Trusted Microelectronics Research & Design Engineer

About the Role

The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is seeking a Trusted Microelectronics Research & Design Engineer to research and contribute to the design, synthesis, characterization, packaging, testing, reliability, security, and trustworthiness of nano-fabricated microelectronic semiconductor devices. This role involves close collaboration with a technical team to accomplish task and program objectives, contribute to proposal ideation, and conceive internal research efforts. Responsibilities span CAD/EDA tools development, semiconductor nano-device design, fabrication, verification, and clean-room equipment utilization, leveraging formal methods and advanced algorithmic techniques for security and trustworthiness evaluation.

Key Responsibilities

• Utilize industry-standard microelectronic design and verification tools (Vivado, Quartus, Cadence, Modelsim, OneSpin).
• Apply knowledge of microelectronic circuitry and design implementation to hardware security techniques.
• Develop custom software and scripting solutions for microelectronic design security and analysis.
• Implement software interfacing with microelectronic design EDA/CAD tools.
• Implement advanced algorithms covering graph analysis, data analysis, and clustering.
• Utilize basic microelectronics laboratory equipment (oscilloscopes, signal generators, logic analyzer, optical microscopes, soldering equipment) for design, analysis, and verification tasks.
• Develop and maintain familiarity with at least one of the following languages: Verilog, VHDL, Python, C, C++, Rust, Kotlin, or Java.
• Contribute small sections to technical reports and presentations.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• A strong understanding of embedded systems, hardware design, digital logic design, and various microelectronic architectures.
• Competency designing hardware leveraging at least one industry-standard HDL language (Verilog, SystemVerilog, VHDL).
• Experience working with at least one major FPGA vendor design tool suite (Xilinx Vivado, Altera/Intel Quartus, Microsemi Libero).
• Familiarity with the full design flow: Simulation, Synthesis, Place-and-Route, Timing Analysis and Closure, Floor Planning.
• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Ability to obtain and maintain an active security clearance.

Qualifications

• 0 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics, or similar technical degree.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Active TS/SCI Clearance.
• Hands-on experience with hardware testing, troubleshooting, and embedded hardware/software integration using laboratory test equipment such as oscilloscopes and logic analyzers.
• Design experience with common hardware interfaces (UART, SPI, I2C), data flow (FIFOs, clock domain crossing), and bus protocols (AXI, AMBA).
• Experience performing verification of hardware designs leveraging industry-standard tools and methodologies (ModelSim/Questa, SystemVerilog, UVM).
• Experience using Python / Octave / MATLAB / Simulink for modeling digital signal processing blocks.
• Experience with analog/digital circuit design and PCB design and manufacturing.
• Experience with embedded C/C++ or Rust programming and a high-level scripting language (e.g. Python, TCL).
• Comfortable working in a Linux environment.

Travel Requirements: Less than 10% travel.