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Sr. Director of Hardware Systems Engineering

Palo Alto, CA (Remote)

About Groq

Groq delivers fast, efficient AI inference. Our LPU-based system powers GroqCloud™, giving businesses and developers the speed and scale they need. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we are on a mission to make high performance AI compute more accessible and affordable. When real-time AI is within reach, anything is possible. Build fast.

Sr. Director of Hardware Systems Engineering 

Mission: 

Lead the Hardware Systems Engineering team; to include responsibility for product roadmap, vendor selection, manufacturing and design houses; ensuring quality and delivery of all technologies on schedule.

Responsibilities & opportunities in this role:

  • Strategic Leadership: Define and own the hardware systems engineering roadmap, strategy, and execution for our AI inference platform, with a deep focus on SoC integration and system-level performance.
  • System & SoC Architecture: Lead the architectural definition and trade-off analysis for complex hardware systems, with a strong emphasis on the interaction and integration of our custom SoC within board-level designs, server integration, and rack-scale deployments. Optimize for performance, power, cost, and reliability.
  • Team Building & Management: Recruit, mentor, and lead a high-performing team of hardware systems engineers specializing in SoC integration, board design, and system validation, fostering a culture of innovation, technical excellence, and collaboration.
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with silicon design (front-end and back-end), SoC, firmware, software, product management, operations, and supply chain teams to ensure holistic system design, seamless SoC integration, and successful product delivery.
  • Design & Development Oversight: Provide technical leadership and oversight for all phases of hardware system development, including requirements definition, architectural design, component selection, schematic capture, PCB layout guidance, DFM/DFT, and validation, with a critical eye on SoC-centric challenges.
  • High-Speed Design: Lead the design and validation of high-speed interfaces, power delivery networks, and signal integrity considerations for the SoC within the board and system context (e.g., DDR, PCIe, custom interconnects).
  • Reliability & Qualification: Establish and implement robust reliability and qualification processes for all hardware components and systems, with particular attention to the SoC and its surrounding support circuitry.
  • Vendor & Supplier Management: Manage relationships with key hardware component suppliers and manufacturing partners, ensuring quality, cost-effectiveness, and on-time delivery, especially for SoC-related components.
  • Risk Management: Identify and mitigate technical risks throughout the hardware development lifecycle, with a focus on SoC integration challenges.
  • Industry Trends: Stay abreast of the latest advancements in AI hardware, SoC architectures, interconnect technologies, and relevant industry standards, incorporating best practices into our designs.

Ideal candidates have/are:

  • 12-15+ years of progressive experience across hardware systems engineering, with a proven track record of successfully bringing complex hardware systems to market, 
  • BS/MS/PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
  • Deep expertise in several of the following areas, with strong understanding across all:
    • Custom Silicon/ASIC/SoC design and integration: Expert understanding of chip-level interfaces, packaging, power delivery to SoC, thermal management for SoC, and integration challenges.
    • High-speed digital design: Experience with DDR, PCIe, Ethernet, SerDes, and other high-speed interfaces critical for SoC connectivity.
    • Board-level design: Strong understanding of PCB design principles, power integrity, signal integrity, EMI/EMC, specifically as it relates to robust SoC operation.
    • Hardware/software co-design and debug: Proven ability to debug complex issues at the SoC/board/firmware interface.
    • System validation, characterization, and root cause analysis for SoC-centric problems.Sr

Attributes of a Groqster:

  • Humility - Egos are checked at the door
  • Collaborative & Team Savvy - We make up the smartest person in the room, together
  • Growth & Giver Mindset - Learn it all versus know it all, we share knowledge generously
  • Curious & Innovative - Take a creative approach to projects, problems, and design
  • Passion, Grit, & Boldness - no limit thinking, fueling informed risk taking

If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you!

Compensation: At Groq, a competitive base salary is part of our comprehensive compensation package, which includes equity and benefits. For this role, the base salary range is $300,000 to $380,000, determined by your skills, qualifications, experience and internal benchmarks.

Location: Some roles may require being located near or on our primary sites, as indicated in the job description.  

At Groq: Our goal is to hire and promote an exceptional workforce as diverse as the global populations we serve. Groq is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity, inclusion, and belonging in all aspects of our organization. We value and celebrate diversity in thought, beliefs, talent, expression, and backgrounds. We know that our individual differences make us better.

 

Groq is an Equal Opportunity Employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status.  We also take affirmative action to offer employment opportunities to minorities, women, individuals with disabilities, and protected veterans.

Groq is committed to working with qualified individuals with physical or mental disabilities. Applicants who would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or who need special assistance or a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process may contact us at:  talent@groq.com.  This contact information is for accommodation requests only.  Evaluation of requests for reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

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