Hiring@Vision Lab IISc

Ongoing Call: (Apply before Oct 31 | Final Decisions: Nov 15)

Overview

We see and recognize objects effortlessly but vision is in fact a very hard computational problem. At the Vision Lab IISc, we are trying to unravel how the brain solves these complex problems by combining behavioral experiments and neural recordings with computational modeling.

We have recently started a number of fascinating projects with real-world impact, such as understanding the full spectrum of face recognition abilities, studying the cognitive processes that drive literacy and numeracy skills in children, building neuroscience-inspired robots and performing human brain recordings in epilepsy patients to study vision and language. Read more about these projects here. 

We are hiring passionate and curious researchers who can take initiative and work independently to tackle complex & challenging problems.

About Us

We are a group of researchers from engineering and biology backgrounds, united by our interest in understanding vision in brains and machines. Some representative publications from our lab include:

• Simon et al (2026), biorXiv (neural basis of natural behaviors) 

• Jacob et al (2021), Nature Communications (vision in brains and machines)

• Agrawal et al. (2019) Psychological Science (reading, parts and wholes).

• Ratan Murty & Arun (2018), PNAS (object and their attributes in single neurons).

About You

You are a researcher who isn't afraid of complex, "noisy" biological data. You have a strong quantitative background to analyze data and are excited by the challenge of finding the mathematical principles underlying the data. You thrive in an environment that values both conceptual clarity and computational rigor. You work independently with a growth mindset and are curious and passionate about neuroscience.  

Key Responsibilities

Open Positions

Outreach Manager

• This position is ideal if you are interested in working at the interface of science and public engagement. 

• Key responsibilities

  • Curating a community for open behavioral science projects for VibeMyExpt

  • Writing popular science articles/blog posts/short videos on topics relevant to the lab's work

  • Identifying and speaking to relevant stakeholders in the education sector for our reading project. 

  • Coordinating hiring personnel for the lab. 

• Minimum Qualifications

  • Bachelors or Masters degree in a related field. 

  • Demonstrated communication skills (e.g. speaking, writing, social media content) 

  • Demonstrated content creation skills (e.g. graphic & video editing) 

  • Curiosity & passion for neuroscience and science communication. 

  • Ability to keep track of and complete multple tasks. 

  • Commitment of at least 1 year to define & complete a project. 

• Preferred Qualifications

  • At least a year of relevant work experience in industry or academia. 

Research Assistant. 

• • This position is ideal if you are interested in getting research experience in neuroscience. 

  • Key responsibilities

    • Work independently or assist a postdoctoral scientist in developing and conducting interesting scientific studies

    • Design and conduct psychophysics and behavioural experiments with human participants (either children or adults).

    • Conduct sophisticated analysis of behavioural and neural data to extract meaningful and rigorous insights.

    • Develop and test computer vision models (including Deep Neural Networks) to investigate if and how they differ from biological object perception.

    • Author high-quality, peer-reviewed publications and present research at premier venues in neuroscience.

    • Collaborate with various stakeholders, mentor junior researchers, and contribute to lab infrastructure.

  • Minimum qualifications

    • Bachelors or Masters degree in neuroscience, computer science, electrical engineering or a related field.

    • Proficiency in MATLAB or Python for high-level data analysis. 

    • Curiosity & passion for neuroscience. 

    • Commitment of at least 1 year to define & complete a full project. 

  • Preferred qualifications

    • At least a year of work experience in industry or academia is desirable. 

    • Hands on experience with signal processing, image processing, computer vision or machine learning.

    • Hands-on experience with human psychophysics/EEG/MRI data. 

Postdoctoral Fellow

• This position is ideal if you are interested in working independently on a scientific problem and learning to extract insights from data. 

• Key responsibilities

  • Lead a small team of Research Assistants or interns to conduct a full scientific study from start to finish. 

  • Design and conduct psychophysics and behavioural experiments with human participants (either children or adults).

  • Conduct sophisticated analysis of behavioural and neural data to extract meaningful and rigorous insights.

  • Develop and test computer vision models (including Deep Neural Networks) to investigate if and how they differ from biological object perception.

  • Author high-quality, peer-reviewed publications and present research at premier venues in neuroscience.

  • Collaborate with various stakeholders, mentor junior researchers, and contribute to lab infrastructure.

• Minimum qualifications

  • PhD in Neuroscience, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related quantitative field.

  • A strong record of research success, evidenced by first-author publications in peer-reviewed journals or top-tier conferences

  • Proficiency in MATLAB or Python for high-level data analysis

  • Curiosity & passion for neuroscience

  • Commitment of at least 1 year to define & complete a full project 

• Preferred qualifications

  • Hands on experience with signal processing, image processing, computer vision or machine learning.

  • Hands-on experience with human psychophysics/EEG/MRI data