Research Assistant

Responsibilities

• Develop the software pipeline for an AI-driven, closed-loop adaptive training control system — including scaffolding to ingest offline analysis outputs and automatically adjust task parameters (e.g., difficulty, visual feedback) on a trial-to-trial basis.
• Assess technical feasibility of the adaptive control approach, estimate development effort, identify obstacles, and recommend implementation pathways to the research team.
• Convert existing immersive VR rehabilitation tasks into AR counterparts, including spatial registration of virtual elements (e.g., targets, controlled objects, motion trajectories) to real-world surfaces.
• Establish and validate the hardware–software connection between experimental devices and standalone XR headsets (e.g., Meta Quest).
• Implement real-time hand tracking, overlay, and visual-feedback features (e.g., accuracy-driven color modulation), with attention to rendering latency and user experience.
• Build data capture and replay functionality, including saving hand kinematic data and re-projecting recorded sessions as playback.
• Document technical progress and coordinate with lab personnel to align development with research objectives.

  Qualifications

  • Required: Master's degree in Computer Science or a closely related field.
  • Demonstrated expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning systems.
  • Demonstrated ability to prototype applications in extended reality (both AR and VR).
  • Proficiency with Unity for XR development.

  Preferred

  • Experience developing for standalone VR/AR headsets (e.g., Meta Quest) and porting applications across XR platforms.
  • Experience with real-time hand tracking, hand kinematics, shaders, or particle systems.
  • Familiarity with hardware–software integration and data pipeline development.
  • Exposure to integrating offline analysis (e.g., MATLAB) into interactive/closed-loop systems.
  • Interest in motor rehabilitation, biomedical, or healthcare-related applications.

    Department

    Biomedical Engineering

    Pay Range

    In compliance with the New Jersey Wage Transparency Act, the hourly base range for this position is $15.92.