PhD position on Compiler Design for Smart Edge Processors

The Electronic Systems (ES) group within the Department of Electrical Engineering of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) is seeking to hire an outstanding PhD candidate within the Horizon Europe project CONVOLVE (convolve.eu).

Irène Curie Fellowship

No

Department(s)

Electrical Engineering

Reference number

V36.6055

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated candidate to research and develop a high-quality optimizing compiler, including backend with code generation support for advanced Coarse Grain Reconfigurable Array (CGRA) targets. The CGRAs will support Deep Learning Networks, based on dynamic SNNs or ANNs.

Compared to existing solutions, energy efficiency needs to be improved by exploiting ILP, DLP (SIMD), an advanced memory hierarchy, data reuse, sparsity, quantization, etc. Application and Network dynamism must be exploited to further reduce energy consumption.

Project

The candidate will be working within the CONVOLVE project which aims to create the next generation of Edge-AI processing hardware. Unlike existing solutions, this hardware needs to support high throughput, reliable, and secure AI processing at ultra-low power (ULP), combined with a very short time to market.

With its strong legacy in edge solutions and open processing platforms, the EU is ideally positioned to become the leader in this edge-AI market. However, certain roadblocks keep the EU from assuming this leadership role: Edge processors need to become 100x more energy efficient; Their complexity demands automated design with 10x design-time reduction; They must be secure and reliable to get accepted; Finally, they should be flexible and powerful to support the rapidly evolving DL domain.

The CONVOLVE consortium includes some of Europe's strongest research groups and industries, covering the whole design stack and value chain. In a community effort, we will demonstrate Edge-AI computing in real-life vision and audio domains. By combining these innovative ULP and fast design solutions, CONVOLVE will, for the first time, enable reliable, smart, and energy-efficient edge-AI devices at a rapid time-to-market and low cost, and as such, opens the road for EU leadership in edge-processing.

We are looking for excellent, teamwork-oriented, and research-driven candidates with an Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related background, with very strong software design skills. Affinity with hardware design and implementation is also welcomed.

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you:

• Full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate evaluation (go/no-go) after nine months. You will spend 10% of your employment on teaching tasks.
• Salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, paid pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities.
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%.
• High-quality training programs and other support to grow into a self-aware, autonomous scientific researcher. At TU/e we challenge you to take charge of your own learning process .
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.
• An allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
• A Staff Immigration Team and a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) for international candidates.

About us

Eindhoven University of Technology is an internationally top-ranking university in the Netherlands that combines scientific curiosity with a hands-on attitude. Our spirit of collaboration translates into an open culture and a top-five position in collaborating with advanced industries. Fundamental knowledge enables us to design solutions for the highly complex problems of today and tomorrow. 

Electronic Systems group

The Electronic Systems group (tue.nl/es) is a top research group consisting of five full professors, two associate professors, seven assistant professors, several postdocs, about 40 PDEng and PhD candidates, and support staff. The ES group is world-renowned for its design automation and embedded systems research. It is our ambition to provide a scientific basis for design trajectories of electronic systems, ranging from digital circuits to cyber-physical systems. The trajectories are constructive and lead to high-quality, cost-effective systems with predictable properties (functionality, timing, reliability, power dissipation, and cost). Design trajectories for applications that have strict real-time requirements and stringent power constraints are an explicit focus point of the group.

Information

Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more?
Please contact dr.ir. Sander Stuijk, s.stuijk[at]tue.nl, http://www.es.ele.tue.nl/~sander .

Visit our website for more information about the application process or the conditions of employment. You can also contact Mrs. Linda van den Boomen, HR advisor l.j.c.v.d.boomen[at]tue.nl.

Are you inspired and would like to know more about working at TU/e? Please visit our career page .

Application

If you are interested in working in an exciting, dynamic, high-tech environment, where you will contribute to creating the society of the future, we invite you to submit a complete application by using the 'apply now' button on this page.

The application should include:

• cover letter in which you describe your personal motivation and qualifications specifically for the position.
• curriculum vitae.
• transcript of master and bachelor degrees.
• copies of your final MSc thesis, including English abstracts, and (if applicable) published papers (PDF files). Submit at least one document written in English of which you are the main author.
• results of your IELTS  or TOEFL test (or equivalent).
• and the contact information of two academic referees.

We look forward to receiving your application and will screen it as soon as possible. The vacancy will remain open until the position is filled.

Please keep in mind you can upload only 5 documents up to 2 MB each. If necessary, please combine files.