Physical Layer Developer

This is an R&D position. You will own the design, development, and experimental validation of physical layer

algorithms for LiFi and Free-Space Optical (FSO) communication systems — from theoretical formulation and

simulation through to FPGA prototyping. Publishing and prototyping are both expected.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop PHY algorithms for LiFi and FSO — modulation (OOK, PPM, DCO-OFDM, ACO-OFDM),

channel coding (LDPC, Polar, RS), and synchronisation

• Model and simulate optical wireless channels: atmospheric turbulence, pointing errors, IM/DD receiver noise,

ambient light interference, and LED/laser non-linearities

• Build end-to-end link-level simulation chains in MATLAB or Python and evaluate BER, throughput, and

spectral efficiency under realistic conditions

• Implement validated algorithms on FPGA — translate fixed-point models into RTL or HLS; own algorithm

correctness through hardware validation

• Write bit-exact C/C++ reference models to support hardware verification

• Track and engage with relevant standards: IEEE 802.11bb (LiFi), ITU-T FSO, and adjacent wireless standards

Required

• M.Tech, M.S., or Ph.D. in ECE, Electrical Engineering, Signal Processing, or a related field — thesis or research

in optical wireless, VLC, or wireless communications is a strong indicator

• Strong fundamentals in digital communications: modulation, channel coding, detection, estimation, and

synchronisation

• Hands-on experience building PHY simulations from scratch in MATLAB or Python — not just toolboxes

• Solid understanding of OFDM: multipath channels, cyclic prefix, pilot design, and channel estimation

• Fixed-point thinking — ability to design algorithms aware of hardware quantisation and implementation cost

• FPGA awareness: understand LUT/DSP/BRAM trade-offs, pipelining, and timing well enough to make

hardware-friendly algorithm decisions

• Familiarity with VHDL or Verilog to write or review RTL for PHY blocks

• Exposure to AMD/Xilinx Vivado — simulation, synthesis, and reading timing and resource reports

• Working knowledge of at least one wireless or optical wireless standard; ability to read and implement from

spec documents 

Preferred

• Experience with 3Gpp, IEEE 802.11bb (LiFi) or ITU FSO link specifications

• Optical channel modelling: log-normal turbulence, Gamma-Gamma distribution, pointing error statistics

• LED non-linearity, predistortion, and flicker mitigation for VLC systems

• Optical MIMO, spatial diversity techniques, and APD / PIN photodetector front-end modelling

• Cellular or 5G NR PHY background — OFDM, LDPC, channel coding chain

• SDR platforms: Ettus USRP and GNU Radio for over-the-air prototyping

• Linux environment and Python / Bash scripting for toolchain automation

• Vitis HLS or OpenCL-based FPGA acceleration flows

• Publications in IEEE Photonics, IEEE Communications Letters, JOCN, or equivalent venues