The Translational Neural Engineering Laboratory at the University of Minnesota is seeking a Research Professional 2 (Software Engineer) interested in working at the intersection of technology, neuroscience, and mental health. Our laboratory has multiple projects ongoing involving electrical recording, optical and electrical brain stimulation, and real-time signal processing in actively behaving animals (sometimes called "brain-computer interfaces"). The technologies we develop will ultimately be used to change activity in specific brain circuits involved in severe mental illnesses such as PTSD, major depression, addiction, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Some of them are in pilot clinical trials or being prepared to enter those trials. 

This posting is for a support/cross project role. You will work in collaboration with lab researchers to develop, maintain, and extend our real-time brain signal processing and experiment control systems. These systems mainly read out emotion-related activity from the brain and control stimulators that respond within milliseconds to activity changes. Other software setups administer controlled visual, auditory, and tactile stimulation to human and/or animal research subjects to probe brain circuits involved in decision-making. Most of the code base is in C derivatives and Python; some legacy elements are in MATLAB and LabVIEW. It is a fully open source architecture, and part of the role is supporting users both inside and outside our team as they learn to use and request extensions to the systemâ™s capabilities. 

Job Duties/Responsibilities: 

â¢70% code development and testing in C-related languages. As much of our code is meant to interface with laboratory equipment, this includes direct testing in the laboratory setting. 
â¢20% interaction with laboratory team members and external stakeholders to identify requirements, debug problems, and discern future directions. 
â¢10% communication of findings, work products, and other technical concepts in professional English. 

 

All required qualifications must be included in the application materials

Required Qualifications: 

â¢BA/BS degree with at least two years of relevant experience, or a combination of education and relevant work experience to equal at least six years. 
â¢Prior C/C++/C# experience is essential for this role; it may be possible to substitute Java or another modern compiled programming language. This can arise from coursework, independent study, or practical experience. 
â¢Familiarity with one major interpreted (MATLAB/Python preferred, R welcome) data analysis language will be helpful for rapid prototyping. 
â¢Experience with standard software engineering practices (modularity, object-oriented work, issue tracking). 

Preferred Qualifications: 

â¢Experience with common digital processing techniques (filtering and frequency-domain transforms), with digital or analog electronics, with formal mathematical principles of control/sensing, or with open source distribution and code management (particularly GitHub).

About University of Minnesota Twin Cities

The University of Minnesota, founded in the belief that all people are enriched by understanding, is dedicated to the advancement of learning and the search for truth; to the sharing of this knowledge through education for a diverse community; and to the application of this knowledge to benefit the people of the state, the nation, and the world.

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