Sr. Director, Systems Software

$384,200 - $519,800

About us 

Graphcore is a globally recognised leader in Artificial Intelligence computing systems. The company designs advanced semiconductors and data centre hardware that provide the specialised processing power needed to drive AI innovation, while delivering the efficiency required to support its broader adoption.   

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. We are opening a new AI Engineering Campus in Austin, which will play a central role in Graphcore's work building the future of AI computing. 

Job Overview: 

We are looking for a Senior Director to help lead the development of next generation system software to enable Graphcore’s customer base in the datacenter space. This leader is accountable for the development and deployment of system software (e.g. communications libraries, runtime environment, toolchain, performance tools) that enable Graphcore silicon to perform at scale. This leader will also drive R&D efforts to improve system resiliency and numerical accuracy, from applications to low level software. 

Graphcore’s partners range from cloud providers with custom designs to SoC vendors shipping to a broad range of customers. As such, this is a pivotal leadership role to realizing the promise of next generation cloud-scale web services and AI/ML/GenAI for everyone 

Responsibilities: 

• Assist in the development of the engineering plan and investment case for in-house development and integration of existing or community code base to deliver market leading system software 

• Organizational planning and execution to rapidly establish a capable R&D organization for system software 

• Direction to matrix-based R&D functions, guidance to requirements, roadmap and PLM 

• Engagement with Graphcore’s in-house software teams, partners (e.g. Linaro) and the broader software community 

• Ownership of system software development including runtime environment, toolchain, communications libraries, performance tools, etc. 

• Ownership of resiliency and numerical accuracy for next-generation systems/frameworks 

• Collaboration with performance engineering teams on benchmarking, system-scale testing and validation 

• Oversight of support functions such as programs management, quality, DevOPS, etc. 

• Management of budgets in accordance to evolving corporate financial planning and reporting requirements 

• Oversight of operational activities, ensuring that resources are made available and handled effectively 

• Representation on community groups and open-source projects, to assess leverage and interoperability 

• Representation of Graphcore system software engineering with customers, at industry events and forums 
  
  

Required Skills and Experience : 

• Knowledge of runtime environments, strong-scaling software toolchains, communications and math libraries (e.g. MPI, OpenMP, PyTorch, NCCL/RCCL) 

• Exceptional leadership skills including coaching, teambuilding, conflict resolution, with a history of building and motivating high-performing global teams 

• Ability to recruit a premier team in short timeframe 

• Organizational and strategic leadership skills, including strategic vision definition, development planning and resources forecasting 

• Strategic problem solver with excellent analytical, problem-solving and decision-making skills 

• Highly experienced in leading human capital across geographies and functional areas to drive workforce development and achieve desired results 

• Sophisticated communication skills catered to a wide variety of audiences. 

• Track record of on-time, to-specification delivery of multiple projects in parallel 

• Extensive intuition for business, technical knowledge, and proven experience encompassing one or more engineering, technology, and product domains 

• Relationship leadership skills, including partnering and advising executive/C-level roles for internal and external partners 
  
  

“Nice To Have” Skills and Experience : 

• Strategic orientation 

• Collaboration and influencing 

• Team Leadership 

• Creating a Culture of innovation 

• Attracting world class talent 

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.