{"id":2182184,"url":"https://alion.io/job/graphcore-principal-ai-performance-engineer","title":"Principal AI Performance Engineer","company":{"id":33,"name":"Graphcore","domain":"graphcore.ai","url":"https://alion.io/company/graphcore","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Greenhouse","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":92,"open_postings":159,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.101,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":69,"computed_at":"2026-10-10T05:45:15Z"}},"role":"AI/ML","role_family":"AI/ML","seniority":"lead","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Austin, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":146000,"max_usd":303000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_remote_cell","sample_n":571},"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"C++","optional":false},{"name":"Machine Learning","optional":false},{"name":"NCCL","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-09T13:29:02Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-09","last_verified_at":"2026-10-10T23:24:05Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":1,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":1},"description":"About the Job\nSet the performance direction behind large-scale AI systems built for real deployment.\nAs a Principal AI Performance Engineer, you will define how Graphcore analyzes and optimizes AI training and inference workloads. Your work will shape decisions across hardware, software, networking and system architecture.\nYou will lead the hardest performance investigations, from model behavior to multi-node scaling. You will turn profiling, benchmarking and modeling evidence into technical roadmaps and engineering priorities.\nYou will set measurement standards, guide distributed communication strategy and review critical C++ and Python tools. Your judgment will help teams make better decisions when data is incomplete.\nThis role gives you rare influence across AI infrastructure at data center scale. It is based in Austin, Texas.\nThe team and culture\nThe System Engineering Performance team architects, evaluates and optimizes high-performance infrastructure for large-scale data center deployments. The team works across the computing stack to understand real system behavior.\nWork happens through evidence, technical ownership and direct cross-team influence. You will guide strategy, resolve complex tradeoffs and raise performance-engineering standards across the organization.\nDecisions are shaped by benchmarks, simulations, models and clear technical debate. The team values engineers who think big, act fast, take responsibility, speak up and lead beyond their own area.\nWhat we’re looking for\n· Deep experience profiling and optimizing AI, machine learning or high-performance computing workloads at scale.\n· Proven technical leadership across complex performance-engineering or system-architecture initiatives.\n· Expert C++ and Python skills, including reliable tools or performance-sensitive software.\n· Expert understanding of compute, memory, communication and scaling behavior in distributed systems.\n· Ability to define benchmarks, measurement practices or optimization standards across teams.\n· Experience with MPI, NCCL, UCX, libfabric, MLPerf, accelerated architectures or high-performance interconnects.\nWhile we have outlined a set of requirements, we value transferable skills and diverse experiences. We also welcome engineers returning to the profession after a career break, including through returnship routes.\nBenefits\nGraphcore offers competitive compensation and benefits designed to support employees' health, financial well-being, work-life needs, and professional growth. Benefits and programs for eligible U.S. employees may include: \nMedical, dental, and vision coverage, with options that may extend to eligible dependents.\nMental health, wellness, and employee assistance resources.\nRetirement savings benefits and company contributions where applicable.\nPaid vacation, sick time, company holidays, and parental or family leave in accordance with applicable plans and policies.\nLife insurance and short-term or long-term disability coverage.\nFlexible working hours and hybrid working arrangements where compatible with the role and team requirements.\nProfessional-development resources, learning programs, office amenities, and team-led activities. \nBenefits vary by work location, employment status, scheduled hours, and plan eligibility and are subject to the terms of the applicable plans and company policies. This overview is not a contract or guarantee of benefits. \nGraphcore is an equal opportunity employer. We consider qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law. \nGraphcore is committed to an inclusive and accessible hiring process. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in the application or interview process, please let the recruiting team know. \nPersonal information submitted during the recruiting process will be handled in accordance with Graphcore's applicable candidate privacy notices.\nJoin the Team at Graphcore\nGraphcore 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.\nAs 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.\nGraphcore’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 brings together deep expertise to solve complex problems and deliver meaningful progress in AI compute.\nReady to set the performance direction for AI systems at data center scale? Apply now to join Graphcore in Austin.","description_format":"text","description_chars":5119,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Flexible schedule","Hybrid work","Life insurance","Parental leave"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Processors, MCUs & AI Chips","AI Chips & Accelerators"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-09T15:15:40Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":90,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.903,"p_room":1,"age_days":0,"expected_fill_days":69,"reasons":["conf:2","velocity","win:early","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-10T05:45:15Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/graphcore-principal-ai-performance-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/graphcore-principal-ai-performance-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-11T03:00:12Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":205,"day_limit":5000,"remaining_today":4795,"minute_limit":60,"resets_at":"2026-10-12T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":33},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=33"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fgraphcore-principal-ai-performance-engineer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fgraphcore-principal-ai-performance-engineer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fgraphcore-principal-ai-performance-engineer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/graphcore-principal-ai-performance-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fgraphcore-principal-ai-performance-engineer"}]}