Neuroscience PhD / Computational Neuroscience ML Engineer

About the Role

A Y Combinator–backed wearable technology startup is hiring a Computational Neuroscience PhD to own the core inference model that quantifies real-time emotional states from wearable sensor data. This is a founding technical role — you'll sit at the intersection of neuroscience research and production machine learning, and you're expected to grow into a leadership position as the company scales.

The company is building a wearable device that infers and interprets a user's emotional state in real time using a proprietary AI model processing both audio and biometric signals. The mission is to make emotional intelligence trainable and help people reliably reach peak mental performance states.

What You'll Do

• Develop and iterate on the inference model that quantifies emotional states from multimodal wearable sensor data

• Bridge neuroscience research and production machine learning — you'll operate as both researcher and ML engineer

• Translate theoretical frameworks (e.g. active inference, cognitive science) into deployable, scalable systems

• Collaborate closely with the founding team to shape the technical direction of the core AI product

What We're Looking For

Required:

• PhD in computational neuroscience, cognitive science, active inference, or a closely related field

• Demonstrated experience bridging neuroscience research and production machine learning systems

• Strong Python proficiency for ML model development and deployment

• Comfort working in a fast-moving early-stage environment

• US work authorization required (visa transfers considered; no new visa sponsorship)

Nice to Have:

• Background in active inference or Bayesian brain / predictive coding frameworks

• Experience with multimodal biosignal processing (audio, biometric, physiological data)

• Prior founding or early-stage startup experience

Not a fit if: your background is exclusively wet-lab neuroscience with no ML or computational modeling experience.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base salary: ~$150,000 USD (US) / ~£75,000 GBP (London)

• Equity: Meaningful founding-level equity (up to 1–2%)

• Founding team role with significant ownership and growth opportunity

Location

• Primary office: London, UK (on-site) — San Francisco, CA also available

• Remote and hybrid arrangements are also considered

• Visa sponsorship: Not available for new sponsorships; visa transfers are acceptable

How to apply

This role was found on Himalayas and is listed here so European professionals can find it. Applications are handled by the employer on the original posting.

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