Director - Post-Silicon Validation (Functional) - Austin, Texas, United States
Originally posted 8 October 2026 by the employer.
About the role
You will lead a team delivering post-silicon validation across a large-scale AI system-on-chip (SoC), working across silicon, firmware, and platform levels. This role spans pre-silicon test development on FPGA/Emulator through first-silicon bringup, functional validation, and platform debug.
What you'll do
- Plan, design, develop, and debug silicon validation tests in bare metal C/C++ on FPGA/Emulator prior to first silicon. - Deploy silicon validation tests on first silicon and debug failures and defects. - Develop automated test frameworks and regression test suites in Python to optimize validation efficiency. - Work with Validation and Production Test engineering peers to implement test methodologies and continuous improvements to shared test infrastructure. - Analyze test results, identify root causes of critical issues, and provide feedback to architects.
What you'll need
- Strong experience in bare metal / embedded C/C++. - Experience with the post-silicon validation process applied in digital ASIC environments. - Proficiency in Python and Linux environments. - Understanding of ML applications and their workloads. - Hands-on debug experience across teams and programming languages to root-cause complex silicon defects.
Nice to have
- 10+ years of experience, including experience building and leading multi-site teams. - Driver-level experience with PCIe, Ethernet, memory technologies (LPDDR, DDR, HBM), or peripherals (I2C, I3C, SPI). - Knowledge of mixed-signal building blocks such as PLLs, high speed PHYs, and IC control/communication protocols. - Experience with Arm CPUs, System IP, debug tools, and AMBA protocols. - Experience in characterization, failure analysis, test development, and statistical analysis in addition to functional validation.
This role has been open 13 days — well below the 69-day median for Post-Silicon Validation roles.
Post-Silicon Validation · Design Verification
|
Open roles in category
116
|
Median days open
69 d
|
Median salary
$187k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Graphcore | All employers we track in this specialty (116 roles · 30 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 10 | 116 |
| Open roles in the wider Silicon Validation & Test family | 47 | 2244 · 112 employers |
| Median days open | 127 d | 69 d (+58 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $187k |
Who's hiring in this category
- Qualcomm · 19 open roles · median 42 d
- AMD · 15 open roles · median 68 d
- NVIDIA · 14 open roles · median 72 d
- Graphcore (this employer) · 10 open roles · median 126 d
- Amazon · 6 open roles · median 45 d
- Micron Technology · 5 open roles · median 216 d
How we counted: 116 open Post-Silicon Validation (Design Verification) roles from 30 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 21 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 Silicon Validation & Test family row. Figures refresh nightly.