Neuroscience PhD (Computational / Active Inference)

About the role

About the Role This is a founding technical role at a Y Combinator–backed consumer healthtech startup building a wearable that quantifies emotional states in real time. The company is early-stage (team of ~5), already has prototypes on users' wrists, and is growing fast. You'll own the core inference model that powers the product — bridging cutting-edge computational neuroscience with production machine learning engineering. This is not a pure research role. Computational neuroscientists here effectively double as ML engineers, taking models from research through to deployment. What You'll Do Design, develop, and iterate on the inference model that quantifies emotional states (e.g. energy, mood, focus) from multimodal wearable sensor data — including audio and biometric signals Own the full ML lifecycle: model development, evaluation, and production deployment Apply active inference frameworks and computational neuroscience methods to real-world signal processing challenges Bridge neuroscience research and production ML, collaborating closely with the founding team to shape both the science and the product roadmap Grow into a leadership role as the company scales What We're Looking For Required PhD in computational neuroscience, cognitive science, active inference, or a closely related field — this is a strict requirement Hands-on experience building and deploying inference models to quantify emotional or physiological states from wearable sensor data Strong machine learning engineering skills: model development, evaluation, and deployment Experience with active inference frameworks and computational neuroscience methods Comfort working on-site (San Francisco or London) and ability to work without new visa sponsorship (visa transfers considered for the London office) Nice to Have Experience working in a fast-moving, early-stage environment Python proficiency across the ML stack Background in consumer health, biometrics, or affective computing Not a fit: Candidates with a wet-lab-only neuroscience background and no computational or ML engineering experience. Compensation & Benefits Salary: ~$150,000 USD (San Francisco) / ~£75,000 GBP (London) Equity: Up to 1–2% (founding team equity package) Backed by angels and strategic partners (pre-Series A / seed stage, YC Spring 2026) Location On-site in San Francisco, CA, USA or London, UK — location is flexible between the two Visa sponsorship: Not available for new sponsorships; visa transfers may be considered for the London office