SYCL Failure Taxonomy Internship

Codeplay is known for being one of the leaders in the development of the SYCL™ standard and recently Codeplay has kick-started the design of SYCL SC, a version of SYCL targeted at safety-critical industries. In these industries, such as automotive, avionics, nuclear and rail, safety is paramount, because a bug in the software could lead to people being hurt. To be able to write safe, bug-free SYCL code engineers have to be well trained in the SYCL programming model. This means they need to not only need to learn how to write SYCL code, but also to anticipate pitfalls and sources of errors. To complement the existing SYCL tutorials and samples, we are looking to create a set of negative tests and to organise them into a failure taxonomy. However, instead of interface tests that misuse the SYCL API, the focus is on applications that compile without errors but fail at runtime, perhaps even non-deterministically, or only on specific types of hardware.

In addition to educating users about how NOT to write SYCL code, these tests can be incorporated into the test suites for the runtime, to ensure that the implementation handles the errors gracefully as far as possible. Error handling is a very important feature of software in a safety-critical context and has to be extensively tested to ensure that errors are caught and dealt with, which is why negative testing is essential to ensure the safety of this kind of software.

Also, if analysis shows that certain SYCL features are more likely than others to lead to errors, it might suggest that these should be removed from the upcoming SYCL SC specification, if possible.

This internship is on offer for a duration of 3 months. Although we usually offer internships for the summer, we are delighted to accept applications for longer or shorter internships and many of our interns have stayed with us to do university placement years or have become permanent members of our team.

The position is temporary and will be based at our head office in central Edinburgh. The successful candidate must, by the start of their employment, have successfully obtained the right to work in the UK. 

Starting salary - Competitive & Negotiable

Responsibilities

• You will
  • Research and brain-storm the different ways a SYCL program can compile, but fail/crash/hang. Some failure modes may only present on certain devices, e.g. CPUs/GPUs/DSPs.
  • Develop an organised, categorised set of SYCL tests that (may) fail, according to the specification.
  • Analyse the failure modes to categorise them, writing up the taxonomy of failing tests in a document.
  • Write a minimal SYCL test for each, describing the type and reason for failure in the comments.
  • Prepare a blog post and/or presentation describing the effort and its results.

What We Offer

Codeplay is internationally recognized as being at the forefront of software development technology. Working at Codeplay offers unique opportunities and challenges to learn new technologies and to get involved in shaping the software industry. Codeplay's projects range from: creating tools and tool sets (optimizing compilers, debuggers, profilers, programming models & APIs, test systems/suites, etc.) for brand-new unannounced next-generation hardware; developing and optimizing current machine learning (TensorFlow™) and computer vision applications; research and development into lowering the power consumption of mobile devices; and contributing to new programming models and software standards (e.g. C++, SYCL™, OpenCL™, Vulkan® and SPIR™-V).

Codeplay Software is a world pioneer in enabling acceleration technologies used in AI, HPC and automotive. Codeplay was established in 2002 in Edinburgh, Scotland and developed some of the first tools enabling complex software to be accelerated using graphics processors. Today, most AI software is developed using graphics processors designed for video games, and more recently specialised AI and computer vision accelerators. Codeplay continues to work with global technology leaders to make the latest complex AI systems programmable using open-standards based programming languages and allows application developers to quickly bring software to the market.  Codeplay is also deeply involved with the definition of open standards, especially OpenCL™, SPIR™, SYCL™, and Vulkan™ through The Khronos Group, and MISRA C++ for automotive.

• A friendly and relaxed working environment where colleagues respect and support each other.
• Learn from experienced colleagues: our staff frequently give company-wide knowledge-sharing presentations on new software and technology trends, personal projects and other relevant subjects.
• Great career prospects within a growing company
• Newstart mentoring scheme
• Flexible working hours
• Frequent company social events (social nights, pot luck lunches, gaming, karting, outdoor adventures, and more) (Post-COVID!)

Required Skills

The ideal candidate is a self-motivated individual who can work through a problem from start to finish, meet deadlines as required to support software projects, and has the ability to work under pressure. You will be working on technology that is seldom announced to the public and could be several years away from public release, so confidentiality is critical. You should be able to work both independently and collaboratively within teams of varying skill sets and expertise. You should be welcoming towards, and able to adapt to, the introduction of new technologies, responsibilities and projects, as Codeplay works with cutting-edge technology and takes on a diverse range of projects.

• Modern C++ experience
• Experience writing applications for SYCL, OpenCL or CUDA

Beneficial Skills

Knowledge and/or experience of any of the following would be useful for the role, but are not essential. You must be able to learn new skills, but will be given support from Codeplay's team to get you up to speed.

• Knowledge of the differences between CPUs, GPUs, DSPs, etc.

Application Guidance

Any application which results in a job offer is conditional upon the candidate already having or successfully applying for the right to work in the UK. Codeplay is proud to be an Equal Opportunities employer. We celebrate and value diversity. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees, regardless of race, colour, gender, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, disability, age, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need and we strongly encourage applicants from all backgrounds and walks of life. If you have a disability or additional need that requires accommodation, just let us know.

The Cover Note/Letter is just as important as your CV/Resume, so please include one, stating why you believe you are a good fit for the position. If you have examples of relevant work or projects, we would love to see them, so please include links to them in your application.You should be studying towards a degree in a relevant subject; however, if you can prove skills and knowledge through portfolio work, projects or previous employment, then a degree is not essential.If you have C++ Code Samples (where relevant) please put the link to these on your application; our system will only accept links to personal projects/GitHub accounts or PDF documents.

We aim to close this advert on the 28th April 2023, so please look to get your application in prior to this date. We anticipate a high level of applications for this role and so reserve the right to close this vacancy prior to the closing date given.