Senior Software Engineer for Compute Architecture research

Are you passionate about developing cutting-edge software solutions that enable world-class research & innovation? Do you like to solve complex problems at the forefront of the deep-tech revolution? Then you might be the Senior Software Engineer who will join us in Leuven, Ghent or Antwerp!

Imec Software Development & Prototyping (SD&P)

Imec is 6000-strong non-profit R&D organisation that plays a world-leading role in the fields of semiconductor, nano-electronics, compute architecture, sensing, AI, and digital technologies. Headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, imec has offices and lab/fab facilities in several other cities in Belgium, the Netherlands, UK, US, Germany, among other countries.

Within imec, the Software Development & Prototyping (SD&P) department (part of the AI & Algorithms Expertise Center) focuses on designing, developing, and prototyping innovative software solutions that enable, accelerate or even define imec’s R&D activities in various areas. SD&P is home to ~40 software engineers, working out of Belgium (Ghent, Leuven & Antwerp), and the Netherlands (Eindhoven and Wageningen). We have teams specializing in “full-stack” (web/mobile) applications, cloud-based data/compute platforms, and embedded software. SD&P-built solutions range from exploratory PoCs and demonstrators on one end, to production-ready business critical systems on the other.

What you will do

Your primary assignment will be to play a key role in our efforts to build software solutions enabling imec’s research in the field of compute architecture modelling and simulation. Simply put, the goal of this research is to explore hardware architecture design spaces without relying on actual physical hardware. Instead, various compute systems and infrastructures – composed of either current or future componentry (CPUs, GPUs, TPUs, memory subsystems, interconnects, etc.) – will be modelled in software and their operation will be simulated under different compute workloads. This will lead to insights in computational performance, as well as trade-offs such as cost, power consumption, heat generation, carbon footprint, etc. The software platform enabling all of this will require a complex, distributed infrastructure integrating various existing hardware simulators.

Moreover, as Senior Software Engineer within SD&P, you may also contribute to software engineering projects that enable to other R&D activities at imec, in the domains of Health, Automotive, Industry & Consumer, and IC design/manufacturing services (tape-out, tape-in, chip validation and characterisation). This can include designing and implementing software architectures for scalable AI/ML applications, data processing platforms, Digital Twin or other simulation environments, specialist research workbenches, etc. Across all our projects, you will encounter world-class researchers, engineers, and visionary technologists. As a senior member of our department you may also be expected to coach more junior colleagues.

What we do for you

At imec, you will join a multicultural and world-leading research and deep-tech innovation hub where challenges abound. We offer a flexible and informal working environment that encourages initiative and responsibility.

Our imec.academy actively invests in your technical and personal growth. In return for your talent and passion, we offer an attractive and competitive salary with numerous benefits. We also embrace a hybrid way of working, allowing you to work both from home and at the office to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Who you are

We are looking for an experienced Computer Scientist/Software Engineer who thrives on tough technical challenges and approaches them with a combination of deeply understood first principles and pragmatically applied best practices. We imagine an ideal candidate to roughly have these must-have & nice-to-have skills:

Must-haves (essential skills):

• ≥8 years of professional experience in software engineering.
• Master or PhD degree in Computer Science (or related), or proven equivalent track record.
• Proven experience designing, implementing & deploying “full-stack” data-driven applications, scalable AI/ML solutions, or time-critical/high-performance systems.
• Ability to analyse, absorb, translate and structure complex requirements of specialist users.
• Strong programming skills in Python, C/C++, and/or TypeScript.
• Ability to apply & spread (i.e. teach) modern software engineering best practices, for example:
• Striving for readable, well-structured, reusable, testable, and efficient code;
• Proper use of git, issue tracking, CI/CD pipelines, etc.;
• Pragmatic following of Agile processes.
• Team player, able to work in a dynamic, multicultural environment.
• Eagerness to keep on top of (and pragmatically apply) software industry/OSS trends.
• English proficiency (professional level).

Nice to haves (a great candidate ticks a few of these boxes):

• Knowledge of additional programming languages (e.g., Rust, C#, Java, Kotlin, Go, …).
• Experience with Dev/MLOps.
• Familiarity with containerization (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) and cloud infrastructure.
• Research experience in Computer Science, Physics or related field.
• Experience with EDA tools, system-level modelling and simulation tools (e.g. Synopsys Platform Architect/Virtualizer, Structured Simulation Toolkit), and associated standards (e.g., IP-XACT).

If you do not fully match this description, but still think you have what it takes to fit our needs: don’t worry, get in touch and convince us!