Principal Firmware Design Engineer

About the role

Graphcore is opening a new AI Engineering Campus in Austin, which will play a central role in Graphcore's work building the future of AI computing. We are looking for a Principal Firmware Design Engineer with strong experience in the Zephyr RTOS to design, develop, and maintain embedded software across server and rack-scale platforms, primarily targeted for hyperscale data center environments. The ideal candidate has deep knowledge of real-time embedded systems, SoC architectures, low-level drivers, and modern firmware development workflows. You will work closely with hardware, software, and product teams to deliver high-reliability firmware on resource-constrained platforms.

Responsibilities

• Architecture, design, development, and deployment of Zephyr-based firmware for hyperscale server and rack management platforms. This includes kernel configuration, board bring-up, and subsystem integration.
• Develop and maintain device drivers, subsystems, and middleware layers for sensors, connectivity, power management, storage, and peripherals.
• Design and implement robust and scalable firmware interfaces for telemetry, power/thermal controls, remote manageability, and firmware update infrastructure.
• Perform board configuration (DTS, Kconfig, build system) and debug low-level issues.
• Collaborate with hardware teams and ODM partners through all phases of the design and development lifecycle. This includes schematic reviews, validation of interfaces, and supporting board bring-up and hardware validation.
• Implement secure boot, firmware update mechanisms (MCUboot, DFU), and over-the-air (OTA) functionality when required.
• Develop automated unit tests, integration tests, and hardware-in-the-loop testing using Zephyr's testing frameworks (Twister, ztest).
• Guide and support integration of firmware into CI/CD pipelines, including automated builds, regression testing, static analysis, and deployment workflows.
• Partner with hardware, BMC/RMC, security, systems, and validation teams to drive alignment across the entire platform stack.
• Debug complex hardware/firmware/system issues in lab and production environments. Provide debugging and root-cause analysis using tools such as JTAG/SWD, logic analyzers, and Zephyr tracing/logging systems.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience in firmware development.
• Hands-on experience with Zephyr RTOS, including device tree, Kconfig, board configuration, and driver development.
• Experience with ARM Cortex-M or similar MCU architectures.
• Solid understanding of SPI, I²C, UART, CanBus, PWM, GPIO, interrupts, DMA, and other low-level interfaces.
• Familiarity with version control (Git), CI/CD workflows, and code-review practices.
• Strong debugging abilities with embedded hardware and software tools.
• Experience with code static analysis tools and vulnerability scanners.
• Experience with system-level debug tools such as logic analyzers, JTAG, and GDB.

Differentiators

• Experience contributing to open-source RTOS projects, ideally Zephyr.
• Background in networking stacks supported by Zephyr.
• Knowledge of secure firmware architectures, trusted execution environments, or cryptography libraries used in embedded systems.
• Experience with MCUboot, OTA pipelines, or secure firmware provisioning.
• Proficiency with Python for automation, tooling, or testing.

Benefits

In addition to a competitive salary, Graphcore offers flexible working and a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your health, wellbeing and financial future. Our benefits include:

• Medical, dental and vision coverage
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)
• Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
• Disability and life insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Commuter benefits
• Wellness services
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)