Verification Engineer

Verification Engineer Overview

Fractile is developing silicon, systems, and software intended to push past the memory wall, which it describes as a core hardware bottleneck limiting the next generation of AI. The company’s focus is on building chips that can support increasingly complex AI workloads by improving the internal speed of inference systems. This role sits within that mission and is aimed at someone who is excited by verification as a craft, not just as a routine task.

As a silicon verification engineer, you will be based in either the Bristol or London office in the UK and will contribute to the development of ML/AI IC products designed for scale-out data-centre applications. The team is looking for someone who wants to improve verification practice, raise tape-out quality, and help reduce cost by bringing software-style thinking into hardware development. You will work closely with modelling, system architecture, and RTL design colleagues to make sure RTL releases are functionally robust, and you will also take part in discussions about specification, architecture, and the workflows that connect them.

The company describes this as a strong opportunity for someone who wants to grow quickly while working with an experienced and collaborative group. Fractile says it values input from everyone, regardless of job title or seniority, and aims to create an environment where people share ideas, challenge assumptions, and learn from one another. The role is intended for someone who is comfortable taking ownership, working with a small team, and helping shape how the team builds hardware.

What you will do

• Contribute to the verification of silicon, systems, and software that support AI hardware for data-centre use.
• Help ensure RTL releases meet a very high standard of functional correctness and quality.
• Work side by side with modelling, architecture, and RTL engineers to align verification with design intent.
• Take part in specification and architecture conversations, including the processes that connect those decisions to implementation and verification.
• Apply a software-oriented approach to hardware problems, with a focus on improving existing methods and increasing the effectiveness of the verification flow.
• Drive your own work with a strong sense of ownership and execution in a small, high-impact team.
• Help strengthen collaboration between hardware and software teams and contribute to better working practices.
• Build and improve verification collateral such as testbenches, stimulus, checkers, and coverage.
• Support pre-silicon verification activities that improve confidence before tape-out.
• Participate in a rapid-iteration development process where ideas are quickly turned into hardware.

What the team is looking for

• A strong software mindset for solving hardware problems.
• Someone who wants a high-impact role and enjoys working in a small team.
• A person who is willing to challenge the usual way hardware development is done.
• Interest in improving working practices and building stronger links between hardware and software disciplines.
• Careful attention to detail, with rigour as the default standard for your work.
• Humility and a genuine desire to keep learning.
• Comfort in a fast-moving, open, and collaborative environment.

Essential experience and skills

• Strong programming ability, especially in Python or another object-oriented language such as C++.
• Understanding of digital hardware principles.
• Ability to read and debug RTL written in SystemVerilog.
• Experience working with waveform debugging.
• About three or more years of experience is the kind of background the company ideally wants.
• Applicants with UVM experience or a strong software background are encouraged to apply even if they have not previously worked directly with RTL.

Useful additional experience

• Pre-silicon RTL verification.
• Verification planning and execution starting from a specification.
• Building testbenches.
• Creating stimulus for verification.
• Functional modelling of hardware blocks.
• Writing checkers.
• Defining and closing coverage.
• Transaction-level modelling, whether in UVM, SystemC, or another approach.
• SystemVerilog Assertions.
• Comfort with several programming languages.
• Experience using open-source tools for silicon development.
• Experience with Cocotb, which the company says it uses for all testbench collateral.
• Familiarity with Verilator and Icarus Verilog.
• Experience with commercial EDA tools.
• Formal verification experience.
• Working in a monorepo environment alongside software teams.
• Familiarity with Bazel, although prior experience is not required.
• Interest in contributing to architecture discussions.

How Fractile works

• The company gives engineers ownership and expects them to drive their work forward.
• It works with a rapid-iteration approach and keeps leadership closely involved so ideas can move quickly toward hardware.
• Teams across hardware, software, silicon, and modelling collaborate closely to build products the company believes can have long-term impact.
• The culture is described as optimistic and pragmatic, with a strong determination to succeed through hard work.
• The team values collaboration and wants the best idea to win, regardless of where it comes from.

About the company

Fractile was founded in 2022 and has grown to more than 100 people across London and Bristol. The company says it sits at the centre of the UK frontier AI ecosystem and is growing quickly. It also states that it believes the hardest technical problems are best solved by bringing together people with a wide range of perspectives, and it actively encourages applications from underrepresented groups in hardware and software engineering.

What is offered

• Competitive pay.
• Equity with meaningful value.
• Standard employee benefits.
• A hybrid working model with 2 to 3 days per week in the London and Bristol offices.
• The chance to work on ambitious technology with broad, potentially generational impact.
• Exposure to a wide range of technical disciplines and the opportunity to grow quickly alongside experienced colleagues.

Additional compliance note

The company says its work involves technologies covered by UK and international export control rules. Because of that, some roles may require extra checks to confirm eligibility under applicable law, and the company says it will be transparent about this during the hiring process.

How to apply

Applications are submitted through the online application form. Candidates can apply quickly through the Greenhouse system and are asked to provide contact details, a CV, an optional cover letter, education information, and links such as LinkedIn or a personal website if desired.

Degree Requirement: Not Specified

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