diff --git a/ex_engine/python/ix_unified.py b/ex_engine/python/ix_unified.py
index a01dc1f1..960bd2e8 100644
--- a/ex_engine/python/ix_unified.py
+++ b/ex_engine/python/ix_unified.py
@@ -30,6 +30,19 @@ def _load_bridge():
     if _bridge is not None:
         return _bridge
 
+    # Pre-load ixformer .so symbols (bridge links against them at runtime)
+    try:
+        import ctypes, glob as _glob
+        for _base in ["/usr/local/corex/lib64/python3/dist-packages/ixformer",
+                      "/usr/local/corex/lib/python3/dist-packages/ixformer"]:
+            for _so in _glob.glob(os.path.join(_base, "**/*.so"), recursive=True):
+                try:
+                    ctypes.CDLL(_so, mode=ctypes.RTLD_GLOBAL)
+                except Exception:
+                    pass
+    except Exception:
+        pass
+
     search_paths = []
 
     # 1. Same directory as this file
diff --git a/ex_engine/verify_bridge_runtime.py b/ex_engine/verify_bridge_runtime.py
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..3285e305
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ex_engine/verify_bridge_runtime.py
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Verify ix_unified_bridge.so with ixformer symbols pre-loaded."""
+import ctypes, glob, importlib.util, os, sys, torch
+
+# Step 1: find and pre-load ixformer .so to resolve symbols
+ixf_paths = [
+    "/usr/local/corex/lib64/python3/dist-packages/ixformer",
+    "/usr/local/corex/lib/python3/dist-packages/ixformer",
+]
+loaded = False
+for base in ixf_paths:
+    for so in glob.glob(os.path.join(base, "**/*.so"), recursive=True):
+        try:
+            ctypes.CDLL(so, mode=ctypes.RTLD_GLOBAL)
+        except:
+            pass
+    # Try importing ixformer to trigger all symbol loads
+    try:
+        import ixformer.functions
+        loaded = True
+        print(f"✓ ixformer.functions loaded")
+        break
+    except:
+        pass
+
+if not loaded:
+    print("✗ ixformer not found, bridge will have unresolved symbols")
+    sys.exit(1)
+
+# Step 2: load our bridge
+so_files = glob.glob("ex_engine/build/ix_unified_bridge*.so")
+if not so_files:
+    print("✗ bridge .so not built")
+    sys.exit(1)
+
+spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location("ix_unified_bridge", so_files[0])
+mod = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec)
+spec.loader.exec_module(mod)
+funcs = [x for x in dir(mod) if not x.startswith('_')]
+print(f"✓ bridge loaded: {len(funcs)} functions: {funcs}")
+
+# Step 3: smoke test on GPU
+x = torch.randn(4, 512, device="cuda", dtype=torch.float16)
+out = mod.silu_and_mul(x)
+print(f"✓ silu_and_mul via bridge: {x.shape} → {out.shape}")
+
+inp = torch.randn(2, 2048, device="cuda", dtype=torch.float16)
+outp = torch.empty_like(inp)
+w = torch.ones(2048, device="cuda", dtype=torch.float16)
+mod.rms_norm(outp, inp, w, 1e-6)
+print(f"✓ rms_norm via bridge: {inp.shape}")
+
+gate = torch.randn(4, 64, device="cuda", dtype=torch.float16)
+weights, indices = mod.moe_topk_softmax(gate, 8, True)
+print(f"✓ moe_topk_softmax via bridge: weights={weights.shape}")
+
+print("\nALL BRIDGE TESTS PASSED — Tier 0 active")