Forest Neurotech - Software Engineering Lead

At Forest Neurotech, we're not just creating devices; we're building a deeper understanding and personalized treatment of the human brain. Our mission is to pioneer the next frontier of neurotechnology, and we're looking for passionate and experienced people to be a part of this journey. 
We are seeking a Software Engineer with at least 5 years experience to lead the design and implementation of Forest’s core scientific software platform, creating a cohesive framework that drives discovery across our brain-computer interface (BCI), real-time data pipelines, and clinician-focused tools. Your work will bridge cutting-edge neurotechnology with software that is scalable, usable, and secure.

Responsibilities

• Define and implement the overall architecture for Forest’s software systems, ensuring modularity, scalability, and security.
• Define and maintain best software practices across the broader team.
• Own and manage the digital and embedded software efforts on the integration of device-level software with the broader software framework and contribute to software aspects of device control.
• Design the data pipeline, synchronization, and storage of neural and metadata from Forest’s BCI devices to its data science platform.
• Design and implement comprehensive verification and validation tests for embedded and software systems to ensure reliability and performance in experimental and clinical settings.
• Work with the Science team on the integration of the data science platform into the broader software framework and ensure seamless data flow and usability.
• Support hardware development and manufacturing testing software needs.
• Develop and maintain software documents, such as: architecture documents, technical specifications, and testing protocols to support internal knowledge transfer and regulatory compliance.
• Hiring and managing a small team of full time employees and contractors.

Skills & Qualifications

•   Experience: 5+ years of industry software development experience, working in large Python codebases. (L4 or L5 equivalent)
• Education: Minimum of a BS in Computer Science or related field, PhD preferred.
• Languages: Python expertise required. Experience with either C++ or Rust. Bonus for familiarity with any of: CUDA, OpenCL, Docker, Ansible.
• Scientific Programming: Familiarity with machine learning, image processing, and signal processing. Specific experience with relevant packages, which can include: JAX/CuPy/Dask, scikit-learn/PyTorch/Tensorflow, Xarray/Zarr/HDF5/NIfTI, and Plotly/Seaborn/Bokeh/Altair/Matplotlib.
• Realtime: Low-latency software that interfaces with device hardware and GPU(s) for closed-loop data processing. Experience with inter-process streaming (e.g. Redis, LabStreamingLayer, ZMQ) preferred. Experience developing responsive local applications with modern frameworks preferred.

Forest Neurotech is developing an ultrasound based BCI and software platform to catalyze breakthroughs in the understanding and personalized treatment of the human brain. Ultrasound is capable of measuring and stimulating brain-wide activity in a minimally invasive manner. This opens new avenues for research into personalized therapies across a range of psychiatric and cognitive disorders. To accelerate these efforts, Forest has secured a partnership with Butterfly Network with exclusive access to the only FDA approved and mass produced Ultrasound-on-Chip. As a non-profit  Focused Research Organization (FRO), Forest Neurotech has the freedom to focus solely on advancing science and engineering for the public good. Pioneered by Convergent Research, a member of the Schmidt Futures Network, FROs are designed to overcome key technological bottlenecks for the advancement of science and medicine. Forest was recently featured in Wired and IEEE. Visit www.forestneurotech.org to learn more.
Forest is structured as a Focused Research Organization (FRO). FROs are a new type of startup-nonprofit hybrid organization for pursuing advanced scientific projects not achievable in academia or a VC-backed startup. As an FRO, Forest can execute with the intensity and focus of a founder-led startup, but with the mission and operational flexibility to maximally advance neurotechnology and benefit society rather than focusing on near-term company value.
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