Biomedical Research Engineer

Summary

The Health Sensing Hardware team works on developing the next-generation of optical sensors which enable us to provide deeper insights into a user’s health in a wearable form factor. The team is looking for a highly-motivated biomedical optics engineer interested in finding elegant solutions to measuring complex physiological signals in a compact form-factor, thus enabling the next-generation of optical health sensors. The successful candidate will be able to leverage deep expertise in physics, physiology and optics to develop the optical health sensors in the Apple Watch and AirPods. This candidate should also be adept at building research platforms to study physiology and analyze user data to infer real-world performance trends and emergent behavior. The candidate must be able to employ simulation tools to develop models of sensor behavior. Lastly, a successful candidate will be able to distill complex technical concepts into concise technology assessments to cross-functional collaborators and senior management.

Minimum Qualifications

In-depth understanding of light propagation in biological tissue. Experience with hands-on development of optical systems for biomedical optics applications. Strong optical simulation skills using commercial ray-tracing packages. Collaborative and willing to work in cross-functional fast-paced technology development. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, excellent documentation skills. BS in Biomedical Engineering, Optical Engineering, or related field.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with both coherent and non-coherent light-tissue interaction principles and their applications, e.g. spectroscopy. Fundamental understanding of device physics governing typical light emitter and detectors. Conversant in cross-functional aspects of system design; mechanical tolerance of system, sources of electrical noise. MS/PhD in Biomedical, Optical Engineering or related field.

Description

You will be working with a team of research scientists and hardware engineers developing technologies for the optical health sensors. You will be responsible for developing research platforms to investigate novel sensing solutions, leveraging modeling tools to exhaling empirical observations and lastly defining sensing requirements to multidisciplinary sensor architects for integration into products. In this role you will also be designing user studies and analyzing data to empirically prove the application of a sensing solution. Lastly, you will be responsible for summarizing your findings and communicating your findings to the larger team and senior leadership in a clear and succinct manner.

Responsibilities

The ideal candidate is a biomedical optics expert with a proven track record in the field of physiological sensing using light in clinical or preclinical settings. In this role, the candidate will be expected to independently design and develop research platforms using custom or off-the-shelf components, conduct user studies and analyze data. Proficiency in common programming languages for both hardware control and signal processing (e.g. MATLAB, Python, LabView etc.) is a critical requirement. The candidate should be able to use common optical ray-tracing tools (LightTools, Zemax etc.) for system design. Moreover, the candidate must be familiar with fundamental principles of mechanical engineering and electrical engineering to collaborate with cross-functional team members. Lastly, strong communication skills, especially in up-leveling complex technical findings across the larger team and cross-functional collaborators is important. In addition experience in the following areas will be a plus for this role: Coherent light sensing for biomedical applications. Stochastic modeling methods for light-tissue propagation. Fundamental sources of noise in typical emitters and detectors used in optical sensing. Signal processing techniques to analyze physiological data.