Postdoctoral Researcher in Embedded Hardware, FPGA, Edge AI and Smart Sensors

About the role

D-ITET PBL, a research and teaching group at ETH Zurich, is looking for a postdoctoral researcher with a strong hands-on hardware and FPGA background to contribute substantially to both research and teaching. The position is fixed-term, 80% to 100% in Zurich, and covers embedded systems, Edge AI, TinyML, smart sensing, FPGA-based systems, autonomous robots and drones. Candidates must take ownership of prototypes from concept to a working hardware/software system.

Key responsibilities

• Develop complete embedded systems: sensor and processor selection, PCB design, FPGA/MCU implementation, firmware, hardware debugging and deployment of signal-processing and machine-learning algorithms.
• Teach embedded systems, FPGA design and machine learning on microcontrollers; develop hands-on lab exercises and demonstrators.
• Supervise Bachelor and Master projects and co-supervise PhD students; support project-based learning.
• Help prepare European and national research proposals (Horizon Europe, MSCA, SNSF, Innosuisse, ESA) and manage European projects, including work packages, deliverables and partner coordination.
• Coordinate laboratory equipment, platforms and shared infrastructure, define good practices and mentor students and researchers.

Required profile

• PhD in Electrical Engineering or a closely related field, preferably defended within the last two years.
• At least 5-6 of: FPGA development and HDL design, complete embedded systems development and debugging, PCB design and board bring-up, embedded C/C++, sensor integration, publications on embedded systems or FPGA, interest in teaching and European project coordination.
• Experience in teaching and student supervision, and willingness to take responsibility for lab infrastructure.
• Ideally no more than 3 years in fixed-term academic employment at ETH Zurich or EPFL.

Required skills

• FPGA design and HDL development, hardware/software co-design
• PCB schematic design, layout, board bring-up and debugging
• Embedded programming in C/C++
• Signal processing, real-time embedded perception and hardware-aware AI
• Interfaces such as SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, USB, Ethernet, MIPI
• Oscilloscopes, logic analyzers and power analyzers

What we offer

• A postdoctoral position in a highly international, interdisciplinary research environment.
• Advanced laboratory infrastructure, embedded platforms, FPGA systems, sensors and robotics platforms.
• Active teaching and supervision of Bachelor, Master and PhD students.
• Participation in European and national research projects and in fundraising proposals.
• Support for developing an independent research profile and competitive employment conditions under ETH Zurich regulations.

Applications are submitted online through the university's application portal with a CV and a motivation letter describing two hardware systems personally designed and implemented.