Technical Associate - Annotation and Proofreading

The Mindspan Institute is a new non-profit research institute in Cambridge, MA, aimed at building novel tools to analyze the human brain, and scaling them to study its molecules and wiring. We interpret how they contribute to brain functions and dysfunctions, and share our tools and discoveries as freely as possible, to advance human health.

The role

This is a hands-on role checking and correcting what our automated reconstruction produces. You will annotate and proofread microscopy volumes of brain tissue: tracing neurons, marking synapses and other structures, and fixing the errors that automated segmentation makes. Your annotations become the ground truth that our models train on and are measured against, so care and consistency come first, and speed follows.

You report to the Head of Computation and work closely with the scientists and engineers who build our models and annotation tools, using logic and evidence to advance your work so as to boost the performance of all. You will also work closely with the software engineering team to develop and refine tools and infrastructure to streamline data annotation.

This is the first data annotation role at Mindspan. At the start, you will do the annotation yourself and help define how it is done: the protocols, the quality checks, and the training material. As the work grows, we expect this role to grow into leading an annotation team, which means training new annotators, assigning work, and tracking quality and throughput. The job also requires systematic documentation, analysis, and iterative problem solving, to arrive at working protocols, apply them, and share them.

What you'll own

• Annotate and proofread 3D microscopy volumes of brain tissue: trace neurons, label synapses and other structures, and fix split and merge errors in automated segmentation.
• Write and maintain annotation protocols, with examples of hard cases, so that two annotators make the same call on the same data.
• Run quality control: review annotations, measure agreement between annotators, and keep gold-standard sets for training and checking.
• Track throughput and error rates and use basic statistics to report where time goes and where quality varies.
• Tell the tool and model teams what slows annotation down and which errors the models make most often.
• As the team grows, you will be instrumental in training and onboarding new annotators, assign and review their work, and assist in recruitment efforts for future team members.
• Documentation and training: keep protocol records that others can execute, with the reasoning behind each decision.

Culture we're building

The disorders of the brain affect over 1,000,000,000 people around the world - Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, stroke - and other conditions - none of which can be cured. We operate with a sense of urgency, even as we look to understand the brain at its most fundamental levels.

We are hypercollaborative, and focused on impact over short-term markers of productivity. Creativity and failure are the steppingstones to scale, and working together with “strong opinions, weakly held” is our style.

We solve real engineering problems the best way we can: inventing fast when we have to, and using good existing solutions where they exist. We believe hard problems only yield to many disciplines working together, so collaboration is required, not optional.

We expect people to explore the unknown, which means making mistakes daily, owning them, and learning from them to improve and excel.

We are recruiting a team of scientists and engineers who exemplify all these values.

What we're looking for

• B.S. or B.A. in neuroscience, biology, biomedical engineering, computer science, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Direct hands-on experience with careful visual work on images or data, such as image annotation, histology, microscopy, or data labeling.
• Ability to apply a written protocol consistently, and to notice and report when a case falls outside it.
• Basic quantitative skills: spreadsheets, simple statistics, and reading a chart.
• Excellent attention to detail and scientific rigor.

• Experience with neuron tracing, connectomics proofreading, or volumetric annotation tools (Neuroglancer, CAVE, webKnossos, VAST, Dragonfly, or similar).
• Comfort learning new software and working in 3D image viewers.
• Knowledge of neuroanatomy or cell biology, including what neurons, synapses, and organelles look like in electron or light microscopy.
• Experience training others, writing protocols, and leading a small team.
• Basic scripting or data analysis (Python, R, or similar).
• Experience with quality-control methods such as inter-rater agreement or gold-standard review.

What we offer

The chance to build the lab operations of a new research institute from the ground up, alongside some of the most adventurous scientists in the field. You will get to contribute to addressing one of the most important unmet medical needs of our time, as part of the initial team. As Mindspan grows, we expect this role to grow with it. We are excited to invest in someone who wants to take on increasing responsibility over time.

Comprehensive health, dental, vision, and family benefits, and a matching retirement contribution.

Competitive salary ($75,000 - $110,000), depending on experience.