Biometric Research Engineer

Simprints is a nonprofit tech company with a mission to radically increase transparency and effectiveness in global development. We build ethical, inclusive digital ID powered by biometrics to verify that health, aid, and services truly reach people. Simprints partners with organizations like Gavi to boost immunization rates in developing countries, Ministries of Health like Ghana on pandemic response, and NGOs like BRAC to deliver maternal healthcare. Studies have shown Simprints increases impact through real-time, precision data, for example increasing maternal health visits by 38% in Bangladesh or accurate HIV tracing by 62% in Malawi. Today we’ve worked in over 17 countries helping deliver health, aid, and finance to >2.5M people. Our goal is to transform the way the world fights poverty, ensuring that every vaccine, every dollar, and every public good reaches the people who need them most.

About the Role

We are looking for a biometric researcher to play a pivotal role in helping us develop cutting-edge biometric identification technologies. Your expertise will guide the creation of innovative solutions using fingerprints, facial recognition, and other biometric modalities to help us make verified service delivery attainable at scale. You will be instrumental in researching, designing, and prototyping biometric systems that are both highly accurate and suitable for the context in which we operate.

Location

This is a remote job; we are currently only able to take forward applicants based in the UK, Ghana, Ethiopia, Poland, Bulgaria or Romania. We are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this role.

Salary

UK Grade 6: £55,000 - £70,000 with a cost-of-living adjustment for non-UK residents

Your Impact

At Simprints, we want everyone to feel ownership of the tasks they are working on, starting from their first day. As a Biometrics Researcher,  you will be given a “north star” in the shape of a KPI (Key Performance Indicator) or goal, and you will be asked to come up with a strategy to get there. In your first month, you will be given the resources you need to set up your environment and start learning about the Simprints biometrics platform, its performance and the operational realities of international development and humanitarian contexts. This will include access to our codebase, documentation, and data. You will also have the opportunity to meet with our team members to get a good overview of the company and our goals. By your third month, you will be well on your way to defining requirements for developing and enhancing our biometrics platform. This will involve understanding the current state of the solution, reviewing current research and gathering feedback from stakeholders. In six months, you will have a high degree of autonomy in putting your ideas into practice. This will involve working with our team to define the approach we take in evaluating options, gathering data and enhancing our products.

Role Responsibilities

• Conduct comprehensive research on biometric identification technologies, including but not limited to fingerprint, face, ear and palm.
• Stay informed of advancements in biometric technologies and assess their applicability to our projects.
• Design data collection protocols for collecting data for researching, evaluating and building biometric solutions.
• Prototype and test biometric systems to ensure high accuracy, security and suitability for our users.
• Analyse the performance of biometric systems under various conditions and make recommendations for improvement.
• Collaborate with the product and engineering, and project delivery teams as part of the research and development.

What are the “must-have” skills and experience for this role?

• PhD in Computer Science or a related field, focusing on biometrics
• Deep understanding of Computer Vision and other ML areas, algorithms and frameworks
• Working knowledge of face recognition techniques
• Significant knowledge of biometric modalities beyond fingerprint
• Expertise in machine learning and deep learning techniques
• At least 5 years experience of coding in Python, C#/ C++ or similar and the ability to translate mathematical algorithms into code

What are the “nice to have” skills and experience for this role?

• Experience working on projects that use biometrics
• Experience working in a research environment
• Exposure to technology and service delivery in an international development context
• Proficiency in Machine Learning techniques, algorithms, and frameworks relevant to biometrics

5 Reasons to Join Simprints

Life is short. We believe work should be inspirational, meaningful and fun. At Simprints, we’re taking on global development’s biggest challenges, powered by an amazing culture and incredible people. Work with us, and you will grow faster, learn more, and take on great responsibilities with the potential to make lasting change.

• Genuine Impact. Work directly with our partners and users to deliver technology that has the potential to impact millions of lives across the globe. At Simprints, you’ll be part of a team that is passionate about driving real change.
• An incredible, diverse team. Our work is at the intersection of technology and global development, and we’ve managed to build an amazing team drawn from all over the world. But don’t take our word for it—we’re an externally recognized Great Place to Work, part of the Flexa Top 100 Most Flexible Companies and a 2023 Best Workplace for Women.
• Mutual Flex. We champion a work culture where autonomy and trust are paramount, steering clear of mere face-time metrics. Whether it's managing life's essentials like healthcare appointments or adapting work hours to match your peak productivity times, we've got you covered. In return, we count on your reciprocal flexibility when mission-critical moments arise, like stepping up for a crucial client discussion on a Friday or tackling unexpected technical glitches beyond regular hours.
• Ultimate work-life balance. a. We offer a 4-day workweek, meaning everybody has the option to have Fridays off. b. We also offer unlimited paid annual leave which allows you to prioritize your well-being. As long as you're driving results and fostering teamwork, we encourage you to strike that perfect balance between your professional and personal life. Our commitment to this model's success is solidified through semi-annual productivity assessments with our board, ensuring that our high standards of performance are consistently met.
• Professional development. We promote continual learning and put our money where our mouth is with development plans and access to global experts through the GLG network. We also have a generous professional development budget for each colleague – “Eduprints”. Is there some training you’d like or maybe you could benefit from professional coaching? Simply provide a business case that shares your aspirations and the resources you need, and we'll do our best to support you. We care about both your development in Simprints and your holistic long-term career goals. Simprints Alumni have gone on to work for Google, USAID, Gavi the vaccine alliance, Save the Children, and other top players.

Simprints is an equal-opportunity employer. We pride ourselves in our firm commitment to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in our workplace. We aim to attract, hire, grow, and retain the most qualified candidates regardless of race, gender, ability, religion, nationality, age, sexuality, and other differences. We encourage interested and suitable candidates who are part of underrepresented groups to apply for this position.

We are recruiting on a rolling basis for this role. With that in mind, we advise candidates to apply as soon as possible as we will be reviewing applicants on a first come, first served basis. This vacancy will be closed once a suitable candidate is identified.