Software Engineering Summer Intern, Drivers and Utilities 2027

Location: Bristol, UK
Duration: 12 weeks
Salary: £2500 per month
Start date: June 2027
Application deadline: Midnight 29th November
We encourage you to apply early, as we may close applications before the advertised deadline.
The Internship Programme at Graphcore
Explore a career at Graphcore through a 12-week summer internship, gaining hands-on experience on real projects. You’ll bring fresh ideas, put your learning into practice and help shape what we’re creating. Along the way, you’ll tackle challenging problems with a team who welcome your questions and support you as you build your skills and confidence.
What you’ll work on
Put your low-level programming skills to work on the drivers that connect Graphcore’s AI hardware with machine learning software.
As a Software Engineering Intern in Drivers and Utilities, you’ll explore kernel and user-space development alongside engineers working across the hardware and software stack. Your contributions will help the wider software team use Graphcore hardware efficiently and support the systems our customers depend on.
Your tasks could include writing code, adding unit tests and manually testing your own and teammates’ changes. You’ll also help maintain continuous integration (CI) and fix issues, contributing to the work that keeps software development moving.
The team and culture
The Drivers and Utilities team sits within System Software, alongside Firmware and System QA. You’ll work with engineers who collaborate directly with Poplar SDK developers, silicon engineers and hardware engineers.
Technical design discussions, code reviews and Scrum sessions will help you understand how the team develops and coordinates its work. You can ask for help as you learn the codebase, discuss different approaches and use feedback to improve your changes.
Decisions are shaped by design discussions, code reviews and test results. As an intern, you’ll be encouraged to ask questions, share ideas and flag problems early, with support from experienced engineers as you learn.
How you’ll learn and grow
Over the 12 weeks, you’ll build practical experience in low-level software development, testing and continuous integration through the work your tasks focus on.
Following changes from an initial idea through implementation and testing will help you understand what makes driver software reliable. You’ll learn how to check your work, investigate issues and contribute to a shared codebase, gaining a clearer view of a career close to the hardware.
Your internship is a chance to explore a future at Graphcore. Depending on your performance and the roles available, there may be an opportunity to join one of our graduate programmes once you’ve graduated.
What we’re looking for
Currently studying for a bachelor’s or master’s degree in Computer Science, Maths, Machine Learning, Data Science or a related field
Low-level software experience, such as embedded code or device drivers, and introductory programming experience in C, C++ or Python. Personal or university projects count
Basic electronics knowledge, including the ability to read and understand schematics and datasheets
Awareness of continuous integration systems such as Jenkins, plus experience using Git to manage source code, raise and review pull requests, and merge branches
Previous industry experience is not required. Tell us what you built or investigated through coursework, personal or team projects or other relevant experience, how you approached it and what you learned.
Benefits
Flexible working: Find a balance between your internship and life outside work
5 days of annual leave: Take time to rest and recharge during your 12-week internship
Life in the office: Get to know your colleagues in spaces designed for collaboration, with free food, a great selection of ice cream and an on-site barista
Learning and development: Build your skills and explore your interests with access to O’Reilly, our online learning platform
We welcome people from all backgrounds and experiences and are committed to building an inclusive environment where everyone can do their best work.
We’re an equal opportunity employer and recognise that everyone brings different strengths and perspectives. If you need any adjustments during the interview process, just let us know - we’re happy to support you.
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