Software Architecture Director

About 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 enjoys a culture of continuous learning and constant innovation.  

Job Summary 

We are looking for a Director of Software Architect to lead the architectural vision of the software stack for the Graphcore ML accelerator.

In this role, you lead an architecture team that will define the software architecture for Graphcore products.

You are a thought leader and an advocate for our long-term technical vision, engaging with project stakeholder, external partners and customers to ensure alignment and clarity.

You are an excellent communicator, and you proactively convey architectural decisions and changes as the product evolves.

The Team 

The software architecture team is responsible for defining, maintaining and communicating the overarching architecture of our software stack, from firmware to ML frameworks.

The team works within the wider software organisation, partnering closely with engineering teams who deliver against this architectural vision. 

Responsibilities and Duties

• Communicate the long-term technical vision & strategy for the software architecture
• Define the processes and procedures to define, agree and maintain the software architecture.
• Act as an advocate and thought leader for the long-term technical vision across the organisation.
• Advocate for the user experience to ensure that the software architecture results in a software stack that is easy to use.  
• Manage technical and project-level architectural risks. 
• Work closely with engineering, product, leadership, and partners to ensure alignment between business goals and architectural vision. 
• Inspire, grow, mentor and develop the software architecture team.
• Clearly communicate the trade off’s for architectural decisions that have company wide impacts.
• Stay informed about trends and developments in the ML/software ecosystem.

Candidate Profile

Essential:

• Proven experience in a leadership role.
• Experience of working with silicon and hardware teams.
• Technical expertise in the ML accelerator software space.
• Excellent communication skill, both written and verbal. 
• Collaborative mindset and ability to influence. 
• Pragmatic approach to decision making, being very aware of trade-offs and implications. 
• Experience in one or more of these technologies; Firmware, Drivers, ML frameworks (PyTorch, Triton, etc), Collectives, HPC, Tooling, C & C++, CPU architectures.

Desirable

• Demonstrable experience in a previous architecture role. 

  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.

  Applicants for this position must hold the right to work in the UK. Unfortunately at this time, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship or support for visa applications