Trusted Microelectronics Research

Overview: The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is the nonprofit, applied research division of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Founded in 1934 as the Engineering Experiment Station, GTRI has grown to more than 2,900 employees, supporting eight laboratories in over 20 locations around the country and performing more than $940 million of problem-solving research annually for government and industry. GTRI's renowned researchers combine science, engineering, economics, policy, and technical expertise to solve complex problems for the U.S. federal government, state, and industry. Georgia Tech's Mission and Values Students are our top priority. We strive for excellence. We thrive on diversity. We celebrate collaboration. We champion innovation. We safeguard freedom of inquiry and expression. We nurture the wellbeing of our community. We act ethically. We are responsible stewards. Over the next decade, Georgia Tech will become an example of inclusive innovation, a leading technological research university of unmatched scale, relentlessly committed to serving the public good; breaking new ground in addressing the biggest local, national, and global challenges and opportunities of our time; making technology broadly accessible; and developing exceptional, principled leaders from all backgrounds ready to produce novel ideas and create solutions with real human impact. Project/Unit Description The Hardware Security and Trust (HST) Division researches microelectronic applications, CAD tools, architectures, and materials to evaluate the security, trust, and reliability of microelectronic devices and the critical systems which rely upon them. HST develops tools and techniques in the areas of assurance, anti-tamper, and reliability for FPGAs, ASICs, SoCs, microcontrollers, and other microelectronics. HST employees are Research Faculty of Georgia Tech and have the opportunity for dual appointments and teaching positions with other departments of the university. HST is a division of GTRI's cybersecurity lab which contains 300+ engineers and scientists and represents >10% of the total research award funding at the Georgia Tech Research Institute. Job Purpose Microelectronics expert to research and contribute to the design, synthesis, characterization, packaging, testing, reliability, security, and trustworthiness of nano-fabricated microelectronic semiconductor devices. This may include research of prototype or commercial semiconductor devices and tools, e.g., ASICs, FPGAs. This position involves close collaboration with a highly technical team of research leaders to accomplish task and program objectives, contribute technically to proposal ideation, and conceive and execute internal research efforts refining core research processes and capabilities. Responsibilities range from CAD/EDA tools development, semiconductor nano-device design, fabrication, and verification, to clean-room equipment utilization. Formal methods and other advanced algorithmic techniques will be leveraged to enable and evaluate security and trustworthiness pre and post-fabrication. The position will utilize a wide range of knowledge from semiconductor physics to micro/nano synthesis and fabrication tools, and develop novel techniques, algorithms, and tools to evaluate CAD/EDA flows, architectures, materials, and fabricated devices with new properties and features. Key Responsibilities Utilize industry standard microelectronic design and verification tools (.e.g Vivado, Quartus, Cadence, Modelsim, OneSpin) Apply knowledge of microelectronic circuitry and its design implementation into microelectronics hardware security techniques - Develop custom software and scripting solutions in support of microelectronic design security and analysis May Implement software interfacing with microelectronic design EDA/CAD tools - May Implement advanced algorithms covering graph analysis, data analysis, and clustering Utilize basic microelectronics laboratory equipment (oscilloscopes, signal generators, logic analyzer, optical microscopes, soldering equipment) to support 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 (or similar) Contribute small sections to technical reports and presentations Additional Responsibilities Research microelectronics system development methodologies that enhance the security and trust of new designs. Develop analysis techniques that evaluate the security and trust of existing designs. Study emerging device architectures, and perform design and verification of complex and high-performance applications. Use novel combinations of commercial, open-source, and custom tools to implement security enhancements to standard FPGA/ASIC design, verification, and hardware testing practices. Develop innovative analysis techniques involving low-level (RTL and gate) design inspection, simulation, formal methods. Use bench testing to identify and characterize security concerns. Design and apply custom PCBs to evaluate various properties of microelectronics devices. Required Minimum Qualifications A strong understanding of embedded systems, hardware design, digital logic design, and various microelectronic architecture. Competency designing hardware leveraging at least one industry-standard HDL language (i.e, Verilog, SystemVerilog, VHDL). Experience working with at least one major FPGA vendor design tool suite (i.e., Xilinx Vivado, Altera/Intel Quartus, Microsemi Libero) and familiarity with the full design flow (i.e., Simulation, Synthesis, Place-and-Route, Timing Analysis and Closure, Floor Planning). Preferred Qualifications Active TS/SCI Clearance Hands‑on experience with hardware testing, troubleshooting, and embedded hardware/software integration using general laboratory test equipment such as oscilloscopes and logic analyzers. Design experience with common hardware interfaces (e.g., UART, SPI, I2C), data flow (e.g., FIFOs, clock domain crossing), and bus protocols (e.g., AXI, AMBA). Experience performing verification of hardware designs leveraging industry-standard tools and methodologies (e.g., 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