PhD student in Computer Systems focusing on Smart Data Movement in Interconnection Networks towards Non-von Neumann Architecture - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Department of Information Technology holds a leading position in research as well as teaching at all levels. The department has over 300 employees, including 120 faculty, 110 PhD students, and 30 research groups. More than 4000 students are enrolled annually.

Duties/Project description: With the approaching slowdown of Moore’s Law and the end of Dennard’s Scaling, lack of device scaling for general-purpose processors has motivated the need for Non-von Neumann Architectures (e.g., hardware accelerators, processing-in-memory) to handle emerging ‘extremely-data-intensive’ workloads in deep learning, graph analytics, database services, on-line transaction processing (OLTP), etc. Specialized operations on hardware accelerators can be performed with several orders of magnitude increased energy efficiency and can be considered free. However, constantly shuffling and locating data up and down the memory hierarchy to feed the data-hungry accelerators is very expensive, and eventually will compromise the energy efficiency that accelerators promise. This project aims to address the data movement challenge by moving data less and in smarter ways, i.e., the approach will develop a smart and programmable interconnection network that examines data-flow characteristics as foresight and uses this foresight to decide data transmission in terms of methods and versioning.

Requirements: Candidates should have a Master of Science in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or equivalent.

Ultimately, pursuing a PhD will require that you learn new skills and master new subjects. While we consider experience with computer architecture, operating systems, and hardware description languages important and meritorious, you will be working in a coaching-focused environment where such skills can readily be improved with help from your advisors, fellow PhD students, and courses. Thus, aptitude, self-motivation, interest, and perseverance are therefore more important a particular skill set. There are however a few things which one will not have the time to learn during a PhD and hence we require that applicants are already good writers and programmers, and are able to point to indications thereof, such as text and code produced by the in the past.

In addition to the above, applicants should be able to work well both on their own and with others in a diverse group, be comfortable giving and receiving constructive criticism, and have strong abilities for critical thinking and structured work. These competencies are as important as the technical qualifications. Please see http://www.it.uu.se/education/phd_studies?lang=en.

The position is for four years of research but will typically include 20% teaching extending the time to five years. We encourage our students to do industrial internships during their PhDs. You will be expected to teach in Swedish or English.

Excellent skills in spoken and written English are an absolute requirement.

Additional qualifications: Experience with computer architecture, operating systems, and hardware description languages.

Working in Sweden: Sweden is a fantastic place for living and working. Swedes are friendly and speak excellent English. The quality of life is high, with a strong emphasis on outdoor activities. The Swedish working climate emphasizes an open atmosphere, with active discussions involving both junior and senior staff. PhD students are full employees, with competitive salaries, pension provision and five weeks of paid leave per year. Spouses of employees are entitled to work permits. Healthcare is free after a small co-pay and the university subsidizes athletic costs, such as a gym membership. The parental benefits in Sweden are among the best in the world, including extensive parental leave (for both parents), paid time off to care for sick children, and affordable daycare. Upon completion of the PhD degree, students are entitled to permanent residency to find employment within Sweden.

Application: The application must include a statement (at most 2 pages) of the applicant’s motivation for applying for this position, including the candidate’s research interests and how they will support this project, a description of MSc thesis, and evidence of the applicant’s self-motivation and ability to work in a group. The application must also include a CV, degrees, and grades (translated to English or Swedish), a copy of the MSc thesis (or a draft thereof), publications (and specific descriptions of the candidate’s own contributions), links to online repositories of code and other artifacts (such as GitHub or Bitbucket) other relevant documents, and the earliest possible starting date. Contact information for at least one reference should be provided. Promising applicants will be invited for a practical programming challenge and an in-depth interview before hiring.

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines http://regler.uu.se/?languageId=1.

Salary: According to local agreement for PhD students.
 
Starting date: As soon as possible or as otherwise agreed.

Type of employment: Temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7.

Scope of employment: 100 %.

For further information about the position please contact: Assist. Prof. Yuan Yao, yuan.yao@it.uu.se.

Please submit your application by 26 February 2021, UFV-PA 2021/230.

Are you considering moving to Sweden to work at Uppsala University? If so, you will find a lot of information about working and living in Sweden at www.uu.se/joinus. You are also welcome to contact International Faculty and Staff Services at ifss@uadm.uu.se.