Hardware Engineering
Master Thesis, Efficient Edge AI Hardware (all genders)
Master Thesis
Akilaris develops AI-enabled space intelligence and collision-avoidance capabilities for safer satellite operations. We are a Bremen-based European team working at the intersection of software, AI, aerospace engineering and operations. We describe the work as it is: priorities can evolve, safety and evidence come before hype, and no contribution is used operationally without the appropriate review.
A possible direction is mapping a representative inference workload to an embedded or FPGA platform. The final workload, platform and metrics are agreed after a feasibility check; access to proprietary models or flight hardware is not guaranteed.
Your Mission
- Define a reproducible baseline and the latency, power, accuracy and resource metrics
- Select and implement a feasible deployment or acceleration approach
- Compare results with an appropriate CPU, GPU or software baseline
- Assess robustness and relevant environmental or reliability constraints at a research level
- Deliver reproducible artefacts and document negative as well as positive results
What You Bring
- Master student in electrical/computer engineering, embedded systems or a related discipline
- Experience with FPGA or embedded deployment and solid C/C++ or Python
- Understanding of machine-learning inference and experimental evaluation
Helpful, Not Required
- Experience with HLS, quantisation, model conversion or hardware power measurement
- Knowledge of reliability constraints for edge or space systems
Practical Details
- Thesis schedule according to your university regulations, usually 5–6 months
- A university supervisor must be confirmed before the start
- Any paid working-student activity alongside the thesis requires a separate written agreement and depends on team needs
- Some project assignments may be subject to German or EU export-control and security requirements. Any restriction relevant to this role is assessed case by case and explained transparently; we do not apply a blanket nationality requirement.
What to Expect
- Purposeful work on safer and more sustainable satellite operations
- A small, cross-functional European team with short feedback loops and direct access to the context needed for your work
- Responsibility matched to experience, with review and support rather than unverified autonomy
- The role-specific work model stated in this posting; student schedules are planned around agreed university commitments
- Candid feedback, room to learn across disciplines and respect for well-reasoned disagreement
Our Hiring Process
The exact process depends on the role and is explained at the start. It typically includes:
- a structured first review against the published core criteria,
- a role-related conversation and, where useful, a short time-boxed work sample — never unpaid customer or production work,
- a mutual alignment discussion covering mission, collaboration, work model and terms.
Pay Transparency
We discuss the specific pay and objective criteria transparently before making an offer. Where the law requires earlier or additional information, we follow those requirements. We do not ask about salary history.
How to Apply
Email your CV or current profile and three to five sentences about your role-related contribution to info@akilaris.com with the subject line “Application: Master Thesis, Efficient Edge AI Hardware (all genders)”. For technical or creative roles, you may link one relevant work sample.
Please do not send a photo, date of birth, marital status, salary history, nationality, health information or unrelated certificates. We do not need them for the first review.
We assess applications fairly and without discrimination, based on the role requirements and each person’s potential. We discuss reasonable adjustments to the application process confidentially.
Applicant Data Notice
We process only the data you send for assessing your application and communicating during the hiring process. The controller is Akilaris UG (haftungsbeschränkt), c/o Clockwise, Martinistraße 62–66, 28195 Bremen, info@akilaris.com. The legal bases are section 26 BDSG and Article 6(1)(b) GDPR; where data is retained temporarily for legal defence, Article 6(1)(f) GDPR applies.
After an unsuccessful process, we generally delete application data after six months unless a legal duty or your explicit consent permits longer storage. Access is limited to people and instructed service providers who need it for the process.
Your rights include access, rectification, erasure, restriction and complaint to a data-protection authority. More information is available in our privacy policy.
Location
Bremen, Germany, Bremen lab plus hybrid writing.