ML Research Scientist, Foundation Models

Wispr is building a more natural way to interact with technology with neural interfaces. We have an elite team of engineers, product designers, and research scientists building magic.

About Wispr: We've raised $26.5M from top-tier VCs like NEA and 8VC. Our angels and advisors include Chester Chipperfield (product lead for the first Apple Watch), Ben Jones (COO, CTRL-Labs), Dave Gilboa (CEO, Warby Parker), and Jose Carmena (Berkeley professor; co-CEO iota). Our founders are Stanford alums and have previously sold a company and run a team at a deep tech startup with over 100M in funding.

As part of our ML research team at Wispr, you will work closely with neuroscientists and ML engineers to design algorithms to decode EMG and other neural signals. You will design experiments for large-scale data collection, investigate & understand deep learning architectures, and invent novel techniques for processing neural signals. These may include unsupervised pre-training, semi-supervised learning, synthetic data, multi-modal feature extraction, and more.

Come join us and make magic happen.

Core Job Responsibilities

• Design and improve deep learning architectures for neural signals from novel hardware
• Scale up data collection and run experiments on large datasets
• Setup best practices for ML research and set company-wide benchmarks to test models
• Explore and invent novel ways to decode neural signals with low latency
• Collaborate with neuroscientists, ML engineers, and interaction designers to unlock new capabilities to design the most natural and seamless human-computer interactions

Required Knowledge/Skills, Education, And Experience

• Ph.D. in computer science, machine learning, or related engineering field
• 3+ years of hands-on research experience in machine learning (in academia or industry)
• Strong research/publication track record
• Experience in Python and deep learning libraries (Pytorch, Numpy, Pandas, etc.)
• Experience with cloud computing (e.g. AWS)
• Experience working collaboratively with teams: we believe in working collectively towards a common goal

Nice to have Knowledge/Skills, Education, And Experience

• Experience working with bio-signals (EMG, EEG, EKG, etc), medical devices, or real-world noisy data (eg. self-driving cars)
• Experience with novel methods for increasing model performance - including leveraging synthetic data, unsupervised pre-training, etc.
• Experience working on ASR systems, NLP
• Research in a deep tech company or special projects group

Why Wispr?
• Build magic and see the excitement spark in every users' eyes
• Design the next generation of personal computing in a creative, innovative, and collaborative environment
• Do the best work of your life with a world-class team
• Flexible work arrangements to support you in working in the way that you work best

For full-time employees:
• Generous health, dental, and vision coverage
• Generous parental leave, unlimited PTO (we encourage taking days off!)
• 401k match
• Commuter benefits
• Relocation assistance
• Total compensation for this position may also include stock options and other potential future incentives

At Wispr, diversity is important to us.

At Wispr, we believe that true innovation starts with people from diverse backgrounds coming together, bridging ideas, and collaborating. Wispr is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and is committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation, and related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information (including characteristics and testing), military and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law.