Postdoctoral Research Associate in Programming Systems for Extreme Heterogeneity, ORNL
Job Description
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is hiring a Postdoctoral Research Associate in programming systems for extreme-scale heterogeneous computing, working where compilers meet AI agents and quantum hardware. The call is open until filled.
At a glance
- Post: Postdoctoral Research Associate in Programming Systems for Extreme Heterogeneity
- Where: Computer Science and Mathematics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA
- Requisition ID: 17270
- Closing date: none given. ORNL reviews applications as they arrive, so the post is open until filled
- Pay: the advertisement states no figure
Read the official ORNL advertisement before you apply.
The work
The post sits at the meeting point of compiler infrastructure, formal verification, runtime systems and hardware-software co-design, reaching into quantum and analog computational models. The question behind it is how compilers, runtimes and AI-driven agents can jointly optimise complex architectures, reasoning across conventional CPUs and GPUs, custom accelerators and next-generation quantum and analog devices.
The advertisement describes a vision of autonomous system engineering, where AI agents understand algorithmic intent, architectural constraints and performance models, and drive co-design across the whole computing stack. The named duties are:
- Advancing the LLVM toolchain to support autonomous closed-loop optimisation, so AI agents can analyse, transform and validate IR with performance-driven reasoning
- Investigating how AI agents guide architectural decisions for massively parallel heterogeneous systems, including paths that integrate quantum or analog co-processors
- Profiling, modelling and optimising distributed codes with MPI, OpenMP, CUDA and ROCm, bridging theoretical AI models and real hardware limits
- Exploring how compilers and runtimes might unify classical, quantum and analog execution under one optimisation framework
What you need
- A PhD in computer science, computer engineering or a closely related field
- Compiler work, ideally with LLVM, and comfort reading and transforming intermediate representations
- HPC experience with MPI, OpenMP, CUDA or ROCm
- Read the official advertisement for the full qualifications
Pay and conditions
ORNL publishes no salary figure on this advertisement. It is a US Department of Energy Office of Science national laboratory with more than 7,000 staff, and postdoctoral appointments there are normally fixed-term with the possibility of renewal. Ask about the term and the pay band at interview.
How to apply
Apply through the ORNL job page using the Apply button, quoting requisition 17270. The advertisement gives no closing date, so apply early. Most ORNL positions require the right to work in the United States, and some roles touching nuclear or export-controlled work carry citizenship conditions. Read the posting’s own wording before you spend time on an application from outside the US.
Browse more research jobs on ResearchJobs.in, or search our Find a supervisor page.
Hiring institution: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Official advertisement: jobs.ornl.gov
How to prepare for this application
- LLVM is the named toolchain. A patch you have written, or a pass you have built, is worth more than a general interest.
- The AI-agent framing is unusual. Say something concrete about agents reasoning over code or performance models.
- Quote the requisition ID, 17270. ORNL tracks applications by it.
- Check the work-authorisation line on the posting. It is the usual reason an overseas application stalls at a national laboratory.
About Oak Ridge National Laboratory
ORNL is the largest US Department of Energy Office of Science laboratory, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, with a legacy going back to the 1940s and more than 7,000 staff. It runs national user facilities including the Spallation Neutron Source and the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, and works across computing, materials, chemistry, nuclear science, biology and energy.
