This is NTNU

NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You will find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

Video: https://youtu.be/Xt-yHCN5QS0

About the position

The Norwegian Center for Intelligent Computers and Electronics (NICE) is seeking a PhD candidate in computer architecture. The research focus of this PhD position is the design of performant and energy-efficient Edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) accelerators. Such accelerators may be either tightly integrated with the processor core or exist as stand-alone accelerators depending on the specific computational requirements of the intended use case for the Edge AI system. A common technique to reduce memory size and bandwidth, power, and computational demand is to perform quantization, where the precision of individual operations is reduced below eight bits. An open challenge is how to design accelerators that can support low bit-width operations that balance compute, memory, power, and accuracy.

Your immediate leader will be the Head of the Computing Unit.

About the project

NICE is a center for research-driven innovation (i.e., an SFI) in which NTNU, the University of Oslo, and key industry players work together towards developing the knowledge and technology required to move key AI applications from Cloud datacenters to Edge devices. In addition to reducing demand for datacenters, Edge AI also has the potential to improve upon Cloud AI by reducing latency and communication bandwidth, improving privacy and security, reducing compute, bandwidth, and storage costs, and seamlessly supporting offline operation.

NICE is funded by the Research Council of Norway with co-funding from industry and academic partners. You can read more about NICE on https://www.ntnu.edu/nice.

Duties of the position

Complete the doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate
Carry out research of good quality within the framework described above
Academic publications and popular science dissemination
Participate in the activities of the SFI NICE research center
Participate in international activities such as conferences and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions

Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment.

Required selection criteria

You must have a relevant Master's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent. Your course of study must correspond to a five-year Norwegian course, where 120 credits have been obtained at master's level. Master students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position and no later than October 1, 2026.
You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and have an average grade from your Master's degree study, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared to NTNU's grading scale, as well as a C or better from your Bachelor’s degree study. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be considered if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty’s PhD program in Computer Science.
Good oral and written presentation skills in English, at least equivalent to level B2.

PLEASE NOTE: For detailed information about what the application must contain, see paragraph “About the application”.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with NTNUs guidelines for recruitment positions and Regulations for the degrees philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) and philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) in artistic development work at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)for general criteria for the position.

Preferred selection criteria

Experience with the design and development of computer hardware, for example, FPGA and ASIC prototyping at the register-transfer level.
Experience of a hardware description language, such as Chisel, VHDL or Verilog.
Familiarity with contemporary software frameworks for AI (e.g., PyTorch or ONNX), ideally focusing on training and inference in Edge AI.
Familiarity with computer architecture.
Strong programming skills.

Personal characteristics

To complete a doctoral degree (PhD), it is important that you are able to:

Work independently
Work in a structured way, set goals, and make plans to achieve them
Present and discuss your research with other professionals
Get involved and contribute constructively with feedback
Work constructively under pressure or in the face of adversity
Show curiosity and a strong motivation for the subject
Analyze data, assess different perspectives, and draw well-founded conclusions
Be flexible and open to adjusting the plan for the project as needed

Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities.

We offer

The possibility to work with leading academic and industry researchers within SFI NICE
An exciting job with an important mission in society
Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment
Career guidance and follow-up during the PhD period
Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues
Working capital that can be used to implement the project
Favorable terms as a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (SPK)
Free Norwegian language training at a basic level (A2)

As a PhD Candidate at NTNU, you will have access to employee benefits.

Diversity

Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that makes use of the potential of the population's collective skills. Our vision is Knowledge for a better world and our values are creative, critical, constructive and respectful. We believe that an organization that is equal, diverse and gender-balanced is essential for us to achieve our goals.

We strive to attract employees with different skills, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to even better problem solving of our societal mission in research and education.

If you think this position is relevant and interesting, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gender, functional ability and cultural background, or whether you have been out of work for a period of time.

At NTNU we want to increase the proportion of women in scientific positions. We have a number of measures to promote equality.

Salary and conditions

In the position of PhD Candidate, code 1017, your gross salary will normally be NOK 550 800,-per annum depending on qualifications and seniority. A 2% statutory contribution to the State Pension Fund is deducted from the salary.

The employment period is 3 years for the doctoral work. Up to 12 months of career promotion (teaching assistant) work may be added to cover the department’s teaching needs for willing and suitable candidates.

For employment as a PhD Candidate, it is a prerequisite that you gain admission to the PhD programme in Computer Science within three months of your employment contract start date, and that you participate in an organized doctoral programme throughout the period of employment.

The position is conditional on external funding.

As an employee at NTNU, it is important that you keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and adapt to them.

For the necessary professional and social interaction, it is a prerequisite that you are physically present and available to the institution on a daily basis.

The appointment is carried out in accordance with the principles of the State Employees Act, and Export control (legislation that regulates the export of knowledge, technology and services). Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, are considered to be in conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to be employed.

About the application

The attachments (including a description of your scientific work) must accompany the application as these documents form the basis of the application assessment. The documents must be in English.

Please note: the application will only be assessed on the basis of the information we have received by the application deadline. Therefore, make sure that your application clearly shows how your skills and experience meet the criteria described above. The application and all attachments must be sent electronically via Jobbnorge.no. If you are invited to an interview, you must bring certified copies of certificates and diplomas upon request.

The application must include:

Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor's and Master's degrees.
CV.
Copy of Master's thesis. If you have recently submitted your Master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed Master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
Short letter of motivation (400 words/1 page) that clearly explains how you meet the selection criteria and your motivation for applying to the position.
Relevant publications (if any). If there are multiple authors, the candidate must explain their specific contributions.
Names and contact information of three relevant referees.

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both Bachelor's and Master's education, in addition to other higher education. If your institution uses “diploma supplement” (normal for most European institutions), you must attach this. A description of the documentation required can also be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well.

Joint work will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint work, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

When assessing the best qualified, we emphasize necessary qualifications such as education, experience and personal suitability. Motivation for the position, ambitions, and potential for research will also count when assessing the candidates.

NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and has committed itself to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and CoARA (responsible assessment of research and recognition of a greater breadth of academic contributions in accordance with NTNU's social mission).

General information

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you wish to be exempt from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the exemption is not granted.

If you think this position looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, you are welcome to apply.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Magnus Själander (Professor), telephone +47 904 78 775, Magnus.Sjalander@NTNU.no.

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact hr@ntnu.no.

Application deadline: 10.04.2026

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the tech capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

PhD Candidate in Edge AI Accelerator Design