Senior Neural Engineer / Co-Founding Engineering

About Netholabs

We are a deep-tech company building next-generation neural interfaces and intelligent systems to enable the next generation of AI systems. We build at the interface of neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and hardware. Our mission is to develop interpretable AI systems that enhance human agency, cognition, and control - and ultimately empower humanity for exploring the universe.

We operate as a research-driven startup, combining experimental neuroscience, embedded systems, and machine intelligence to build real-world neurotechnology.

The Role

We are seeking a Neural Engineer to join Netholabs as a founding technical leader and potential CTO. This role is ideal for someone who wants to shape both the technology and the company from the ground up. You will lead the design of neural data acquisition systems such as low-power headstages - working hands-on across hardware, firmware, algorithms, and experimental validation. You will help define our technical vision, research direction, and long-term platform architecture while building real neurotechnology in the lab.

Key and Project Responsibilities

• Design and help manufacture low-power headstages for preclinical research applications on very low weight systems (2-3 grams).
• Develop embedded firmware and client side software (e.g. GUIs and data science pipelines).
• Lead signal processing and feature extraction for noisy biological data.
• Define research experiments, protocols, and validation methodologies.
• Contribute to IP generation, publications, and technical storytelling.
• Help shape company-wide technical strategy as a founding leader.

About You

You are an experienced engineer with significant experience in PCB design and embedded systems firmware and software engineering. You have signficant experience in early stage startup environments that emphasize rapid prototyping and multi-disciplinarity.

Engineering and Education Requirements

• (Must have) Experience working in deep-tech companies and startups where rapid prototyping and multi-disciplinary work is the norm.
• (Preferred) Advanced degree (MSc or PhD) in Electrical Engineering, Bioengineering, Applied Physics, or a closely related field — or equivalent deep, hands-on experience.
• (Required) Proven experience designing and working with real-time embedded systems, including microcontroller platforms such as STM32, Nordic nRF series, and equivalent low-power SoCs.
• (Required) Experience developing firmware for sensing, control, and data acquisition pipelines in resource-constrained environments.
• (Required) Familiarity with wireless and high-speed communication systems, including Bluetooth LE, custom RF / FM modules, and low-latency data links.
• (Preferred) Experience working with programmable logic (FPGAs) for signal processing, prototyping, or hardware acceleration.
• (Preferred) Exposure to ASIC development workflows — including specification, architecture definition, verification, or close collaboration with ASIC design and fabrication partners.
• (Preferred) Strong background in neural or biosignal acquisition and processing (EEG, EMG, LFPs, spikes, or related modalities).
• (Preferred) Proficiency in Python for data analysis, tooling, and experiment control; familiarity with MATLAB or similar environments is a plus.

What We Offer

• Founding-level role with significant equity.
• Freedom to define technical and research direction.
• Access to lab infrastructure and experimental resources.
• A small, highly technical, interdisciplinary team building the next generation of AI-driven neurotech.
• Opportunity to build meaningful neurotechnology from first principles.