Research Fellow - Digital IC Design and EDA

About the role

The School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is looking for a Research Fellow to focus on open-source processor and accelerator architectures. The role advances research in integrated circuit (IC) design and electronic design automation (EDA), with emphasis on RISC-V based processors, AI accelerators and open-source hardware toolchains. The fellow conducts high-impact research, develops hardware architectures and design methodologies, and shares results through publications, collaborations and open-source contributions.

Key responsibilities

• Conduct independent and collaborative research on open-source processor architectures and hardware accelerators, including RISC-V based designs.
• Design, implement and evaluate digital ICs using Verilog/SystemVerilog and related hardware description languages.
• Develop and optimise EDA workflows for processor and accelerator design, verification and physical implementation using open-source tools.
• Explore architecture-algorithm co-design for machine learning and AI acceleration.
• Perform performance, power and area (PPA) analysis of processor and accelerator designs.
• Publish research findings in top-tier conferences and journals and contribute to open-source hardware and EDA communities.
• Supervise and mentor PhD students, junior Research Assistants and Master students.
• Collaborate with faculty, graduate students and external partners, and support research project execution and reporting.

Required profile

• Completed PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science or a closely related discipline.
• Proven experience in digital hardware design using Verilog/SystemVerilog or equivalent HDLs.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct independent, high-quality research and publish in reputable venues.
• Demonstrated ability to lead research projects, supervise researchers and mentor junior staff.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, good written and oral communication skills.

Required skills

• Strong research expertise in RISC-V architecture, processor microarchitecture and AI accelerators.
• Experience with ASIC design methodologies and open-source IC design and EDA tools.
• Sound knowledge of machine learning algorithms and their hardware implementation.