MIT Beaver Works Basics of ASICs- Teaching Assistant

Teaching Assistants (TA) are needed for a 4-week long summer program, the MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute (BWSI), being taught virtually.  BWSI is a rigorous STEM program for talented high school students from across the country.  Basics of ASICs is in its second year and provides students the fundamentals of semiconductor theory, logic gates and then apply that knowledge to leverage the open source Skywater 130nm process.  Prior to the summer class, the teaching assistants will have the opportunity to pilot and help shape the lab-based curriculum.

Starting in June or May (timeline is flexible), TAs will help the instructors prepare the course material.  During the four weeks (July 7 – August 3, 2025) of the actual summer program, TAs will largely help the students troubleshoot their designs and monitor progress during the daily Zoom-based lab sessions.  The class size is expected to be around 35 students with 3-4 TAs along with 1 instructors. During the first week, the TAs may be asked to give a few lectures on some of the history and fundamentals of semiconductors.  For the remaining weeks, guest lecturers will present supplementary material about general hardware and manufacturing topics which serve as enrichment material but will not be in the critical path for the student’s capstone project.  For capstone, students will be given a challenge to create a design challenge and asked to create their design leveraging Matt Venn’s “Tiny Tapeout.”

Tasks for this class include the following:

• Monitor students during daily Lab sessions and help them debug their designs.
• Present lecture materials on circuit basics, semiconductor theory, semiconductor manufacturing
• Providing feedback on course content and suggest future improvements.

Job Requirements

• Current undergraduate students in Computer Science, Physics, Electrical Engineering or other technical fields
• General knowledge about the design and fabrication of microelectronics
• Enthusiasm for teaching technical concepts to audiences with little familiarity with the subject matter.
• Good communication skills, patience and the ability to convey technical concepts in a clear, fun, and concise manner to an audience with limited prior exposure to hardware development.     
• Familiarity with Linux operating system.

Desired Skills or Experiences:

• Prior experience with STEM outreach or tutoring/coaching/leading high school students or peers
• Experience with digital logic
• Experience with eFabless/Google/Skywater, IEEE SSCS PICO or other ASIC design processes
• Prior experience with Verilog or VHDL

If interested in applying fill out application at the following website: 

https://mit-bwsi.formstack.com/forms/beaverworks_job_application_2025

A brief resume will be needed to complete the application.

Pay is competitive, based on length of relevant experience. For any questions please contact bwsi-admin@mit.edu.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against applicants due to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or disability. You must be a U.S. Citizen or have authority to work in the U.S. in order to be considered for this position.