Get A Job.ai – PhD Silicon Photonics for Scalable Energy-Efficient AI Hardware Accelerators

Responsibilities

We are representing a confidential photonics research organization in France seeking a PhD researcher to advance silicon photonics architectures for energy-efficient AI hardware acceleration. You will explore hybrid photonic–electronic computing paradigms focused on General Matrix Multiplication (GEMM) operations, a critical computational kernel in modern AI models including deep neural networks and transformer architectures.

Your work will center on designing and evaluating tile-based photonic GEMM approaches that leverage phase-change materials (PCM) for reconfigurable, non-volatile optical computation. You will extend existing photonic architectures toward large-scale matrix operations while addressing practical constraints including PCM precision limitations, quantization effects, noise, variability, and photonic-electronic interface latency.

A significant portion of your research will involve developing system-level evaluation and benchmarking methodologies within a design-technology co-optimization framework. You will produce quantitative metrics on scalability, computational throughput, and energy efficiency for target AI workloads to guide both design exploration and potential experimental validation of fabricated demonstrators.

You will also tackle electronic circuit design challenges essential to photonic accelerators, including interface circuits for control, programming of phase-change elements, optical-to-electrical readout, and signal conversion to enable practical integration within heterogeneous AI hardware systems.

What We're Looking For

• MSc in Electronics Engineering, Photonics, or Computer Engineering (completed or near completion)
• Strong background in computer architecture, integrated circuits, or photonic systems
• Knowledge of AI hardware accelerators, in-memory computing, or silicon photonics is highly valued
• Ability to conduct both theoretical and experimental research within a design-technology co-optimization framework
• Commitment to producing novel architectures, evaluation tools, and implementation guidelines for next-generation AI accelerators

How We Work with You

Candidates apply directly through Get A Job.ai. Our talent team will conduct an initial screening to assess your qualifications and research interests. We will then submit qualified candidates to our client for their review and interview process. Please do not contact the client organization directly—all communication and coordination will be managed through our recruiting team to ensure a professional and confidential process.

Pay

Compensation details will be discussed during the screening process based on standard PhD fellowship structures in France.

Get A Job.ai is an equal opportunity recruiter. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or any other protected characteristic.