits package.
• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal