The Role
At Emteq Labs, we’re developing the next generation of wearable technology to understand human emotions and behaviour in real time. Our mission is to combine optomyography facial sensing, advanced machine learning, signal processing techniques, and behavioural science to transform health, wellness, and human–computer interaction.
We are looking for an AI/ML Scientist with deep expertise in affective computing, head-worn wearable signal processing, and multimodal/multi-sensor AI and machine learning. You will be a pivotal technical hire, responsible for bridging cutting-edge academic research with robust, real-world deployment of algorithms and wearable systems.
Your primary mission will be to develop and optimise machine learning models that can detect and interpret subtle emotional and physiological states from complex, noisy multi-sensor data.
This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of smart eyewear and emotion AI, working at the intersection of AI, digital health, and wearable hardware.
Key Responsibilities
* Model Development: Design, train, and optimise ML/DL models for real-time affect/emotion recognition, behaviour analytics (activities, energy expenditure, posture); from multimodal signals (facial muscle activity, IMU, audio, contextual data).
* Signal Processing & Sensor Data Fusion: Apply advanced methods for preprocessing and fusing physiological and behavioural signals, ensuring robustness in uncontrolled, real-world environments.
* Research to Product: Translate state-of-the-art academic research into commercial-grade algorithms embedded in wearable devices.
* Algorithm Evaluation: Establish metrics and benchmarks for accuracy, latency, generalisability, and cross-population robustness.
* Collaboration: Work with hardware engineers, behavioural scientists, and UX researchers to integrate models into lightweight, energy-efficient wearable systems.
* Innovation: Contribute to Emteq’s IP portfolio in emotion AI, building on our 27+ patents in facial sensing and human–computer interaction.
What We’re Looking For
We’re searching for a candidate with an exceptional research and engineering track record in AI/ML applied to wearable sensing and emotion recognition.
Must-Have Experience & Skills
* Proven Research Expertise: PhD (or equivalent) in AI, Machine Learning, Wearable Computing, Affective Computing, or related field, with published work in top-tier journals and conferences (e.g., IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing, Nature Scientific Reports, ACM Ubicomp, ACM CHI, NIPS, ICML, ECML)
* Wearable Data Experience: Hands-on experience with physiological sensor data (EMG/OMG, PPG, ECG, EDA, IMU), signal processing, and handling multimodal datasets.
* Machine Learning: Strong skills in development ML pipelines and deployment, including signal processing, filtering, feature engineering and extraction, training ML models (Ensembles - Boosting, Bagging; SVMs with non-linear kernels, KNN, Decision Tree), Hyper parameter optimization, Evaluations with various performance metrics, validation techniques.
* Deep Learning Mastery: Strong skills in building and deploying deep learning architectures (CNNs, RNNs, Transformers, multimodal fusion networks).
* Emotion AI Knowledge: Understanding of affect recognition, emotion modelling, and the challenges of inter- and intra-individual variability.
* Programming & Tools: Proficiency in Python, Keras, TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn, ML-flow; experience with large-scale experimentation pipelines.
* IP and Innovation: Track record of successful patent applications and granted patent.
Desirable Skills
* Experience building real-time models optimised for on-device inference in constrained environments.
* Track record of contributions to large-scale multimodal emotion datasets or benchmarks.
* Familiarity with cross-cultural emotion modelling and bias mitigation in ML.
* Knowledge of behavioural science, psychology, or HCI.
Personal Attributes
* You are a researcher–engineer hybrid, equally comfortable prototyping novel models and deploying robust systems.
* You thrive on complexity, seeing challenge where others see impossibility.
* You are rigorous and analytical but also creative, able to push beyond existing methods.
* You are proactive, collaborative, and energised by working across disciplines.
About Emteq
Emteq Labs is a UK-based leader in emotion AI and wearable sensing, with operations in the US and Europe. Our patented optomyography (OMG) technology captures the subtle dynamics of facial muscle activity through lightweight smart glasses. By combining this with advanced AI, we are pioneering new applications in weight management, emotional wellness, healthcare, and human–computer interaction.
With over 27 patents, a foundation of peer-reviewed science, and partnerships across academia and industry, we are uniquely positioned at the forefront of the emotion AI revolution.
Now, we need rare talent, people who can take the most advanced machine learning techniques and apply them to the complexities of human emotion in the real world.