PhD Position in High-Performance CMOS Receiver and Analog-to-Digital Converter Design

Join the ERC Synergy DISRUPT project to reinvent receiver and ADC architectures for next-generation wireless communication. Design time-domain receivers and ADCs and validate them on real silicon.

Job description
Why this position is important

Future wireless transmitters must achieve extremely high linearity and spectral purity while operating with high efficiency. However, transmitter nonlinearities and hardware imperfections introduce distortion that degrades signal quality and increases out-of-band emissions. Digital predistortion (DPD) is widely used to compensate for these effects, but its effectiveness strongly depends on the accuracy of the observation receiver used to measure the transmitter output and extract distortion information.

This position is part of the ERC Synergy DISRUPT project, which aims to develop new architectures for observing the transmitter output efficiently and accurately. The goal is to design innovative receiver and analog-to-digital converter (ADC) architectures capable of capturing the transmitter output with extremely high fidelity, enabling precise characterization of transmitter errors and nonlinearities. These measurements will be used to generate error signals for advanced AI-assisted digital predistortion algorithms that can dynamically linearize the transmitter.

The research will contribute to enabling highly efficient and spectrally clean transmitters for next-generation wireless communication systems.

What you will do

In this role, you will explore and develop innovative receiver and ADC architectures for accurate observation of transmitter signals. Your work will focus on time-domain receiver concepts and high-speed, medium-resolution ADCs designed to capture transmitter distortions with high dynamic range and precision.

Your activities will include system-level modeling, architectural exploration, transistor-level circuit design, and detailed simulation and verification. The developed architectures will be implemented as integrated circuits and validated through measurements on fabricated silicon chips.

With whom you will work

You will be supervised by Masoud Babaie and Robert Bogdan Staszewski and will be part of the ELCA (Electronic Circuits and Architectures) group in the Microelectronics Department. The ELCA group conducts world-leading research in RF and mixed-signal integrated circuits for wireless communication systems.

You will work closely with PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and senior scientists within the ERC Synergy DISRUPT project (e.g., Prof. de Vreede), and collaborate with international academic partners involved in the project. The position offers a highly collaborative and stimulating research environment at the forefront of integrated circuit innovation.     

Job requirements
Essential requiremets:

• M.Sc. degree in Microelectronics, Electrical Engineering, or a closely related field.
• Strong background in analog, mixed-signal, and RF circuit design.
• Hands-on RTL design experience (SystemVerilog, Verilog, or Verilog-AMS).
• Demonstrable creativity and originality in problem solving and circuit design.
• Good presentation, writing, and communication skills.
• Strong command of English (spoken and written).
• Ability to work effectively in an international and collaborative research environment.
• Strong team player with excellent communication skills to collaborate smoothly with international colleagues.

Nice to have

• Prior tape-out experience.
• Familiarity with the digital back-end flow, including synthesis, place-and-route, and timing closure.    

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)
Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science
The Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) brings together three scientific disciplines. Combined, they reinforce each other and are the driving force behind the technology we all use in our daily lives. Technology such as the electricity grid, which our faculty is helping to make completely sustainable and future-proof. At the same time, we are developing the chips and sensors of the future, whilst also setting the foundations for the software technologies to run on this new generation of equipment – which of course includes AI. Meanwhile we are pushing the limits of applied mathematics, for example mapping out disease processes using single cell data, and using mathematics to simulate gigantic ash plumes after a volcanic eruption. In other words: there is plenty of room at the faculty for ground-breaking research. We educate innovative engineers and have excellent labs and facilities that underline our strong international position. In total, more than 1000 employees and 4,000 students work and study in this innovative environment.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science.

Conditions of employment
Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from €3059 - €3881 gross per month, from the first year to the fourth year based on a fulltime contract (38 hours), plus 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.

As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

Will you need to relocate to the Netherlands for this job? TU Delft is committed to make your move as smooth as possible! The HR unit, Coming to Delft Service, offers information on their website to help you prepare your relocation. In addition, Coming to Delft Service organises events to help you settle in the Netherlands, and expand your (social) network in Delft. A Dual Career Programme is available, to support your accompanying partner with their job search in the Netherlands.

Additional information
If you would like more information about this vacancy or the selection procedure, please contact Dr. Masoud Babaie, via m.babaie@tudelft.nl.

Application procedure
Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply no later than 30 April 2026 via the application button and upload the following documents:

• CV
• Motivational letter (max 1 page)
• BSc & MSc transcripts (courses and grades, English).

You can address your application to Dr. Masoud Babaie.

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements.

Please note:

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
• As part of knowledge security, TU Delft conducts a risk assessment during the recruitment of personnel. We do this, among other things, to prevent the unwanted transfer of sensitive knowledge and technology. The assessment is based on information provided by the candidates themselves, such as their motivation letter and CV, and takes place at the final stages of the selection process. When the outcome of the assessment is negative, the candidate will be informed. The processing of personal data in the context of the risk assessment is carried out on the legal basis of the GDPR: performing a public task in the public interest. You can find more information about this assessment on our website about knowledge security.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.