Human Neuroscientist, Intracranial Recording

Human Neuroscientist Astera Neuro seeks to understand and engineer consciousness. We believe consciousness is the process by which the brain builds a coherent internal model of the world and the self. We aim to understand this model and to develop the technologies to write experience directly into the brain. By combining large-scale neural recording, causal perturbation, and brain-based AI, we seek to move neuroscience from observing correlates of experience to engineering it. The same tools carry direct therapeutic promise for neurological and psychiatric diseases that alter perception, thought, and sense of self. Because the science and tools required do not yet exist, we are assembling a founding team of neuroscientists, theorists, and engineers to create them. We do high-risk, high-reward science in a well-resourced, collaborative environment with competitive pay, and share everything openly under Astera's Open Science Policy. Astera Neuro is setting up a human neuroscience initiative to collect, process, and analyze intracranial data at scale. We are hiring human neuroscientists to lead this program, conducting large-scale studies of the compositional representations underlying language, mathematics, perception, and working memory in neurosurgical patients at the single-neuron level, in close collaboration with partner sites around the world. This role is the human-side complement to Astera Neuro's primate program. You will design and implement intracranial cognitive tasks suitable for wide deployment, translate primate paradigms into compatible human studies, analyze single-neuron and population recordings from the human brain, and coordinate with clinical collaborators across the world. The work runs end-to-end from conception, paradigm design, data acquisition, and pre-processing, through analysis, publication, and curated open-science data releases. It depends on strong scientific judgment, deep knowledge of the literature, careful experimental discipline, a sense for what is feasible in the human space, and genuine collaboration with outside teams. We are hiring at multiple levels for this role. At the Scientist level, you will lead well-defined studies with regular guidance. At the Senior Scientist level, you will own research lines end-to-end and manage clinical partnerships. At the Principal Scientist level, you will define the human research roadmap, mentor scientists, and shape how Astera's animal and human programs fit together. We will calibrate scope and title based on your experience. Design, implement, and deploy intracranial cognitive paradigms covering language, syntax, semantic learning, mathematical reasoning, perception, and working memory. Translate primate paradigms into compatible human studies, in close coordination with experimental and computational teams. Process and analyze single-neuron, multi-unit, and local field potential recordings from the human brain (sEEG, ECoG, microelectrode arrays) at a scale not previously attempted. Implement advanced computational cognitive-neuroscience methods suited to large-scale datasets, in close coordination with the Astera AI team. Coordinate and manage clinical partners across the world, including study setup, data-collection visits, and ongoing scientific collaboration. Manage IRB and regulatory documentation, data-sharing agreements, and cross-site protocol harmonization.

History of successful mentorship of scientists or leading clinical research initiatives (Principal level).Human Neuroscientist at Astera Neuro, focused on what is most distinctively human about the brain: language, mathematics, and the ability to build and manipulate abstract thoughts. We seek to read out the compositional neural code supporting this ability directly from the human brain, in neurosurgical patients recorded during cognition, and to relate it to the codes we are mapping across species. If you want to investigate what is distinctively human about the brain at single-neuron resolution, let's talk. Astera Neuro provides a comprehensive benefits package and total compensation that is competitive and commensurate with the level of experience and qualifications. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity and inclusion!