Are you a hands-on innovator with a passion for discovering how new technologies can solve real-world problems? Accenture Labs seeks a well-rounded candidate with strong technical skills to join our applied research group in San Francisco as a Research Engineer.  We are looking for someone who is both deeply curious about the business impact of technology and eager to explore those possibilities hands-on. They thrive on rapidly learning new tools and concepts to bring groundbreaking ideas to life.
The group, named Digital Experiences, works to advance the frontiers of human-machine interaction and human-centered computing.  Our applied research explores ways that emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Ubiquitous Computing, and Neuro-sensing can address important business problems and transform how people interact with technology across various facets of their lives. We divide our time across contributing directly to current client work, and to R&D to support future client offerings.
Some recent projects have focused on:
Enhancing human-AI teaming and human-robot interaction through various means including the personalization of generative AI models
Combining AI, bio-sensing, and applied neuroscience to provide creators with insight about how test customers are engaging with their products and content
Creating novel AI-driven tools for collaborative creation and review of large document creation (e.g., for large proposals and regulatory processes)
Enabling and executing human-in-the-loop data curation to support LLM training for inference time performance
Key Responsibilities: Execute R&D Agenda and Further Business Priorities
Create rapid prototypes to illustrate Labs’ business hypotheses about the potential of emerging tech to transform various activities and realms of experience: support design through development and testing.
Support more experienced researchers to define research projects, plan, execute, and communicate those initiatives.
Support development of internal and external thought leadership, targeted for various audiences and in a variety of formats (blogs, white papers, videos, research conferences, etc.).
Help generation of unique intellectual property (e.g., patents)
Participate in client workshops and client-facing projects, applying our expertise to real-world client needs. Note that as an R&D group within a consulting company, the role involves a mix of future-facing exploration of emerging technologies and application of our capabilities within current client projects.
Be an Engineering Expert in one or more technical areas of expertise:
Act as a creative technologist, who is good at developing technical prototypes embodied in digital and hardware (robotic systems, AR/XR headsets, biosensing wearables, etc...) that explore, test, and communicate the ways that emerging technologies can transform various activities and realms of experience.
Develop deep expertise in various technologies through both reviewing available literature, AI models, and other emerging tech (both hardware and software) and acquiring hands-on experience with those technologies.
Act as a technical contributor across the organization in your area of expertise, both internally for Accenture and during client engagements
Apply technical skills as part of a client-delivery team
Researchers in our lab have:
A passion for rethinking how people interact with machines across a range of real-world complex challenges that matter to Accenture’s clients and for devising creative approaches to address those challenges with emerging technologies
A track record of technical innovation, prototyping systems that demonstrate the potential of new tools to transform the way we work and live
Enthusiasm for applying their skills to both current client-facing work, and future-looking prototypes.
Commitment to understanding the diverse and inclusive perspectives that shape the complex relationships between people and technologies.
Additionally, researchers at this level demonstrate potential to grow, to become researchers who can:
Define and execute research projects within our group’s overall agenda.
Shape and build on ideas developed with business stakeholders and managers to produce high quality documents and presentations.
Manage and execute projects that combine prototype development, qualitative and quantitative research, and thought leadership.
Collaborate with an interdisciplinary ecosystem of researchers, engineers, consultants, academic partners, and business stakeholders.
Participate in their research community by building relationships publishing about their work and building relationships with external researchers.
Experience synthesizing insights across a range of disciplines, including hardware, software, social and behavioral science, and economics.
Priority Skill
Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Software and Hardware-based Application Development (e.g., biosensing wearables, neurotech devices, AR/VR/MR, robotics)
Travel may be required for this role.  The amount of travel will vary from 0 to 100% depending on business need and client requirements.