PhD SoC Integration

Company description

AiQUOS is a pioneering microelectronics technology company specializing in advanced microdevices for electrochemical sensing, enabling comprehensive monitoring and control of aqueous media. The company's groundbreaking technology integrates up to hundreds of (bio)chemical sensors, electronic instrumentation, and neuromorphic intelligence into compact, autonomous chips, providing lab-equivalent analytical capabilities anywhere. AiQUOS focuses on solutions for monitoring water quality in industrial applications, including precision aquaculture, hydroponics, and drinking/wastewater treatment. This innovative approach positions AiQUOS at the forefront of sustainable and scalable solutions for water management challenges.

Your Role

This is a full-time hybrid role for a PhD SoC Integration & Tape-Out Lead focused on Neuromorphic Sensing & Computing. Based in the Greater Barcelona Metropolitan Area, the position requires on-site work with flexibility for partial remote work. We're hiring a
PhD-level engineer
to pull together the full
System-on-Chip (SoC)
puzzle: integrate the critical IP blocks, validate the complete system, and drive it to a confident, tape-out-ready state.
You'll lead the SoC integration
of the next generations of our lab-in-microchips
, d
elivering a validated design that is ready for tape-out by integrating:

• Energy management (power strategy, power domains, budgeting, low-power modes)
• Communications (telemetry/wireless or wired interface depending on system needs)
• Neuromorphic readout + edge-AI accelerator (event-driven processing, on-site inference)
• RISC-V main processor subsystem (compute/control orchestration)

Your responsibilities include:

• Build a system-level integration plan and validation roadmap spanning pre-layout simulations, physical design handoff, verification, and tape-out readiness
  collaborating with interdisciplinary teams
• Spend significant time on integration debugging, verification closure, and lab bring-up (day-to-day execution matters here)
• Define and execute performance/noise/power validation (pre- and post-silicon) aligned with real sensing conditions
• Co-optimize architecture choices with sensing and packaging realities, including constraints from industrial users and post-processing cleanroom partners
• Optional technical depth contribution in one or more blocks (power management, AFE/readout, data conversion, communications)

What you'll bring

• PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Microelectronics, or a related field
• Experience with SoC/ASIC integration across mixed-signal and digital domains (interfaces, power domains, resets/power-on, test hooks; timing familiarity)
• Solid foundation in analog and mixed-signal IC design and system thinking
• Hands-on familiarity with Cadence IC design/simulation environments (or equivalent)
• Strong understanding of verification/validation workflows and what "tape-out ready" means in practice (coverage, sign-off criteria, risk management)
• Clear communicator who can coordinate across internal teams and external partners under real constraints
• Ability to collaborate effectively with
  multidisciplinary teams
• Problem-solving, analytical thinking, and project management capabilities
• Familiarity with water quality monitoring technologies is advantageous
• Written and verbal communication proficiency in English; knowledge of Catalan or Spanish is a plus
• Familiarity with neuromorphic ASIC / asynchronous architectures and experience in hardware-software co-design are assets.

What you'll get

• True technical ownership: you'll drive the integration/validation plan and influence architecture decisions
• A direct path to tape-out responsibility and the experience of taking a full SoC through sign-off
• Exposure to real-world constraints that matter (sensor interface realities, packaging/encapsulation, manufacturing + field-use constraints)
• The chance to work at the intersection of ultra-low-power design, advanced readout chains, and on-chip intelligence
• Flexible and hybrid/remote working hours, a personal learning budget (courses/conferences), and modern equipment/tooling—so you can keep growing while doing high-impact work.