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Blacksburg-Based Ph.D. Graduate Research Assistant

This position has been filled, but it's an example of what types of positions we will offer.

CCI and the Virginia Tech Information Technology Department seek a research and development (R&D) graduate research assistant (GRA) to help conduct research in a CBRS Experimental Network Infrastructure being deployed at Stroubles Creek Park on the Virginia Tech Campus in Blacksburg.

The research on this advanced wireless communication network will be conducted on top of a real network infrastructure going from application to physical layers. 

The GRA will work with Aloizio DaSilva and Scott Midkiff as part of the CCI xG Testbed team project, which includes partners in the federal government, industry (WiSig, AT&T, Verizon, Keysight, Fujitsu, Nokia, Radisys), and academia (University of Notre Dame, Texas A&M). 

Key Job Responsibilities

The highly motivated and focused GRA will join CCI’s xG Testbed research team led by DaSilva to conduct cutting-edge research following O-RAN Alliance specification and 3GPP standards on: 

  • Spectrum sharing.
  • CBRS.
  • Open Centralized Unit (O-CU).
  • Open Distributed Unit (O-DU).
  • Open Radio Unit (O-RU), Network Function Virtualization (VNF).
  • Radio Intelligent Controller (RIC). 

The GRA will conduct testing and evaluation for new and existing solutions. Duties will include developing proof of concept, algorithm design, implementation and testing in software and hardware.

Key Job Activities

  • Deployment of an end-to-end 5G network using open-source platforms.
  • Deployment, implementation, analysis, and integration of multi-core environments into CCI xG Testbed software outdoor architecture.
  • Development of O-RAN Non-RT-RIC and Near-RT RIC rApp/xApp/macroservice using AI/ML model.
  • Support of edge-computing deployment, configuration, and implementation into CCI xG Testbed system design and architecture outdoors.
  • Implementation of 5G Core VNFs instantiation (mainly AMF and UPF)
  • Implementation of O-RAN use cases for validation.
  • Integrate hardware and software components from different vendors, as well as open-source.
  • Write papers and deliver presentations.

Key Job Deliverables

  • O-RAN Software Defined Radio (SDR)-based open-source outdoor architecture.
  • Prototype, demos and showcase based on outdoor infrastructure.
  • Ph.D. thesis.
  • Publication in high-caliber conferences and journals.

For More Information

Learn more about the position and how to apply by contacting CCI xG Testbed Director Aloizio DaSilva at aloiziops@vt.edu.