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
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Develop and iterate on the inference model that quantifies emotional states from multimodal wearable sensor data
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Bridge neuroscience research and production machine learning — you'll operate as both researcher and ML engineer
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Translate theoretical frameworks (e.g. active inference, cognitive science) into deployable, scalable systems
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Collaborate closely with the founding team to shape the technical direction of the core AI product
What We're Looking For
Required:
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PhD in computational neuroscience, cognitive science, active inference, or a closely related field
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Demonstrated experience bridging neuroscience research and production machine learning systems
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Strong Python proficiency for ML model development and deployment
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Comfort working in a fast-moving early-stage environment
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US work authorization required (visa transfers considered; no new visa sponsorship)
Nice to Have:
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Background in active inference or Bayesian brain / predictive coding frameworks
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Experience with multimodal biosignal processing (audio, biometric, physiological data)
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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
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Base salary: ~$150,000 USD (US) / ~£75,000 GBP (London)
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Equity: Meaningful founding-level equity (up to 1–2%)
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Founding team role with significant ownership and growth opportunity
Location
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Primary office: London, UK (on-site) — San Francisco, CA also available
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Remote and hybrid arrangements are also considered
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Visa sponsorship: Not available for new sponsorships; visa transfers are acceptable
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