Working Student (f/m/d) NPU Physical Security Testing

Overview

• NXP Semiconductors N.V.
• (NASDAQ: NXPI) enables a smarter, safer and more sustainable world through innovation.
• As the world leader in secure connectivity solutions for embedded applications, NXP is pushing boundaries in the automotive, industrial & IoT, mobile, and communication infrastructure markets.
• AI accelerators and Neural Processing Units (NPUs) are becoming key building blocks in automotive, industrial, and IoT systems.
• As these hardware accelerators increasingly execute security-critical workloads, understanding their resilience against physical attacks is an important and fast-moving research topic.
• In this project you will investigate the security of state-of-the-art AI hardware from a hardware-security perspective, with a focus on experimentally evaluating NPUs under side-channel and fault-injection attack scenarios.
• The goal is to reproduce known attack methodologies from the literature, assess their applicability to modern accelerator architectures, and explore novel approaches for identifying potential weaknesses and countermeasures.
• The position offers hands-on access to advanced hardware platforms and laboratory equipment, while contributing to cutting-edge research at the intersection of AI and embedded security Your Tasks: Study the state-of-the-art in physical attacks against AI accelerators and machine-learning hardware.
• Reproduce selected published side-channel and fault-injection attacks on neural-network hardware.
• Develop and operate experimental setups for the security evaluation of NPU-based platforms.
• Analyze the impact of physical attacks on neural-network execution and inference behavior.
• Explore novel attack vectors, measurement techniques, or fault models applicable to AI accelerators.
• Evaluate, document, and present experimental results.
• Contribute to technical reports, demonstrations, and potential scientific publications.
• Education and Requirements: Currently pursuing a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or a related field.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Interest in hardware security, embedded systems, or machine-learning hardware.
• Experience with C/C++ and Python.
• Knowledge of digital design concepts and computer architecture.
• Familiarity with machine-learning concepts is a plus.
• What NXP Offers: An attractive hourly wage of €19.40 30 vacation days per year Flexible working hours The possibility to work in a hybrid setup Access to an on-site cafeteria Networking initiatives and Employee Resource Groups such as Young Community, No Extra Planet, NXP Equal, Women in NXP, and more — fostering both professional and personal exchange Please note: The successful candidate may/will be responsible for security related tasks.
• The assignment may/will be in scope of security certifications, therefore a conscious and reliable way of working is necessary.
• More information about NXP in Germany..