---
title: 'Hardware Machine Learning PhD Research Internship at IMC'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/hardware-machine-learning-phd-research-internship-imc-chicago-1qj7dn2x688p'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-25'
---

# Hardware Machine Learning PhD Research Internship at IMC

- **Company:** IMC
- **Location:** Chicago, IL
- **Posted:** 2026-09-23
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-25
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.eu.greenhouse.io/imc/jobs/4975945101

## Job description

We are deploying machine learning directly onto custom hardware – and we want you to help drive it forward. This PhD internship is an opportunity to work on research that has direct impact on IMC's work tackling open problems at the frontier of low-latency ML inference and hardware acceleration.

You'll work alongside IMC engineers in one of the most demanding low-latency computing environments in the world. You'll own a focused research project from start to finish, present your findings to the team, and leave behind a prototype or benchmark that we can build on.

## Your Core Responsibilities

- Architect and develop an ML focused research project based on real-world use cases
- Work hands-on with hardware engineers to implement, verify, and deploy ML inference solutions
- Track and evaluate emerging research in neural architecture search, machine learning systems and quantization methods, and determine what translates to measurable improvements in our systems
- Present your project to the team, deepening our collective understanding of an area of ML acceleration
- Gain hardware design fundamentals from skilled RTL developers and learn how they apply to our industry
- Build skills to evaluate research not only from an academic perspective, but through real-world performance constraints, engineering costs, and industry impact

## Your Skills and Experience

- Currently enrolled in a PhD program in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or a related field
- Solid understanding of hardware constraints and design trade-offs (e.g., pipelining, resource utilization, fixed-point arithmetic) that shape how ML models can be efficiently mapped onto FPGAs or custom ASICs
- Experience with hardware fundamentals, whether through VHDL/SystemVerilog development, HLS tools, or ML-to-hardware frameworks like hls4ml, FINN, or Vitis AI
- Understanding of machine learning fundamentals – neural network architectures, inference optimization, quantization techniques, ML frameworks such as PyTorch/TensorFlow
- Proficiency in Python or similar languages for tooling, testing, and simulation
- Strong communication skills and ability to work collaboratively across disciplines with both technical and non-technical teams

You may submit one application per role each year.  We strongly encourage you to focus on applying to a single role that best matches your skills and interests.  Though you may apply to multiple roles, please note that each application will be evaluated based on the specific criteria established for that particular role. If you have already applied for this position during the current recruitment season and were not selected, you may reapply when the next recruitment season begins in 2027.

The Base Salary range for the role is included below. Base salary is only one component of total compensation; all full-time, permanent positions are eligible for a discretionary bonus and benefits, including paid leave and insurance. Please visit [Benefits - US | IMC Trading](https://www.imc.com/us/careers/benefits) for more comprehensive information.

Base Salary: $225,000

## About Us

IMC is a research-driven trading firm where quantitative modeling, machine learning, and engineering shape how modern markets are traded. A stabilizing force in markets since 1989, we provide liquidity across trading venues, delivering the best outcome in value and risk management to investors. Using our own technology and capital, we build proprietary systems and algorithms that operate across global markets. Our researchers, traders, and engineers work as a collective, combining rapid experimentation, advanced infrastructure, and real-time feedback to turn insight into execution and execution into advantage.

## About IMC

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: IMC is a global trading firm that uses cutting-edge technology, quantitative research, and advanced algorithms to provide liquidity across major asset classes and trading venues worldwide.
- **Entity Type**: Private (bootstrapped)
- **Headquarters**: Amsterdam, Netherlands (global headquarters); major offices in Chicago, Sydney, Mumbai, and other cities.
- **Founded**: 1989
- **Founders**: Two traders (names not publicly disclosed) who met on the floor of the Amsterdam Equity Options Exchange.

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Financial Services, Proprietary Trading, Market Making, Financial Technology
- **Target customers**: Institutional clients, exchanges, ETF issuers, buy-side firms, and other market participants. **B2B** focus.
- **Mission or purpose statement**: To be the world’s leading trading firm, supporting fair and transparent markets by providing significant liquidity and competitive pricing. [imc.com](https://www.imc.com/eu/who-we-are)

## Products & Services
- **ETF Market Making**: Acts as a Lead Market Maker (LMM) in more than 150 US exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
- **Options Wholesaling**: A top-3 liquidity provider by volume traded in listed options globally, with connectivity to all OCC venues.
- **Institutional Sales**: Provides off-screen trading for buy-side firms.
- **Crypto Solutions**: Offers global coverage of crypto products including spot, perps, futures, and options, both on- and off-chain.
- **Multi-Asset Class Trading**: Develops innovative technologies and algorithms to trade in all major asset classes on more than 120 venues globally.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available (private company).
- **Key Metric**: Over 2,070 employees across 10 global offices as of 2025/2026. [imc.com](https://www.imc.com/eu/who-we-are)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Privately held; no external investors disclosed. Key partners include major global exchanges and clearing houses (e.g., OCC).
- **Growth Signals**:
    - Employee count grew from +1,900 to +2,070 in recent years.
    - Operates 9,000+ servers across 9 countries and processes petabytes of data daily.
    - Expanding into crypto and new asset classes.
    - Committed to being Net Zero by 2040.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Technology & Infrastructure**: A world-class technology backbone with 9,000+ servers, petabytes of data processing, and early adoption of AI/ML.
- **Longevity & Experience**: 36+ years of trading history and deep expertise across multiple asset classes.
- **Global Scale**: 24/7 liquidity provision across 120+ trading venues in the US, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and India.
- **Talent Density**: A flat, non-hierarchical culture that attracts top quant researchers, engineers, and traders from 70+ nationalities.
- **Culture of Ownership**: Employees are given significant responsibility early on, with a focus on collaboration and cross-functional teamwork.

## Strategic Focus
- **Quantitative Research & Tech**: Continually investing in quant research, AI, machine learning, and large-scale computing to generate alpha.
- **Global Expansion**: Expanding across new markets and asset classes, including crypto.
- **Sustainability**: Committed to being Net Zero by 2040 and making a positive impact through the IMC Foundations, focusing on education.
- **Talent Development**: Investing heavily in graduate and intern training programs (Graduate Traineeship, Launchpad) to build the next generation of talent.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture & Values**: High-performance, collaborative, and non-hierarchical. 87% of employees say "IMC is a great place to work" (+4% vs global top-10%). [imc.com](https://www.imc.com/us/who-we-are/our-culture-values)
- **Work Environment**: Office-based (no remote policy indicated). Offers free catered breakfast and lunch, snacks, drinks, and Friday socials. Regular team events including an annual weekend trip.
- **Compensation & Benefits**: Competitive compensation with subsidized gym memberships, ergonomic desks, and health/well-being programs.
- **Learning & Development**: Extensive internal and external training programs. Graduates undergo a multi-week Graduate Traineeship (Trading School, Development School, FPGA School).
- **Diversity**: Employees represent 70+ nationalities, with a strong commitment to D&I.
- **Giving Back**: A share of profits is donated to non-profits, with a focus on education. Employees get volunteer time, donation matching, and grants.

## Sources
1. [IMC Homepage](https://www.imc.com/us/)
2. [IMC Careers Page](https://www.imc.com/us/careers)
3. [IMC Who We Are](https://www.imc.com/eu/who-we-are)
4. [IMC Culture & Values](https://www.imc.com/us/who-we-are/our-culture-values)
5. [IMC Recruitment Process](https://www.imc.com/us/careers/recruitment-process)

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