Senior Principal Network Engineer

Job Application for Senior Principal Network Engineer at Graphcore Back to jobs New Senior Principal Network Engineer Austin, Texas, United States Apply About us 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 seeking a Senior Principal Network Engineer to help design, deploy, and optimize next‑generation AI data center networks. AI training and inference workloads require extremely high bandwidth, deterministic low latency, and zero‑packet‑loss networking environments. In this role, you will partner closely with the Network Architecture Lead to design and scale high‑performance computing (HPC) network fabrics supporting GPU clusters. You will work across hardware, networking, and AI application layers to ensure Graphcore’s large‑scale AI infrastructure operates at peak performance. The ideal candidate brings deep experience operating hyperscale or HPC data center networks and has expertise in high‑speed Ethernet fabrics, RDMA technologies, advanced automation, and telemetry systems. The Team The Data Center Network Engineering team designs and operates the high‑performance network fabrics that power Graphcore’s AI compute platforms. The team collaborates closely with hardware engineering, AI researchers, and infrastructure teams to build scalable networking environments optimized for distributed training and inference workloads. Engineers work on pioneering technologies including high‑speed Ethernet fabrics, lossless networking, RDMA transport, and large‑scale automation frameworks to support next‑generation AI clusters. Responsibilities and Duties Assist in defining ultra‑high‑bandwidth, non‑blocking AI network fabrics (Clos spine‑leaf‑super‑spine architectures) for large‑scale distributed AI workloads. • Optimize performance of lossless Ethernet fabrics using congestion control mechanisms such as PFC, ECN, and DCQCN to support RDMA/RoCEv2 communication. • Lead initiatives to implement NetDevOps practices and develop automation for provisioning, configuration management, and network remediation. • Design and deploy high‑resolution telemetry pipelines to monitor network health, detect microbursts, and analyze congestion patterns. • Support modeling, deployment, configuration, and monitoring of data center network fabrics including scale‑out, scale‑up, and front‑end networks. • Collaborate cross‑functionally with hardware engineers, AI researchers, and data center operations teams to co‑design high‑performance infrastructure. • Provide technical leadership and mentorship to network engineers while establishing best practices and operational standards. • Contribute to the long‑term networking strategy and roadmap for Graphcore’s AI infrastructure. • Research and evaluate next‑generation high‑speed networking technologies and vendor solutions. Candidate Profile Essential BS or MS or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Network Engineering, or related technical discipline. • 12+ years of progressive network engineering experience with at least 3 years in hyperscale, high‑density, or HPC data center environments. • Expert‑level knowledge of data center routing and switching protocols including BGP, OSPF, and EVPN‑VXLAN architectures. • Strong operational understanding of RDMA networking technologies such as RoCEv2 or InfiniBand. • Hands‑on experience with modern merchant silicon networking platforms and NOS platforms such as Arista EOS, Cisco NX‑OS, or SONiC. • Experience deploying high‑speed network technologies including 400G/800G optics and large‑scale fabric architectures. • Proficiency in automation and scripting languages such as Python, Go, Bash, or similar tools. • Strong collaboration and communication skills across cross‑functional engineering teams. Desirable Experience operating large‑scale AI or GPU clusters. • Familiarity with network telemetry frameworks and streaming analytics. • Experience implementing NetDevOps workflows and infrastructure automation pipelines. • Experience influencing vendor roadmaps or evaluating next‑generation networking technologies. Create a Job Alert Interested in building your career at Graphcore? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email. Create alert Apply for this job * indicates a required field Autofill with MyGreenhouse First Name * Last Name * Email * Phone Country * Phone * Resume/CV * Attach Attach Dropbox Google Drive Enter manually Enter manually Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf Cover Letter Attach Attach Dropbox Google Drive Enter manually Enter manually Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf Have you added your full legal name and surname (including any middle names)? * Select... Will you now or in the future require sponsorship to work in the United States? * Select... LinkedIn Profile How did you hear about this role? * Voluntary Self-Identification For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file. As set forth in Graphcore’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law. Gender Select... Are you Hispanic/Latino? Select... Race & Ethnicity Definitions If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows: A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability. A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service. An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense. An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985. Veteran Status Select... Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability Form CC-305 Page 1 of 1 OMB Control Number 1250-0005 Expires 04/30/2026 Why are you being asked to complete this form? We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years. Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at . How do you know if you have a disability? A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to: Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally) Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS Blind or low vision Cancer (past or present) Cardiovascular or heart disease Celiac disease Cerebral palsy Deaf or serious difficulty hearing Diabetes Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders Epilepsy or other seizure disorder Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome Intellectual or developmental disability Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD Missing limbs or partially missing limbs Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS) Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities Partial or complete paralysis (any cause) Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema Short stature (dwarfism) Traumatic brain injury Disability Status Select... PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete. Submit application Powered by Greenhouse