About the role#
This PhD internship focuses on deploying machine learning directly onto custom hardware. You will tackle open problems in low-latency ML inference and hardware acceleration within a demanding computing environment. You will own a research project from start to finish, present your findings, and deliver a prototype or benchmark for the team to build upon.
What you'll do#
- Architect and develop an ML research project based on real-world use cases.
- Work with hardware engineers to implement, verify, and deploy ML inference solutions.
- Track and evaluate research in neural architecture search, machine learning systems, and quantization methods.
- Present your project to the team to deepen collective understanding of ML acceleration.
- Gain hardware design fundamentals from experienced RTL developers.
- Evaluate research through real-world performance constraints, engineering costs, and industry impact.
What you'll need#
- Current enrollment in a PhD program for Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or a related field.
- A solid understanding of hardware constraints and design trade-offs like pipelining, resource utilization, and fixed-point arithmetic.
- Experience with hardware fundamentals such as VHDL, SystemVerilog, HLS tools, or ML-to-hardware frameworks.
- Understanding of machine learning fundamentals, including neural network architectures, inference optimization, and quantization techniques.
- Proficiency in Python or similar languages for tooling, testing, and simulation.
- Strong communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively across disciplines.
Location & details#
- Location: Chicago, Illinois.
- Modality: On-site.
- Term: Rolling.
- Employment: Full-time paid internship.
About IMC Trading
IMC Trading is a global firm focused on market making and technology driven trading. It provides liquidity to financial markets across the United States, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. The company employs over 3,000 people and maintains offices in cities including Amsterdam, Sydney, Chicago, and London. It operates as a privately held organization.
How to get in at IMC Trading
Applying to IMC Trading early gives you a significant advantage because recruiters review applications as they arrive. Intern Insider sends an instant alert the moment a role matching your target is published anywhere, so you apply among the first before the pile grows. This helps you avoid the frustration of submitting your resume to a queue that has already reached capacity. You can reach out to the recruiters behind the company's roles directly to ask about the position or a referral, which materially improves response rates. Intern Insider surfaces these specific contacts for you, saving you the time spent searching for the right person to message. Reaching out with a thoughtful question is a professional way to stand out from the crowd.
