Research Scientist - FPGAs

Riverside OverviewRiverside Research is an independent National Security Nonprofit dedicated to research and development in the national interest. We provide high-end technical services, research and development, and prototype solutions to some of the country’s most challenging technical problems. All Riverside Research opportunities require U.S. Citizenship.Position OverviewAs we approach the forecasted “death” of Moore’s law, compute platform architectures need to rely on increasingly complex compositions of different types of hardware resources to achieve mission objectives with acceptable SWAP-C. The proof may be right in your pocket with modern smartphones combining high-performance cores, low-power cores and GPUs to offer optimal user experience.From the security perspective, heterogeneous architectures offer exciting new capabilities while at the same time threatening platform security by adding complexity. In Riverside Research’s Secure and Resilient Systems group, we study security in foundational system layers including operating systems, hypervisors, and compilers. However, modern heterogeneous compute platforms demand hardware-inclusive solutions as well.Riverside Research is seeking a research scientist to provide a hardware perspective in low-level software security projects. The research scientist will work with the group to design and implement experiments and prototypes to validate security-focused hypotheses. The research scientist will need to balance technical depth with strong communication skills to work within an interdisciplinary technical team and communicate requirements and results to internal and external program management.Although expertise in any of these particular domains is not required, a good candidate for this role would be interested in discussing cutting-edge research topics such as:Automatic translation of programming language code to FPGA circuits (i.e., high-level synthesis)Offensive and defensive capabilities offered by arbitrary control of the fabric in a tightly-coupled FPGA on an SOC like the Xilinx ZynqThe level of introspection possible from peripheral busses like PCIeProgram partitioning for platforms with heterogeneous computeSecurity-focused ISAs (or ISA extensions) like CHERI / ARM MorelloResponsibilitiesHelp the group design innovative solutions to customer problems related to systems that include FPGAs or other diverse hardware featuresPrototype and evaluate features on FPGA hardware using both pre-existing IP cores and custom logicBuild new tools and/or capabilities in a range of relevant HDL & programming languagesContribute to whitepapers and/or published papers that document innovative work performedDocument and communicate design decisions, technical challenges, and progress to technical program managementCollaborate with team members on debugging programs, pair programming, reviewing papers/proposals, etc.Participate in relevant internal and customer meetingsQualificationsRequired Qualifications:Bachelor's degree with 2+ years experience, or MS degree preferred in related technical field, such as computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, or cybersecurityStrong software development fundamentals for working inside a large project (e.g., submitting PRs, interacting with open-source communities and mailing lists, git branches/merges/rebasing, build systems, etc.)Must be eligible to obtain a Top Secret security clearance.Communication and creative skills to develop, prototype, benchmark, and document significant security features integrated into existing systems security technologiesFluency in one or more hardware description languages (e.g., Verilog, VHDL)Experience using Xilinx Vivado IDEComfort with programming in C/C++, Python, and at least one assembly languageDesired Qualifications:PhD degree in Computer Science or related fieldStrong grasp on the research process (e.g., reading & writing academic papers, ideation for inventing solutions to hard problems)Healthy balance between technical orientation and business acumenAbility to operate independently with limited supervision and feedback, and establish a solid working relationship with peers in the group and across Riverside ResearchSelf-starter and ability to manage time and technical tasks independently without direct supervisionSuperior written and verbal communications skillsExperience with leveraging GPUs in a heterogeneous compute environmentUnderstanding of the software-hardware interface including kernel driver development experienceGlobal Compensation$90,000 - $145,000. This represents the typical compensation range for this position based on experience, location, and other factors.Closing StatementRiverside Research Institute is a not-for-profit, technology-oriented defense company, where service to our customers and support of our staff is our overall mission. Riverside is an affirmative action-equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws regarding recruitment and hiring. Riverside offers comprehensive compensation and benefit packages to our employees. Riverside bases its employment decisions solely on technical experience, qualifications and other job-related criteria related to our organizational purpose as a not-for-profit company, and without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, physical or mental disability, veteran’s status or any other status legally protected by applicable federal, state, and local law.

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