Human Neuroscientist

Convergent Research • San Francisco, CA

9d • $183,000 - $210,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Arbor Neuroscience (formerly Forest Neurotech) is a nonprofit research organization dedicated to solving the challenge of reliably changing brain circuits for therapeutic purposes. Millions of individuals suffer from conditions like depression and chronic pain due to a lack of effective treatments. While neuromodulation techniques show promise, their efficacy is inconsistent, and predicting patient response is difficult. Arbor aims to address this by developing a novel experimental platform that involves intervening in brain activity, measuring the circuit's response, tracking symptom changes, and repeating this process over extended periods within the same individual. The platform includes the Forest 1 ultrasound system, capable of high-resolution imaging of brain activity, and will soon incorporate stimulation capabilities. Additionally, electrode-based interfaces are being integrated for animal studies. The ultimate goal is to build predictive models for neuromodulation. Arbor operates as a Focused Research Organization within the Convergent Research family, focusing on multidisciplinary translational research that falls outside traditional lab or company roadmaps. The organization is well-funded for its initial phase and is seeking individuals who will significantly influence its future direction.

Requirements

• A PhD and experience running human neuroscience research
• Background in cognitive, affective, or clinical neuroscience, human neuroimaging, or human neuromodulation
• Experience running human studies end to end, including recruitment, data collection, and analysis
• Comfort with hardware and software: you may not have built a rig, but you can troubleshoot one
• Sufficient computational skills to run standard data analyses on your own and to advise and critique more innovative ones
• Directness without friction – you say what you think, ask when you don't know, and aren't looking to compete with your colleagues
• A deep interest in seeing your work reach patients

Nice To Haves

• Functional or focused ultrasound experience
• TMS, DBS, or intracranial neuromodulation work
• Experience with clinical populations
• Signal processing or imaging analysis
• Ability to design and build experimental rigs
• IRB and protocol writing
• Having worked somewhere small enough that you had a lot to build

Responsibilities

• Design longitudinal, causal, within-subject human studies: imaging first, then neuromodulation
• Run those experiments, or oversee them as the program grows
• Own the experimental rigs: specify what's needed, keep them running, and work with our engineers on device usability and improvements
• Work with research collaborators, including travel to clinical sites
• Support participant recruitment alongside our clinical operations lead
• Analyze and interpret data, with our analysis lead
• Write up results, publish, and present at scientific meetings
• Help shape the human neuroscience program

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision – most plans fully covered for you and your dependents
• 401(k) with up to 6% match
• Company-paid life and AD&D, with voluntary supplemental options
• 15 holidays plus a floating day for your birthday
• 3 weeks PTO increasing with tenure, and separate sick leave
• Arbor will consider sponsorship for U.S. work authorization case by case. Sponsorship isn't guaranteed, and immigration timelines can affect start dates. Where we sponsor, we cover the legal and government fees.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree