Principal Virtual Platform Architect

Work as Principal Virtual Platform Architect in imec’s center of excellence for hardware-software co-design for future compute systems.  

What you will do

The compute system architecture (CSA) is a center of excellence at imec for HW-SW co-design for future compute systems.  

As a Principal [Virtual] Platform Architect in CSA at imec you, will be responsible for the gathering (intake) and processing requirements from customers (internal/external) on system architecture and related questions and for taking ownership in translating them to build system-level virtual platforms – together with a team – that deliver those requirements. This includes pathfinding/de-risking future system architectures and architecture choices targeting sectors such as HPC/AI/Automotive.  

This role combines research, software engineering, and hardware modeling and you will work with colleagues and other stakeholders with a strong background in one or more of these areas. The role involves working with in-house virtual platform modeling tools, or industry-standard tools (see below for more context), interoporating between them where necessary. You will work closely with stakeholders to ensure the virtual platform reflects the intended hardware design, guide the development of models, ensuring they meet the needs of software / workload-model developers.  

You will also contribute to developing a scalable modeling / simulation / virtual platform strategy for operational efficiency.

What we do for you

We offer you the opportunity to join one of the world’s premier research centers in nanotechnology at its headquarters in Leuven, Belgium. With your talent, passion and expertise, you’ll become part of a team that makes the impossible possible. Together, we shape the technology that will determine the society of tomorrow.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and proud of our open, multicultural, and informal working environment with ample possibilities to take initiative and show responsibility. We commit to supporting and guiding you in this process; not only with words but also with tangible actions. Through imec.academy, 'our corporate university', we actively invest in your development to further your technical and personal growth. 

We are aware that your valuable contribution makes imec a top player in its field. Your energy and commitment are therefore appreciated by means of a market appropriate salary with many fringe benefits. 

Who you are

• Master’s or Doctoral degree in Computer Science or Electrical/Computer Engineering  
• 8+ years (6+ post PhD) of relevant experience in an industrial context and some with high-level requirements intake/definition (If you have slightly less experience but are a strong fit in other expectations, we still encourage you to apply)  
• Strong background in computer architecture and microarchitecture; deep understanding of SoC architectures, including CPUs, GPUs, memory subsystems, and interconnects.  
• Experience working with/driving system-level virtual platform modeling (e.g., SoC architecture) (such as the following or their equivalents: Gem5, QEMU, ARM Fast Models, virtual platform tools from Synopsys, Cadence, …) and delivering performance, power, feasibility, and other insights.  
• Strong RTL design experience (Verilog/SystemVerilog/VHDL/…)  
• Experience with SystemC/TLM (SystemC and C++ for modeling hardware/software co-design)  
• Experience in combining transaction-level and register-transfer level simulations or working with tools that do that (e.g., for performance analysis or functional verification)  
• Experience in debugging and analysis (power, performance and other figures of merit) at a system level  
• Knowledge & experience with good software/hardware engineering practices (e.g., quality, version control, CI/unit-tests, …)  
• You enjoy being hands-on and working with and mentoring like-minded junior colleagues, promoting a culture of creativity, collaboration, and excellence  
• (Optional) Experience with RISC-V ecosystem

IMEC and its affiliates will not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from a candidate. IMEC will consider unsolicited referrals and/or resumes submitted by vendors such as search firms, staffing agencies, professional recruiters, fee-based referral services and recruiting agencies (hereafter “Agency”) to have been referred by the Agency free of charge. IMEC will not pay a fee to any Agency that does not have a prior written agreement with IMEC, validated by its HR department, in place regarding a specific job opening and allowing to submit resumes.