Research Assistant in Prosthetics Monitoring

Directorate: The School of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Grade: Grade 6 (£30,805 - £36,130)

Contract Type: Full Time (1FTE), Fixed Term (11 Months with eligibility to continue with 13 Months additional and on a similar project)

Rewards and Benefits: 33 days annual leave, plus 9 buildings closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday) for all full time staff. Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University 

Detailed Description

We are looking for a Research Assistant with a strong background in Matlab and signal processing (a plus if the candidate is expert in wearable monitoring of mobility) and a complete/about-to-compete PhD in Human Movement Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Data Analysis, Computer Engineering or similar background. 

The position cannot start later than the 1st of May and is a position for 11 Months.

The project is focused on monitoring the use of prosthetics in free-living conditions and it will be supervised by a group of experts in Biomechanics, Data Science, Robotics and Sport Sciences. As part of this project, the candidate will develop objective, cost-effective, valid and novel methods for real-world gait assessment in this population. The project is in direct collaboration with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan. 

Key Duties and Responsibilities

1. Signal Processing & Data Analysis
   • Design and implement algorithms in MATLAB for processing and analysing data from wearable sensors.
   • Perform advanced time- and frequency-domain signal processing, with emphasis on mobility and gait-related signals.
   • Contribute to the development of automated pipelines for long-term data processing in free-living environments.
2. Experimental Design & Data Collection
   • Support the planning and execution of experimental protocols for monitoring prosthetic use in real-world settings.
   • Assist with sensor set-up, data acquisition, and troubleshooting during participant monitoring sessions (locally or remotely).
   • Ensure compliance with ethical standards and data privacy regulations during human data collection.
3. Algorithm Development & Validation
   • Develop and validate objective methods to assess gait quality, prosthetic usage, and physical mobility metrics.
   • Implement cost-effective and scalable solutions suited to long-term real-world deployment.
4. Collaboration & Communication
   • Collaborate effectively with a multidisciplinary team across Heriot-Watt University and AIST (Japan).
   • Participate in regular meetings, contribute to discussions, and communicate progress clearly to supervisors and collaborators.
   • Engage with external partners as needed to support project outcomes.
5. Scientific Dissemination
   • Contribute to the preparation of scientific manuscripts, conference presentations, and technical reports.
   • Maintain clear and organised documentation of code, data, and methodology.
   • Assist in drafting funding reports and collaborative research outputs.
6. Academic Development
   • Engage with relevant training and development opportunities to enhance technical and academic skills.
   • Support the mentoring of students or junior researchers involved in the project, as applicable..

Scientific Context

The candidate will be affiliated at the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPS) of Heriot-Watt University (HWU), which has an excellent international research reputation and close ties with the professional and industrial world of science, engineering and technology. Particularly, the strong and well-established electronic and mechanical engineering research of the school would support the implementation of robust and advanced signal-processing methods and biomechanical analyses of an imminent transcendence into the project. 

Moreover, the candidate will join the CARE and the Machine-Learning Health groups: https://sites.google.com/view/ml-healthgroup/home formed by academics from the EPS and the Mathematical and Computer Sciences School of HWU. These provide a strong network of researchers with a large expertise in the application of advance statistics, machine-learning and artificial intelligence to the study of rehabilitation and neurodegeneration, essential to the implementation of the most suitable and optimized methods for the analysis of the proposed project. In addition, the candidate will be part of a research group focused on human movement analysis and sport sciences at HWU, including academics from the ORIAM Scotland’s sports performance centre: https://oriamscotland.com/

The project will include data collection at the assisting living lab of the National Robotarium: https://www.edinburgh-robotics.org/national-robotarium. This is a world-leading centre for Robotics and Artificial Intelligence that brings innovative solutions to global challenges. Moreover, the project will be implemented in an international scientific context, including a close collaboration with the Oregon Health & Sciences University, Newcastle University, University College of Dublin, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and University of Edinburgh.

For more information, please send enquiry emails ([email protected] ). 

At Heriot Watt we are passionate about our values and look to them to connect our people globally and to help us collaborate and celebrate our success through working together. Our research programmes can deliver real world impact which is achieved through the diversity of our international community and the recognition of creative talent that connects our global team.

Our flourishing community will give you the freedom to challenge and to bring your enterprising mind and to help our partners with solutions that can be applied now and in the future. Join us and Heriot Watt will provide you with a platform to thrive and work in a way that also helps you live your life in balance with well-being and inclusiveness at the heart of our global community. 

Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities.  Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all. 

Heriot-Watt University values diversity across our University community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/equality-diversity.htm and also our award-winning work in Disability Inclusive Science Careers https://disc.hw.ac.uk/ . 

We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns e.g. part-time working and job share options. 

Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.