Research Fellow (Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) with Single-Photon Detector)

A Research Fellow position is currently available at the Centre for Disruptive Photonic Technologies (CDPT), School of Physical & Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.

The Research Fellow (Project Leader) will be required to develop and demonstrate single-photon light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems by integrating in‑house single‑photon detectors. The role will assess various LiDAR configurations, optimize the optical, timing, and control subsystems, validate performance in laboratory settings, and help chart a pathway toward field-deployable prototypes with superior sensitivity, timing, and resolution.

As an integral part of the project, the Research Fellow is expected to conduct research in low-photon regime LiDAR; integrate light sources, trigger/reference detection, time-tagging, synchronization, and control electronics; establish measurement workflows, benchmark detection range, depth resolution, field of view, frame rate, robustness under background light; perform optical/system simulations and develop control and data pipelines for acquisition, reconstruction, and visualization; provide measurement-driven feedback to the detector team; contribute to advanced processing strategies for single-photon sensing, including real-time or event-driven approaches for improved performance and efficient information extraction.

The Research Fellow is expected to work, generate ideas and experimentally prove them both independently and within team-working efforts with other researchers working on the project to deliver state‑of‑the‑art single‑photon imaging capabilities, and to disseminate results through publications, reports, and IP contributions.

The Research Fellow will be required to:

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  Design, assemble, and align a single‑photon‑enabled scanning microscope; integrate detector modules, synchronization electronics, and time‑tagging workflows.

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  Develop imaging protocols and benchmark sensitivity, contrast, resolution, and acquisition strategies on calibrated samples.

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  Develop advanced signal and data-processing workflows for single-photon LiDAR and time-resolved imaging, including event-based or neural-network-assisted approaches for efficient extraction of information from sparse photon measurements, low-latency operation, and improved robustness under photon-limited conditions.

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  Develop hardware-software co-design for intelligent sensing, including implementation and evaluation of real-time or near-sensor processing pipelines, and exploration of algorithmic approaches that can be integrated with detector readout and acquisition architectures for enhanced system-level performance.

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  Operating and maintaining research laboratories, including advanced microscopy and spectroscopy equipment, in compliance with safety and laboratory protocols.

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  Analyze data, prepare scientific publications, and present findings at international conferences.

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  Collaborate with internal and external partners on joint research projects and technology development.

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  Contribute to progress reports, project meetings, and support day-to-day laboratory operations.

• Must have a Ph.D. or Doctorate in Physics, Optical/Photonic Engineering, Information Science or closely related disciplines

• Applicants must have relevant research experience in optical/laser setups and scanning systems (eg, galvo or similar) including alignment and throughput optimization.

• Applicants must have a good track record of scientific publications in international peer reviewed journals

• Applicants preferably should demonstrate extensive research experience in optical imaging setups such as low photon detectors/ timing/synchronization, data acquisition, and execution of light detection and ranging protocols.

• Applicants preferably should be familiar with single-photon detection concepts and time-of-flight or equivalent timing measurements, awareness of noise, efficiency, and timing trade-offs in low-light imaging.

• Applicants should have competence in data acquisition/analysis and scripting for instrument control (e.g., Python/Matlab/LabVIEW)

• Applicants preferably should have experience in real-time processing or FPGA-based prototyping or embedded sensing architectures, or machine-learning-driven analysis for photon-limited measurements. Exposure to event-driven sensing or hardware-algorithm co-design for single-photon systems will be an added advantage.

• Applicants should show ability to work both independently and within a collaborative research team.

• Applicants should show strong communication and interpersonal skills; ability to work both independently and within an institution.

NTU seeks a diverse and inclusive workforce and is committed to equality of opportunity. We welcome applications from all and recruit on the basis of merit, regardless of age, race, gender, religion, marital status and family responsibilities, or disability.

We regret to inform that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.