Research & Dev Engineer Ii

Overview

School of Medicine Established in 1930, Duke University School of Medicine is the youngest of the nation's top medical schools. Ranked sixth among medical schools in the nation, the School is an inclusive community of outstanding learners, investigators, clinicians, and staff where interdisciplinary collaboration is embraced and great ideas accelerate translation of fundamental scientific discoveries to improve human health locally and around the globe.

The Health System comprises Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital, Duke Raleigh Hospital, Duke Primary Care, Duke Home and Hospice, Duke Health and Wellness, and multiple affiliations.

Location: Suthana Lab, Departments of Neurosurgery and Biomedical Engineering, Duke University

Position Summary:

The Suthana Lab seeks a highly skilled Research & Development Engineer to design, develop, and integrate immersive virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) platforms and synchronized wearable technology systems for neuroscience and health-related research. This role focuses on building the software content, experimental environments, and technical infrastructure that support advanced neuroscience studies, including ecologically valid and real-time interactive paradigms. The Research & Development Engineer will work closely with neuroscientists, engineers, clinicians, and creative collaborators to translate scientific concepts into deployable VR/AR content and robust multimodal technology platforms.

The position requires strong expertise in real-time software development, hardware synchronization, and interdisciplinary collaboration at the intersection of engineering, neuroscience, and digital media.

Effort Allocation (Estimated):

VR/AR Software & Content Development – 40%;
Hardware Integration & Synchronization – 30%;
Systems Engineering & Tool Development – 20%;
Collaborative Design & Research Support – 10%

Key Responsibilities:

• VR/AR Software & Content Development (40%)
  • Design and implement immersive VR/AR applications using Unity and/or Unreal Engine to support neuroscience and health research.
  • Develop interactive tasks, environments, and game-based content optimized for experimental control, modularity, and reproducibility.
  • Translate high-level scientific goals into functional VR/AR paradigms in collaboration with research teams.
  • Maintain and extend reusable software frameworks for rapid prototyping and deployment across studies.
• Hardware Integration & Synchronization (30%)
  • Develop and maintain pipelines for integrating head-mounted displays (HMDs) with wearable and peripheral devices, including eye tracking, motion capture, physiological sensors, and neural interfaces.
  • Implement precise time synchronization, triggering, and logging across software and hardware systems.
  • Support real-time data streaming and offline alignment of multimodal data sources to ensure accurate temporal correspondence.
• Systems Engineering & Tool Development (20%)
  • Write clean, modular, and well-documented code in C#, C++, Python, or related languages.
  • Develop internal tools for experiment control, device communication, calibration, and data management.
  • Contribute to shared codebases using version control and software engineering best practices.
  • Support testing, validation, and documentation of software and hardware platforms.
• Collaborative Design & Research Support (10%)
  • Collaborate with scientists, engineers, artists, and designers to create visually compelling and scientifically grounded interactive content.
  • Participate in iterative design and rapid prototyping cycles to refine experimental platforms.
  • Support adaptation of VR/AR content across virtual, augmented, and mixed-reality modalities.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering, Game Design, or a related technical field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Demonstrated expertise developing VR/AR applications using Unity and/or Unreal Engine.
• Strong programming skills in C#, C++, and/or Python.
• Experience integrating and synchronizing multiple hardware devices in real-time systems.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively within…