Tech Lead
Boston, MA • Full Time • Manager/Supervisor

About Affectiva:

Affectiva is an MIT Media Lab spin-off and the leading provider of Human Perception AI: software that analyzes facial and vocal expressions to identify complex human emotional and cognitive states. Our vision is that technology needs to be able to sense, adapt and respond to people’s non-verbal signals, mental states, emotions and reactions, just the way humans do. We are humanizing technology!

Our patented AI software uses machine learning, deep learning, computer vision and speech science. Affectiva has built the world’s largest emotion data repository with over 7M faces analyzed in 87 countries. Affectiva is used by one fourth of the Fortune Global 500 for advertising testing and is now working with leading automotive OEMs and Tier 1s on next generation driver state monitoring and in-cabin mood sensing.

As you can imagine, such an ambitious vision takes a great team with a strong desire to explore and innovate. We are growing our team to improve and expand our core technologies and help solve many unique and interesting problems focused around sensing, understanding and adapting to human states. And, in building new products that never existed before, we are disrupting billion dollar industries such as advertising and automotive.

Position:

The automotive market is an exciting direction for Affectiva. This is where we are bringing our technology into next-generation vehicles, including semi-autonomous and autonomous, to improve driver safety and enhance the user experience.

This position is to lead and contribute to a research team developing new models for assessing driver physiological and cognitive states, such as drowsiness and distraction. The ideal candidate will be passionate about leading teams of researchers to develop highly accurate behavioral models based on computer vision and machine learning as well as partnering cross-functionally with teams such as Product and Engineering, to execute our Driver Monitoring State product from end to end, ensuring key requirements are understood and key deliverables, across the entire product, are met. Although this position will be leading a team, this position will also be expected to contribute individually to the science team, as well.

This position will report to the VP of AI.

Responsibilities:

• Define and execute a research roadmap, in conjunction with key stakeholders
• Decompose product requirements into a set of engineering, machine learning and computer vision to be executed by individual team members
• Experiment with new modeling techniques, including both deep learning and traditional machine learning approaches
• Manage individual research scientists on a day to day basis: provide research guidance & technical guidance
• Ensure successful delivery of technology: driving the team to meet key milestones and product requirements
• Communicate cross-functionally on a regular basis on research and development progress, highlighting challenges and roadblocks in a timely manner
• Establish data requirements and best practices: create study design as well as annotation guidelines, review collected data in conjunction with the Data Acquisition Manager to ensure quality
• Provide consistent support and direction to engineers on the DMS team, in alignment with product roadmap and milestones

Qualifications:

• Ph.D. or M.Sc. in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
• Strong development skills in Python and C/C++
• 6+ years of experience working with computer vision and machine learning
• Experience leading a cross-functional team working on an applied research product
• Strong research and problem-solving skills
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills

Nice to Have:

• Automotive Industry Experience
• Startup Experience
• Experience working on human behavioral understanding: activity recognition

Additional Information and Company Benefits:

• Full-Time Position located in Downtown Boston
• Competitive Benefits Package including Health, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Long-Term and Short-Term Disability
• 401K Matching
• Unlimited PTO
• Casual Startup office culture, collaborative office space
• Flexible work schedule
• Complimentary snacks, drinks, and weekly team lunch

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status

Please click here to apply.