Research Assistant (IC Design and EDA)

School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering is one of the founding Schools of the Nanyang Technological University. Built on a culture of excellence, the School is renowned for its high academic standards and research.  With over 3,000 undergraduates students and 2,000 graduate students it is one of the largest EEE schools in the world and ranks 4th in the field of Electrical & Electronic Engineering in the 2025 QS World University Rankings by Subjects.

Today, the School has become one of the world’s largest engineering schools that nurtures competent engineers and researchers. Each year, the School graduates over a thousand students who are ready to take on great ambitions and challenges.

For more details, please view: https://www.ntu.edu.sg/eee

We are looking for a Research Assistant to focus on open-source processor and accelerator architectures. The role focuses on advancing research in integrated circuit (IC) design and electronic design automation (EDA), with particular emphasis on RISC-V based processors, AI accelerators, and open-source hardware toolchains. The successful candidate will pursue original doctoral research under faculty supervision, contributing to the advancement of energy-efficient and scalable computing architectures while developing strong research, design, and publication capabilities.

Key Responsibilities:

• Conduct doctoral research on open-source processor architectures and hardware accelerators, including RISC-V–based systems.

• Design, implement, and evaluate digital ICs using Verilog/SystemVerilog and related hardware description languages.

• Develop and optimize 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.

• Contribute to open-source hardware and EDA tool communities.

• Participate in research group activities, seminars, and collaborations.

Job Requirements:

• A Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a closely related discipline.

• Strong interest in processor architecture, digital IC design, or hardware acceleration for AI.

• Knowledge of computer architecture, digital systems, machine learning algorithms, and their hardware implementation considerations.

• Experience with ASIC design methodologies and open-source IC design and EDA tools.

• Prior experience in digital hardware design using Verilog/SystemVerilog or equivalent HDLs.

• Demonstrated ability to conduct high-quality research and publish in reputable venues.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work independently and collaboratively.

• Self-motivated, curious, and willing to learn new concepts and tools.

• Good written and oral communication skills.

We regret to inform that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.