PhD Position Reconfigurable Memory Architectures and Design Exploration in CMOS 2.0

This PhD position focuses on reconfigurable memory architectures and design exploration in CMOS 2.0.

Job description

As computing systems evolve toward greater heterogeneity and workload specialization, memory subsystems are becoming critical performance and energy bottlenecks. Emerging applications, such as AI inference, edge computing, and data-centric processing, demand memory architectures that are not only high-performance and energy-efficient but also highly customisable and dynamically adaptable to varying workloads and system constraints.

This research project explores the design and optimization of new memory organizations and their reconfigurable versions to build memory systems in the context of advanced CMOS 2.0 technology. This PhD will develop a framework for modelling, simulation and design space exploration to evaluate and optimize the CMOS 2.0 reconfigurable memory systems across different workloads, incorporating both architectural and circuit-level parameters.

Key Areas of Focus

• High-level simulation tools and models for architectural exploration
• Support for memory partitioning, parametrisation and runtime reconfiguration
• Integrating circuit-level parameters (e.g., from SPICE or Cadence simulations) and workload properties into high-level models
• Workload-centric memory customisation
• Visualization and analysis tools and methods to guide hardware-software co-design

Job requirements

For this position, an ideal candidate should have:

• Completed a relevant MSc degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or any other related field relevant to the research
• Good understanding of computer architecture and memory systems
• Basic understanding of AI and digital hardware is a plus
• Good programming skills (C and C++ knowledge is a plus)
• An affinity with teaching and guiding students
• The ability to work in a team and take initiatives

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)

At TU Delft you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School, which provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science

The Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) brings together three scientific disciplines. Combined, they reinforce each other and are the driving force behind the technology we all use in our daily lives. At the same time, we are developing the chips and sensors of the future, whilst also setting the foundations for the software technologies to run on this new generation of equipment – which of course includes AI. In other words: there is plenty of room at the faculty for ground-breaking research. We educate innovative engineers and have excellent labs and facilities that underline our strong international position.

Conditions of employment

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts: an initial 1.5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months, followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2.5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.