PhD Position in ML Accelerator Programming for HPC and Scientific Computing

Nieuwe Universiteitsgebouw (NU)

Amsterdam

1 / 1

Faculty of Science

PhD

MSc

Closes on

31-03-2026

Publishing date

12-02-2026

Apply

ML accelerators offer exceptional performance and energy efficiency, yet their use beyond ML remains limited. Join us to develop methods and tools to make ML devices accessible and productive for Scientific and High-Performance Computing.

Your function

The growing computational demands of Machine Learning (ML) have led to the rise of spatial devices explicitly designed for ML workloads, such as the Cerebras Wafer Scale Engine, AMD Versal AI Engine, and Tenstorrent Blackhole.

Although these accelerators can offer performance and efficiency gains to application domains beyond ML (e.g., computational sciences, big data analytics, graph processing), their potential in these areas remains unexplored. This is largely due to the lack of comprehensive software ecosystems, making them difficult for experts to use and inaccessible to domain scientists.

In this PhD project, you will help bridge this gap by demonstrating best practices and by developing programming tools and methodologies that democratize access to ML accelerators and other spatial devices for the wider scientific community.

Your duties

As a PhD student, you will develop and lead original research. Your work will combine quantitative research, theoretical investigation, software design and development, and experimental validation. Specifically, you will:

identify and characterize workloads and application domains that benefit from ML accelerators, understanding when and how they can accelerate diverse applications
develop methodologies and open-source software tools for computing specialists to facilitate application development and reduce time-to-solution
enable accessible programming for domain scientists, providing them with high-level tools and training resources to productively use ML accelerators without requiring deep hardware or low-level programming expertise

As part of this position, you will be encouraged and supported to refine and drive your own research within the project scope, publish and present your findings at top-tier systems and HPC venues, develop and maintain open-source software, and contribute to teaching and community outreach. The ultimate goal is for the successful candidate to produce a dissertation that leads to a PhD degree in 4 years.

Your profile

We offer a fully funded PhD position for 4 years. We are looking for a highly motivated candidate who meets the following qualifications:

a Master’s degree in Computer Science or Computer Engineering (completed before the start date of the PhD)
solid background and competencies in parallel programming, high-performance computing, performance engineering, and computing architecture
excellent problem-solving and programming skills, with proficiency in C/C++
prior knowledge of accelerator programming (e.g, GPU), and, particularly, of spatial computing architectures (e.g., AMD AI Engine, Tenstorrent) is considered a plus
excellent oral and written communication skills in English
strong organizational skills and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team
proactive and enthusiastic about addressing cutting-edge computing systems research challenges

As a university, we strive for equal opportunities for all, recognising that diversity takes many forms. We believe that diversity in all its complexity is invaluable for the quality of our teaching, research and service. We are always looking for talent with diverse backgrounds and experiences. This also means that we are committed to creating an inclusive community so that we can use diversity as an asset.

We realise that each individual brings a unique set of skills, expertise and mindset. Therefore we are happy to invite anyone who recognises themselves in the profile to apply, even if you do not meet all the requirements.

What do we offer?

A challenging position in a socially engaged organisation. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world. And that is valuable. So in return for your efforts, we offer you:

a salary of € 3.059,00 (PhD) and maximum € 3.881,00 (PhD) gross per month, on a full-time basis. This is based on UFO profile PhD candidate. The exact salary depends on your education and experience.
an employment contract of initially 18 months. If there is sufficient perspective, this will be extended to a total of 4 years. Your dissertation at the end of the fourth year forms the end of your employment contract.

We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and arrangements. Some examples:

A full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part-timers, this is calculated pro rata.
8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
solid pension scheme (ABP)
contribution to commuting expenses
optional model for designing a personalized benefits package

About us

This position is funded under the “Machine Learning Accelerators for Science: Productive Spatial- Hardware Programming for the Scientific Community,” awarded by NWO (Dutch Research Council).

The candidate will be embedded in the Massivizing Computer Systems (MCS) group, which focuses on research in distributed computing systems and ecosystems, and currently spans over 40 diverse people, of whom 3 are staff. The group aims to contribute to solving high-challenge, high-impact scientific and societal challenges, and has much international and national visibility in research and education in computing systems. Dr. Tiziano De Matteis (the main supervisor) is an Assistant Professor in the group. He holds a PhD from the University of Pisa and did his PostDoc at ETH Zurich. His principal research interests are related to High-Performance Computing (HPC) with a particular focus on Systems and Programming models for Spatial and Reconfigurable computing for HPC, Parallel Programming, and Sustainability of Modern Computing Systems.

The MCS group (led by prof. Alexandru Iosup) has a central role in organizing the national and international computer systems communities and has played leading roles in organizing top-tier conferences (e.g., HPDC, ICPE, CCGRID) and journals (e.g., IEEE TPDS). The MCS group publishes in high-quality conferences, journals, and magazines, and has a long legacy in conducting grand experiments and in releasing FAIR data and software artifacts. The group has links with national and international organizations and plays a leading role in international academic-industrial partnerships, such as the SPEC Research Group and the LDBCouncil. Last, but not least, the MCS group has a sustained and leading presence in developing young talent through individual supervision and embedding in large, cross-disciplinary, international teams.

Faculty of Science
Working at the Faculty of Science means collaborating with students, lecturers and researchers who are focused on their field, yet have a broad view of the world. We are proud of a positive and inclusive workplace culture within the faculty, where we work together with great energy and a pragmatic attitude to tackle social challenges. At the Faculty of Science, scientists and students work on fundamental and complex societal issues for a sustainable, healthy and just future.

From forest fires to big data, from obesity to malnutrition, from helium to the universe and from genetics to medicine: our education and research cover the full breadth of science, from molecules to mankind. Our academic education and research are highly experimental, technical and interdisciplinary in nature. That is why we collaborate extensively with leading scientific institutes and industry. The faculty has more than 8,000 students studying in one of the 39 programms and employs more than 1,400 staff across 10 scientific departments, making us one of the largest science faculties in the Netherlands.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam stands for values-driven education and research. We are open-minded experts with the ability to think freely - a broader mind. Maintaining an entrepreneurial perspective and concentrating on diversity, significance and humanity, we work on sustainable solutions with social impact. By joining forces, across the boundaries of disciplines, we work towards a better world for people and planet. Together we create a safe and respectful working and study climate, and an inspiring environment for education and research. Learn more about our codes of conduct

We are located on one physical campus, in the heart of Amsterdam's Zuidas business district, with excellent location and accessibility. Over 6,150 staff work at the VU and over 31,000 students attend academic education.

Diversity
Diversity is the driving force of VU Amsterdam. VU wants to be accessible and receptive to diversity in disciplines, cultures, ideas, nationalities, beliefs, preferences and worldviews. We believe that trust, respect, interest and differences lead to new insights and innovation, to sharpness and clarity, to excellence and a broader understanding.

We stand for an inclusive community and believe that diversity and internationalisation contribute to the quality of education, research and our services.

Therefore, we are always searching for people whose backgrounds and experience contribute to the diversity of the VU community.

Interested

Are you interested in this position and do you believe that your experience will contribute to this project? In that case, we encourage you to submit your application and upload the following material:

a cover letter (max. 2 pages). Please indicate why you are applying for this position and include contact details for two references (people who worked with you)
your updated CV
all BSc and MSc transcripts, including classes taken and grades

The expected start date is in summer or early autumn 2026, flexible to accommodate candidates graduating over summer 2026.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. We reserve the right to interview candidates and make an offer before the initially stated deadline.

For inquiries about the project, please contact:

Dr. Tiziano De Matteis ([email protected] )

Applications received by e-mail will not be considered.

Acquisition in response to this advertisement is not appreciated.