The Future Computing Lab (FCL) at NUS is looking for multiple highly qualified Ph.D. students, starting in Fall 2026. Please apply through the official application channel and mention my name in your application. Admissions at NUS School of Computing are mostly decided by the committee, so reaching out to me in advance may not give you an advantage. The committee will get in touch with you if we find you as a strong candidate after reviewing your application.

Postdoc and intern positions may be available to outstanding candidates. Please checkout these positions later on, as we will only able to make offers after I join NUS.

Research Interests

We are broadly interested in building efficient computing systems for important workloads, and we work across the stack (e.g., topics spanning ML, databases, systems, and architecture). Some topics we are exploring include:

• Systems for ML
  • Software systems for ML
  • Hardware architecture for ML
  • Efficient ML algorithms
• Vector search and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
  • Retrieval and RAG algorithms
  • Systems for retrieval and RAG
• Systems for emerging workloads (topics evolve over time)

Feel free to check out our publication list to learn more about our research. Some representative examples include RAGO (systems for ML/RAG), Chameleon (hardware/software for ML/vector search), PipeRAG (efficient ML algorithm). You can also check out my talk about my PhD work and the slides.

What We Offer

• Research and broader guidance
  • I will provide a mix of research freedom and detailed guidance based on your preference. If you are still not sure about which topics to work on, I will help you to shape your research directions. If you already have a topic in mind, you’ll have the freedom to pursue it. You will receive my attention and technical feedback in either case.
  • I will help with your career planning and nominate you for appropriate awards when you do excellent work.
  • I will support you in improving your writing and presentation skills.
  • I will have weekly one-on-one meetings with you. The meeting frequency can be customized based on individual needs.

• Competitive salary
  NUS provides a competitive salary to all PhD students. In addition, our lab may offer extra compensation depending on funding availability.

• Internships
  PhD students are encouraged to pursue internships during summer breaks.

• Vacations
  NUS offers generous vacation (28 days per year) to support a healthy work-life balance.

• Conference travel
  Every lab member is encouraged to attend at least one conference per year, even without a first-author paper, with reimbursement.

What We Look For

• Motivation
  Research is hard. You should have strong reasons for pursuing a PhD. Without strong motivation, it’s easy to get lost or discouraged by inevitable failures during your PhD, such as paper rejections or unexpected experimental results.

• Mindset
  Our primary goal in the Future Computing Lab is to produce high-quality and/or high-impact research. You should aspire to become a leader in a research direction, not a follower just aiming to publish papers. This is not easy by any means, so please ensure your mindset indeed aligns with ours before deciding to join.

• Research interests and skills
  Your research interests should align with at least some areas we work on. The Future Computing Lab covers a wide range of topics, and we expect you to have some technical backgrounds in the topics that you wish to pursue within the group.