Short-Term Research Assistant on Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation for Autonomous Driving Systems (on-site)
About this role
Seeking x 1 student for a short-term, part-time research assistant (14 hours/week, 9+ weeks, on-site).
Brief Description of Work
Are you an experienced technician or researcher with a passion for autonomous vehicle technology? We have an exciting opportunity for a Research Assistant to join us in developing Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulation-based testing for Autonomous Driving System (ADS).
We are looking for someone with practical experience in HIL simulations and ADS simulators. You will need hands-on skills to configure our existing NVIDIA AGX DRIVE Thor hardware and integrate it seamlessly with CARLA (open-source simulator) or NVIDIA AlpaSIM (open-source neural simulator).
In this varied and dynamic role, you will be responsible for running advanced state-of-the-art ADS testing approaches in the HIL environment. You will also be expected to communicate closely with the project team, eventually taking the lead on the hardware pipeline and developing new ideas to best utilise it. This role offers you the exciting opportunity to get hands-on experience with cutting-edge AI devices, such as the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell and NVIDIA AGX Thor, working at the intersection of open-source simulation and advanced hardware.
Start date: 21/09/26 (tentative)
End date: 27/11/26 (tentative)
Total number of hours: 126 (possible to extend a few more weeks)
Salary Grade: 6.1 (£17.34 per hour before tax)
Number of posts: x1
Person Specification:
(Essential) Hardware Setup: Experience setting up and configuring edge AI computing platforms (e.g. NVIDIA AGX DRIVE Thor).
(Essential) Programming: Strong programming skills (e.g., Python, C++) for system integration.
(Essential) Linux Proficiency: Strong hands-on experience developing and troubleshooting in Linux environments, including Bash scripting, process management, and diagnostic tooling.
(Essential) Communication: Ability to communicate complex technical concepts to the project team and take ownership of the hardware pipeline.
(Desirable) HIL Testing: Practical experience building or operating hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) environments.
(Desirable) Simulation: Proficiency with open-source simulators such as CARLA or NVIDIA AlpaSIM.
(Desirable) ADS Testing: Knowledge of state-of-the-art ADS testing approaches.
How to Apply? (Deadline: 11 September 2026, 18:00 BST)
Due to the high volume of application emails, we are conducting a pre-assignment below to help assess applicants’ technical capabilities and level of engagement. Submitting the pre-assignment will count as your application. If you would like to continue, please consider submitting something. Use this Google Form for your submission. Email me (d.shin@sheffield.ac.uk) if you have administrative/clarification questions.
Assignment: Designing a Hardware-in-the-Loop Pipeline
The end goal of this short-term project is to connect the AGX Drive Thor kit to a desktop and build a running pipeline where the AGX Drive runs a Driving Agent while an RTX PRO 6000 runs CARLA (and more, if needed).
Your task: Write a 2-page report outlining how you would approach this task. In particular, address:
Your proposed approach and achievable milestones over a ~9-week, part-time engagement.
A specification of the software and hardware components involved (sensors/inputs and outputs, communication protocols, computing platform, and the CARLA simulator interface).
Any risks or integration challenges you foresee, and how you'd tackle them.
This assignment is intended to encourage an initial review of the relevant technologies (driving simulators, the AGX Drive Thor kit, and associated hardware/communication). If you would normally cite references, please include a short reference list.
Generative AI: You are free to use Generative AI in any form while completing this assignment. Please be aware, however, that we also use GenAI to produce baseline answers — so we expect submissions that go beyond the baseline.