PhD Position: Predicting the Energy Consumption of AI Algorithms

1. Introduction

Are you eager to make AI more sustainable? As a PhD Candidate, you will develop innovative methods for predicting and reducing the energy consumption of large-scale AI systems during their design phase. Your work will help shape environmentally responsible AI technologies for the future!

2. Job description

The goal of your PhD project is to develop methods to steer developments of large AI systems in such a way that they are environmentally sustainable. To this end, different designs of AI systems should be assessed during the design phase. Data flow diagrams used at NOLAI capture the processing, storage and transmission of data: key elements in assessing the environmental impact of IT systems. You can extend these data flow diagrams with the expected energy consumption so different design variants can be considered by the team working on these systems.

You will perform measurements of AI algorithms to fill in the unknowns uncovered in such a data flow diagram. The energy scalability of the core algorithms of a new nationwide AI system can be predicted using generated data sets of different sizes and measuring the environmental impact. This impact can be measured and calculated by our Software Energy Lab, which has multiple test machines with GPUs and AI accelerators.

The algorithms used can be bound by the available compute power or memory bandwidth in different parts of the program. This information will be used to calculate the theoretical maximum energy efficiency of an AI algorithm for a specific architecture/accelerator and will help you optimise the energy consumption of AI algorithms. To make experimentation with implementations of algorithms easier, you will leverage our existing approach to generate code from a single source code for multiple architectures and accelerators, called SaC.

You will join a team consisting of scientific staff and PhD candidates from different disciplines and will collaborate with a small team of software developers working on AI prototypes and the required supportive infrastructure.

3. Profile

• You hold a Master's degree in Computing Science or Information Science (or a closely related degree) and have knowledge of and an interest in security and privacy.
• You are eager to work in a multidisciplinary setting with AI experts, social scientists, schools and commercial partners.
• You are interested in research in an applied setting, making sure the contributions are practical and sustainable. 

4. We are

This position is available at the Institute for Computing and Information Sciences (iCIS) at Radboud University as part of the NOLAI project.

NOLAI, the National Education Lab for AI, funded by the Dutch National Growth Fund, represents the largest public investment in the field of AI and education worldwide. It is a 10-year project involving multiple universities, schools and non-academic partners. By combining scientific, educational and commercial perspectives, the goal is to have a long-lasting positive impact.

iCIS is an internationally recognised institute, consistently ranked among the top Computer Science departments in the Netherlands. iCIS comprises an enthusiastic and devoted team of excellent scholars that closely collaborate in a flat organisational structure. The institute focuses its research on three themes: data science, digital security and software science. Each of these themes spans the full breadth from fundamental research to application-oriented research. Our long-term drive is to contribute to both science and society. iCIS staff members are also responsible for the Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes in Computer Science, the Master’s programme in Information Science, and for about 30% of the Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes in AI at Radboud University. iCIS employees have a high level of freedom to determine the way they structure their work. Over the past few years, the institute has made a strong effort to increase the diversity of its staff. More than half of our scientific staff have an international background.

5. We offer

• We will give you a temporary employment contract (1.0 FTE) of 1.5 years, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, your contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4-year contract).
• You will receive a starting salary of €3,059 gross per month based on a 38-hour working week, which will increase to €3,881 in the fourth year (salary scale P).
• You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8,3% end-of-year bonus.
• You will receive extra days off. With full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the statutory 20.

6. Practical information and applying

You can apply only via the button below. Address your letter of application to Bernard van Gastel. In the application form, you will find which documents you need to include with your application.

The first interviews will take place on Thursday 18 September. You will preferably start your employment as soon as possible.

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