Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) · 1 day ago
Scientific Computing Associate - VR Technologies for Social Neuroscience
Ashburn, VA
Full-time
Onsite
New Grad, Entry Level
$90K/yr - $90K/yrHoward Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is seeking a talented and motivated computational scientist for the Scientific Computing Associate position. This role focuses on developing experimental platforms that integrate virtual reality environments with neural and behavioral measurements for studying social learning and collective behaviors in animal subjects.
BiotechnologyClinical TrialsHealth CareMedicalMedical Device
Responsibilities
Develop Software Architecture for Fish & Fly Experimental Systems
Clock synchronization across heterogeneous data streams, determined by hardware/software
Build a robust synchronization layer to ensure <8 ms end-to-end latency for sub-frame accuracy in high-frequency behavioral streams
Rigorous metadata and I/O logging to guarantee reproducible analysis pipelines
Debugging driver/firmware bottlenecks in DAQs, GPUs, and cameras. (Interfaces with diverse hardware: cameras, DAQ boards, GPUs, head-mounted displays, lasers/scanners.)
Performance optimization for low-latency, precise, & dynamic virtual environments
Develop reproducible open- and closed-loop virtual social environments and interactions using virtual fish and flies with hard-coded, dynamic, or agent-based movement rules (working in close collaboration with experimentalists)
Document and Generalize Software Modules for Widespread Use
Organize software packages that generalize across fish and fly experimental setups with intuitive user interfaces that can be implemented within and beyond the Janelia Research Campus
Compose documentation for reproducibility, clear metadata standards, and user-friendly interfaces (modular APIs and wrappers so experimentalists can use GUIs/editors instead of diving into C#/low-level code)
Strong Git-based version control workflows and containerization for reproducible deployments
Potential opportunity for publication of this suite of tools in a methodological journal
Qualification
Required
A degree in computational sciences or equivalent (M.Sc. or Ph.D)
Experience with C# and Python programming (async/multithreading) languages
Experience with real-time programming
Experience with machine learning, big data, signal processing preferred
Experience in solving complex problems independently
Good communication skills, comfortable working collaboratively in a team environment
Preferred
Experience with the following will be extremely useful: messaging frameworks (e.g. sockets; currently UDP client used to communicate between Bonsai RX, animal tracking software, DAQs, and Unity), ROS-like systems, machine vision, GPU programming, shared memory, agent-based modeling, and/or game development
Benefits
Competitive pay
Exceptional health benefits
Retirement plans
Time off
A range of recognition and wellness programs
Company
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)
Founded in 1953, HHMI invests in scientists at all career stages who make discoveries that advance human health and our fundamental understanding of biology.
Founded in 1953
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (135)
2024 (133)
2023 (133)
2022 (160)
2021 (133)
2020 (127)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$1MKey Investors
Salt Lake Community College
2017-08-31Grant· $1M
Leadership Team
Boyana Konforti
Director, Scientific Strategy & Development
Recent News
San Francisco Chronicle
2025-11-10
2025-10-30
Press Telegram
2025-09-24
Company data provided by crunchbase