Director - Hardware Engineering, AI Infrastructure Systems - Hybrid/Remote - Europe (incl. UK), United Kingdom
Originally posted 18 May 2026 by the employer.
About the role
Establish and lead Axelera's AI Infrastructure Systems division within the AI Integrated Systems group, owning the delivery of board- and system-level datacenter hardware. You will direct the realization of accelerator silicon into form factors ranging from PCIe Gen6/CXL cards and OAM modules to 1U/2U rack systems.
What you'll do
- Build and structure the multidisciplinary AI Infrastructure Systems engineering organization across hardware architecture, PCB design, power, thermal, mechanical engineering, firmware, and platform validation. - Define the technical roadmap for board- and system-level server products, including PCIe Gen6/CXL accelerator cards, OAM modules, UBB baseboards, and 1U/2U rack systems. - Serve as the technical authority across system implementation, including schematics, PCB stack-ups, high-speed signaling (PCIe Gen5/6, CXL, SerDes), power delivery, VRM design, and SI/PI methodology. - Drive datacenter-grade platform engineering covering BMC-based management, Redfish/IPMI, UEFI/BIOS firmware, secure boot, root-of-trust, and enterprise RAS features. - Lead thermal and mechanical engineering for high-power platforms, spanning air-cooled rack designs, direct liquid cooling (DLC), and immersion-ready variants. - Manage end-to-end execution through design reviews, bring-up, validation, reliability qualification, DFM/DFT/DFR, and mass-production ramp with tier-1 CMs and ODMs.
What you'll need
- 15+ years in hardware engineering for complex electronics products, with at least 5 years in senior leadership running multidisciplinary teams. - Track record of shipping datacenter- or server-class compute hardware into volume production, including accelerator cards, OAM modules, UBB baseboards, or rack-level systems. - Deep technical expertise in high-speed interfaces (PCIe Gen4/5/6, CXL, high-speed SerDes), server memory, high-current power delivery, VRM design, and high-density PCB layout with SI/PI methodology. - Hands-on experience with BMC-based platform management, Redfish/IPMI, UEFI/BIOS firmware stacks, secure boot, root-of-trust, and enterprise RAS features. - Working knowledge of datacenter thermal/mechanical design (1U/2U chassis, direct liquid cooling, immersion) and rack power delivery at 12V, 48V, and OCP power-shelf levels. - Demonstrated experience partnering with tier-1 CMs/ODMs on server products, encompassing DFM, mass-production transfer, yield ramp, and sustaining engineering.
Nice to have
- Experience building or scaling an engineering team from the ground up. - Experience with AI accelerator platforms, GPUs, or custom silicon in a datacenter environment. - Exposure to sovereign AI, EuroHPC, HPC, or European defense/dual-use datacenter programs. - Working proficiency in an additional European language alongside English.
Skills: PCIe accelerator cards, OAM modules, rack systems, high-speed signaling, power delivery
This role has been open 172 days — well above the 53-day median for Hardware Systems Engineering roles.
Hardware Systems Engineering · AI ML Hardware
|
Open roles in category
1021
|
Median days open
53 d
|
Median salary
$154k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Axelera AI | All employers we track in this specialty (1021 roles · 102 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 2 | 1021 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 5 | 6292 · 146 employers |
| Median days open | 104 d | 53 d (+51 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $154k |
Skills observed across this category: PCIe accelerator cards, OAM modules, rack systems, high-speed signaling, power delivery
Who's hiring in this category
- Intel Corporation · 75 open roles · median 39 d
- KLA Corporation · 64 open roles · median 51 d
- Teradyne · 60 open roles · median 39 d
- NVIDIA · 50 open roles · median 70 d
- Applied Materials · 49 open roles · median 67 d
- AMD · 44 open roles · median 56 d
How we counted: 1021 open Hardware Systems Engineering (AI ML Hardware) roles from 102 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 27 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family row. Figures refresh nightly.