About the role
About OLIX AI is growing faster than any technology in history and the explosion in demand has created a massive infrastructure gap; we can no longer build chips or power stations fast enough to keep up. The industry is still leaning on a ten-year-old hardware blueprint that has reached its limit. A new paradigm that is faster and more efficient will be the biggest economic opportunity of the next century and create the most important company of the next decade. OLIX is building this next paradigm; the Optical Tensor Processing Unit (OTPU) achieves performance and energy efficiency that is impossible to match from existing chips. Role As Staff Engineer, Hardware Integration, you will be the deepest technical expert within your team on hardware-software integration across a focused area of the OTPU stack, from pre-silicon through post-silicon and into sustainment engineering. We are looking for an experienced staff-level engineer who sets the technical direction for the team and owns the hardest engineering problems within their domain. You will work closely with the Engineering Manager to translate priorities into execution, drive technical decisions within the team, and ensure that what gets built is correct, robust, and maintainable. You bring deep hands-on expertise, strong engineering judgment, and the ability to influence through the quality of your work and thinking. Responsibilities Own the technical direction for your team. Partner with the Engineering Manager to set technical direction within the team's scope, and take ownership of the architectural decisions that shape how the team builds and operates. Translate priorities into execution. Work with the Engineering Manager to break down complex technical problems into concrete plans, and ensure the team is building the right things in the right way. Hold the technical bar. Define the principles, interface contracts, and standards the team builds to — whether that's firmware interfaces, ASIC validation methodology, or interconnect fabric integration — and ensure they are applied consistently. Make the hard calls in your domain. Own technical decision-making within your area: BSP and firmware architecture, ASIC validation methodology, BMC platform design, or interconnect fabric integration — depending on your focus. Drive alignment within the team. Build shared understanding across engineers through rigour, clarity, and well-reasoned technical decisions. Collaborate with adjacent teams where your work has dependencies. Own the full lifecycle within your domain. Lead technically across pre-silicon, post-silicon, and sustainment — from emulation and bring-up through to production reliability and field issue resolution. Raise the level of the team. Support the growth of engineers around you — through code review, design feedback, and sharing technical judgment — as a senior individual contributor who holds the bar high. Skills & Experience Proven track record delivering complex hardware-software integration work that has shipped, ideally across multiple generations in fast-moving organisations. Deep hands-on expertise in one or more focused areas: ASIC bring-up and validation, BMC/firmware platforms, or high-speed interconnect fabrics — with enough breadth to work effectively across the stack within your team's scope. Full lifecycle experience — you've worked hardware from pre-silicon through to production and understand the distinct engineering challenges at each phase: simulation and emulation, silicon bring-up, post-silicon debug and characterisation, and long-tail sustainment. Track record delivering reliable technical outcomes in organisations with high reliability expectations, including robust observability, incident management, and close collaboration with hardware and silicon teams on field issues. Strong technical communicator — you can articulate decisions and their consequences clearly to engineers and your manager, and write design documents that become the reference point for your team. Compensation & Equity Competitive Salary: £163,000+, commensurate with your experience, skills, and location. Equity & Ownership: Meaningful stock options. You’re not just joining the mission; you’re owning a piece of it. Proximity Bonus: We value your time. To minimise your commute and maximise your life, we offer a £24k annual Living-Local Bonus if your residence is within 20 minutes of the office. Health & Wellbeing Premium Healthcare: Comprehensive BUPA medical and dental cover, including Medical History Disregarded (MHD), for complete peace of mind. Time Off: 25 days of annual leave, plus all UK bank holidays. The Workspace & Tech Elite Hardware: M4 Macs come as standard, with M4 Pro upgrades for our engineering team. We will provide whatever you need to do your best work. Optimal Environment: High-spec noise-cancelling headphones and a fully ergonomic workstation designed for deep focus. Rapid Prototyping: Access to our high-performance 3D printing lab for work, experimentation, and personal creative projects. Life at the Office Chef-prepared meals: if you need to work late. Caffeine on Us: We’ve got you covered with a tab at our favourite local coffee shop. Relocation & Global Mobility Visa Sponsorship: We hire the best in the world. We offer full UK and international visa sponsorship. Seamless Relocation: Whether you’re moving across the country or across the globe, our dedicated relocation partner provides funding and concierge support to get you settled. Due to U.S. export control regulations, candidates’ eligibility to work at OLIX depends on their most recent citizenship or permanent residency status. We are generally unable to consider applicants whose most recent citizenship or permanent residence is in certain restricted countries (currently including Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Russia, Belarus, China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Venezuela). Applicants who have subsequently obtained citizenship or permanent residency in another country not subject to these restrictions may still be eligible.