PhD Research Intern – Neuroscience, AI

Dolby Laboratories

PhD Research Intern at Dolby developing AI-driven engagement-aware media systems through physiological measurement. Collaborating on cutting-edge research in personalizing media experiences.

Posted 6/12/2026internshipSan Francisco • California • 🇺🇸 United StatesEntry Level💰 $62 per hourWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

PythonPyTorchTensorflow

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Work collaboratively with our team to design and implement experiments measuring cardiovascular dynamics (heart rate variability, PPG) and autonomic physiology (EDA) during media consumption across different content types and viewing contexts.
Develop EEG-based neural signature models for media components and events combining naturalistic media stimuli with AI-based content analysis.
Create biosignal transfer learning approaches that establish robust mappings between high-fidelity neural signatures and accessible physiological measures from consumer wearable devices.
Build foundation models for physiological data representation that can generalize across individuals, devices, and measurement contexts to enable scalable engagement prediction systems.
Implement temporal engagement models to predict user state trajectories and optimize content adaptation timing for sustained engagement across diverse media experiences.
Develop multimodal AI systems that integrate physiological signals, content features, and contextual information to predict and enhance user engagement in real-time media applications.
Leverage large-scale physiological datasets to train foundation models that capture universal patterns in human engagement responses while preserving individual personalization capabilities.
Contribute to the development of research papers, patents, and technical presentations advancing the field of AI-driven and engagement-aware media systems.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Currently pursuing a PhD degree in neuroscience, computational neuroscience, biomedical engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, cognitive science, or a related field.
Strong programming and prototyping skills in Python, Matlab, or similar languages with experience in signal processing, time-series prediction and analysis, and AI/ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow).
Familiarity with physiological signal acquisition and analysis, particularly cardiac signals (ECG, PPG, HRV), electrodermal activity (EDA) and EEG measurements.
Experience with machine learning techniques and algorithms, particularly deep learning, transfer learning, and foundation models applicable to physiological data and temporal modeling.
Understanding of AI model development including data preprocessing, feature engineering, model training, and evaluation for biosignal applications.
Understanding of experimental design, hypothesis testing, and collection of perceptual and physiological data in controlled settings.
Analytical skills and the ability to manipulate, visualize, and extract meaning from complex physiological and behavioral datasets.
Excellent communication and teamwork skills.
Ability to work independently and take initiative on complex, interdisciplinary problems involving AI and human physiology.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Gain hands-on experience in cutting-edge research combining AI, physiological measurement, and next-generation media technologies.
Work alongside experienced engineers, researchers and scientists specializing in AI, neuroscience, perception science, network delivery and media systems.
Develop skills in experimental design, multimodal data collection, advanced signal processing, and AI/ML applications to human physiology.
Contribute to research that will shape the future of AI-powered personalized, adaptive media experiences.
Collaborate with teams developing recomposable media platforms, content intelligence systems, and AI-driven rendering technologies.

ATS Keywords

✓ Tailor your resume

Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools

PythonMatlabsignal processingtime-series predictionAI frameworksPyTorchTensorFlowmachine learningdeep learningtransfer learning

Soft Skills

analytical skillscommunication skillsteamwork skillsindependenceinitiative

Certifications

PhD in neurosciencePhD in computational neurosciencePhD in biomedical engineeringPhD in computer sciencePhD in electrical engineeringPhD in cognitive science