PhD Research Intern (Neuroscience + AI)

TL;DR

PhD Research Intern (Neuroscience + AI): Developing novel approaches to measuring user engagement through physiological data and AI-driven foundation models with an accent on biosignal analysis and adaptive media systems. Focus on designing experiments, building temporal engagement models, and integrating multimodal AI to enhance personalized entertainment experiences.

Location: Must be based in San Francisco, California

Salary: $62/hr

Company

hirify.global is a leader in entertainment innovation, pushing the boundaries of audio, imaging, and cloud technology to create spectacular experiences.

What you will do

• Design and implement experiments measuring cardiovascular and autonomic physiology during media consumption.
• Develop EEG-based neural signature models using AI-based content analysis.
• Create biosignal transfer learning approaches to map neural signatures to consumer wearable data.
• Build foundation models for physiological data representation to enable scalable engagement prediction.
• Implement temporal engagement models to optimize content adaptation timing.
• Contribute to research papers, patents, and technical presentations.

Requirements

• Currently pursuing a PhD degree in neuroscience, biomedical engineering, computer science, or related field.
• Strong programming skills in Python or Matlab.
• Experience with signal processing, time-series analysis, and AI/ML frameworks like PyTorch or TensorFlow.
• Familiarity with physiological signal acquisition (ECG, PPG, HRV, EDA, EEG).
• Understanding of experimental design, hypothesis testing, and data collection in controlled settings.
• Must be available to work full-time for 12 weeks between September - December 2026.

Nice to have

• Experience with foundation models or large-scale representation learning for biomedical data.
• Knowledge of transformer architectures, self-supervised learning, or contrastive learning.
• Experience with real-time gaming engines like Unity or Unreal.
• Background in human-computer interaction or media psychology.

Culture & Benefits

• Gain hands-on experience in cutting-edge research at the intersection of AI and neuroscience.
• Work alongside expert researchers and scientists in perception science and media systems.
• Contribute to research shaping the future of AI-powered personalized media.
• Collaborate on recomposable media platforms and content intelligence systems.