Research technician BICS and CogniGron (1.0 FTE)

Research technician BICS and CogniGron (1.0 FTE) (V23.0560)

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Job description

The technician is expected to provide assistance to the research unit (100% of the time), such as:

• organising general aspects within the laboratories of the research group
• maintenance of equipment and the IT environment of the research group. These include neuromorphic robotic (e.g. actuators), sensory (e.g. DVS, ATIS) and processing (e.g. DYNAP, Loihi) systems as well as Linux-based computers
• maintenance and supervision of the group laboratories, including the soldering laboratory. This includes the maintenance of research, measuring and soldering equipment (e.g. ASICs, PCBs, oscilloscopes, hot air soldering station, reflow oven), the setup of new experiments and - testbenches, and giving introduction and (safety) instructions to (new) users of the equipment
• design, layout and maintenance of custom build PCBs including soldering. Alongside with the programming of microcontrollers, FPGAs and the development of drivers for the newly designed chips
• maintenance of software relevant for chip design such as the CADENCE toolsuite including maintenance of relevant PDKs and GIT/SVN/VCS systems. This includes instructing new users to these softwares
• conception, new design, construction and commission of equipment. This comprises also negotiation with companies providing the parts and the acquisition of components
• cooperation with other technical personnel within and outside of the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials.

The University of Groningen employs ca. 5,000 staff members and gives education to 20,000 students. She is considered to be one of top 5 universities in Europe for research in Materials Science, Chemistry, Space Science, Microbiology, and Environment/Ecology.

The Bio-Inspired Circuits and Systems (BICS) group at the University of Groningen, Netherlands headed by prof. Elisabetta Chicca aims to identify the principles of neural computation and implement them in fully parallel and low-power neuromorphic systems that offer the opportunity to overcome the limitations of traditional digital architectures. The group uses specifically and in-house designed analog mixed-signal CMOS chips hosted on custom made PCBs to simulate neuronal behavior. The recently established Center for Cognitive Systems and Materials (CogniGron), within the Faculty of Science and Engineering, comprises researchers from materials science, mathematics, computer science, and artificial intelligence. The research mission is to discover and develop physical building blocks with intrinsic cognitive functionality, using an integrated approach. The materials science is hosted by the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials and includes state of the art equipment for preparation and analysis of materials and devices.

Qualifications

For this multi-faceted position, we search for a candidate who has/is:

• completed a university degree (Bachelor, Master or PhD) in the field of Physics, Electrical Engineering or Computer Science
• experience with Python, C/C++ and/or VHDL
• positive spirited, with a hands-on mentality for a working with complex equipment
• able to work independently
• excellent organisational and communication skills
• very good proficiency in English (orally and written)
• very good proficiency in Dutch (orally and written), alternatively willingness to learn
• being prepared to widen your knowledge and willing to follow relevant courses for missing skills or to extend the knowledge

Experience with soldering and PCB design could be beneficial. Furthermore, any prior exposition to the field of neuromorphic engineering and biomimetic systems, to the use of the CADENCE Custom IC design suite (Virtuoso), to LaTeX and to Linux-based operating systems may be considered an advantage.

Organisation
Conditions of employment

We offer an attractive job with variation in tasks within a vibrant, stimulating and international research institute. In accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities we offer also:

• a salary ranging from € 3,336 up to € 5,090 (salary scale 10) gross per month for a full-time position depending of relevant experience and training
• a holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income and an 8.3% year-end bonus
• a time-limited employment for one year. If the outcome of the evaluation after one year is positive, the appointment will be prolonged for an indefinite term.

The starting date is as soon as possible

Application

Do you meet our qualification criteria? If yes, please send us your application that should include:

• a motivation letter
• a curriculum vitae.

You may apply for this position until 4 March 11:59pm / before 5 March 2024 Dutch local time (CEST) by means of the application form (click on "Apply" below on the advertisement on the university's website).

The University of Groningen strives to be a university in which students and staff are respected and feel at home, regardless of differences in background, experiences, perspectives, and identities. We believe that working on our core values of inclusion and equality are a joint responsibility and we are constructively working on creating a socially safe environment. Diversity among students and staff members enriches academic debate and contributes to the quality of our teaching and research. We therefore invite applicants from underrepresented groups in particular to apply. For more information, see also our diversity policy webpage: https://www.rug.nl/(...)rsity-and-inclusion/

Our selection procedure follows the guidelines of the Recruitment code (NVP): https://www.nvp-hrnetwerk.nl/nl/sollicitatiecode

Unsolicited marketing is not appreciated.

Information

For information you can contact:

• Prof. E. Chicca, [email protected]

Please do not use the e-mail address(es) above for applications.

Apply