Astera Institute→
Software Engineer, Neural Data / VR /… at Astera… · Emeryville
Skills
Job Description
About the Role
Astera Neuro is a neuroscience research company building the tools and infrastructure required to understand how the brain works at scale. Software Engineers, working closely with computational neuroscientists, will build the computational backbone of Astera Neuro, including stimulus presentation platforms, VR integration, neural data acquisition pipelines, and closed-loop stimulation systems.
This role sits at the intersection of neuroscience and engineering. You will design software that generates precisely controlled sensory experiences, captures neural responses at scale, and closes the loop between brain activity and stimulation in real time. The problems are latency-sensitive, multi-modal, and deeply interdisciplinary. You will design and build large-scale data infrastructure that enables efficient, seamless data sharing across a global community of users, including in-house computational and AI scientists, through state-of-the-art AI-powered interfaces. You will need strong engineering fundamentals and a willingness to learn the neuroscience context around you.
We are hiring at multiple levels for this role. At the mid-level, you will build and ship well-defined components within these systems with regular guidance. At the senior level, you will own major subsystems end-to-end, make architectural decisions, and drive technical direction. At the staff level, you will define the technical roadmap across systems, mentor other engineers, and shape how neuroscience and engineering work together at Astera. We will calibrate scope and title based on your experience.
What You Will Build
Real-time VR stimulus platforms for neuroscience experiments, with precise control over stimulus timing, rendering, and synchronization with neural recording hardware.
Standardized neural data pipelines for ingesting, processing, and storing multi-modal neural data (electrophysiology, calcium imaging, optogenetic readouts), with versioned data formats, automated QC, and metadata standards.
Low-latency closed-loop optogenetic control systems where neural activity directly drives stimulus parameters within millisecond-scale feedback windows.
Integration layers across gaze tracking, haptic systems, and neural acquisition streams, ensuring seamless communication across VR headsets, eye trackers, haptic devices, and neural recording hardware.
Cloud-based data storage and sharing infrastructure to support distributed teams and large-scale datasets.
What We Are Looking For
Strong software engineering fundamentals. You write clean, testable, well-documented code and approach system design thoughtfully.
Hands-on experience building real-time systems with hard latency requirements (game engines, robotics, embedded systems, audio/video pipelines, or similar).
Proficiency in at least two of: Python, C++, C#, Rust.
Experience with Unity, Unreal, or comparable real-time rendering frameworks.
Self-directed and resourceful. You scope out what needs to be built, identify the right tools, and move forward without waiting to be handed a complete spec.
Additionally Expected at Senior / Staff Level
Track record of owning complex systems end-to-end, including architecture, implementation, and operational reliability.
Experience making and defending technical tradeoffs across performance, maintainability, and team velocity.
Comfort working across the stack, from low-level hardware interfaces to cloud infrastructure.
History of mentoring engineers or leading technical initiatives (staff level).
Bonus
Experience with neural data formats and analysis tools (e.g., NWB, SpikeInterface, Suite2p, DeepLabCut).
Background in machine learning, particularly online/streaming inference or neural decoding.
Familiarity with brain-machine interfaces, optogenetics, or electrophysiology acquisition systems (e.g., Open Ephys, SpikeGLX, Neuropixels).
Experience designing data pipelines at scale (Airflow, Prefect, or similar orchestration tools).
Contributions to open-source neuroscience or scientific computing projects.
Experience with GPU-accelerated computing (CUDA, Vulkan compute shaders).
Familiarity with laboratory hardware integration (DAQ systems, TTL synchronization, serial/SPI protocols).
Education
Backgrounds in computer science, electrical engineering, biomedical engineering, neuroscience, physics, or related fields are all welcome. Graduate work or research experience in neuroscience or a related discipline is a plus but not required. We value demonstrated skill and relevant experience above credentials.
About Astera Neuro
Astera Neuro is a neuroscience research company building the tools and infrastructure required to understand how the brain works at scale. We develop cutting-edge hardware and recording systems, with the goal of enabling the next generation of discoveries about neural circuits, cognition, and behavior.