"Research Engineer"

Job Description

The eBRAIN laboratory in the Division of Engineering at New York University Abu Dhabi invites applications for a Research Engineer position, to work in the area of research and development (R&D) of advanced machine learning (ML) models like Transformers, Vision Transformers, Large Language Models (LLMs) and other advanced deep learning models for vision-based applications. The focus is on real-world use cases across different domains such as autonomous systems, robotics, and smart homes/cities and their security.

The focus of the eBRAIN lab is on building energy-efficient and robust brain-inspired, autonomous, and cognitive systems through cross-layer analysis and design methods, engaging hardware, software, and system level techniques synergistically. Prof. Shafique’s lab has many-years of R&D experience in cross-layer design and optimization for building energy-efficient and robust AI/ML and vision systems, including efficient learning and inference of complex AI/ML algorithms, specialized neural processing hardware and design tools, and ML security, and their applications in resource-constrained embedded AI/ML systems like autonomous vehicles, UAVs, Robotics, smart houses/cities, Wearables, and Healthcare. The long-term vision of the eBRAIN lab is on embedding an energy-efficient and secure electronic brain inside modern cyber-physical systems (CPS) and IoT-Edge devices to enable assistive cognitive technologies that care for / serve humanity and the ecosystem in a safe and green way.

The successful applicants will join and drive a large-scale project on investigating novel methods for deploying advanced machine/deep learning models on resource-constrained embedded systems, and their practical demonstration in real-world use cases from medical image analysis, autonomous vehicles, advanced driver assistance, smart city/home, and Internet-of-Things. This project involves developing efficient and robust models for real-world settings, and their prototyping. A key focus will be on IP generation, patenting, high-quality publications in top-tier ML/AI, Robotics, Security and Systems conferences, and efficient prototyping for real-world use-cases. The candidates will work in a multidisciplinary environment consisting of PhD-level scientists, research engineers, graduate research students and undergraduate students, to investigate cutting-edge scientific methods and to develop full-system prototypes. The eBRAIN lab offers an excellent working environment in an international team with many development possibilities. The candidates are expected to work in a highly collaborative environment with other lab members and industry collaborators.

Requirements

Applicants should have a Masters or Bachelors in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field. Extensive and sound knowledge of ML, AI, deep neural networks (DNN), LLMs, Multimodal LLMs, tinyML, ML frameworks (like PyTorch and Tensorflow), and Prototyping ML systems is required. The candidate should demonstrate a solid experience in practical ML system development. Additional knowledge on MLOps, robust/secure computing, privacy-preserving ML, and ML security is highly desirable. Applicants with strong industrial experience and/or with publications at top/A* ML venues (conferences and journals) are highly preferred. The candidates are also expected to have strong organization, problem-solving, analytical, communication and writing skills as well as high motivation to pursue world-class research and development for practical ML/AI systems.

Application Procedure

The terms of employment for these positions include very competitive salary with additional attractive benefits, including generous housing allowance, medical insurance with access to world class facilities, annual home leave allowance, and (if applicable) dependent private school fees. Salaries are tax-free in the UAE (for US tax, the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion can be used). The researchers will have dedicated funds for traveling, computing, publications, etc. and will have access to excellent world-class research facilities. The preferred starting date is as soon as possible, preferably Summer 2025, based on the processing steps. Applications will be accepted immediately and candidates will be considered until the position is filled. Review of applications will start as soon as possible, and will continue until the position is filled. To be considered, all applicants must submit the following documents, all in PDF format: A cover letter, Detailed curriculum vitae (CV) with R&D and programming skillset, Full list of professional/industrial experience, demos and/or scientific publications (if any), University degrees and transcripts (with grades), or a letter from supervisor/university officials regarding tentative completion date, 1-page executive summaries of BS Theses, 1-page summary of professional experience, future growth plans, R&D accomplishments and interests, 1-page letter of motivation, At least 2 letters of recommendation with contact information of the referees (can be provided later, if slightly more time is required), Download links for the PDFs of BS Theses (if available). Please visit our website at https://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/about/careers.html for instructions and information on how to apply. If you have any questions, please email Prof. Muhammad Shafique at muhammad.shafique@nyu.edu.