The Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences of Eindhoven University of Technology has a PhD position vacancy on interaction design for hearing aid personalization in the Human Technology Interaction (HTI) group. The project is funded by the ROBUST program, and part of the FEPLab.

The current project will focus on the human technology interaction component of hearing aid personalization. Firstly, the tuning process should be as unobtrusive as possible to the HA wearer, since the tuning process should not interfere with daily tasks, such as ongoing conversations. Secondly, the tuning process should be covert in the sense that it should not be noticeable by conversation partners and other bystanders. Finally, there are privacy, security and ethical issues relating to in-situ recording of acoustic data. We wish to avoid storing recorded data for offline training.

The main research challenges are to identify ethical, practical, and social issues of in-situ hearing device tuning and translating these issues to an appropriate interaction protocol. To formulate the interaction protocol, we need to understand why users choose personalized algorithms, and under which circumstances personalization might not be desirable. Based on earlier research on persuasive technology, acceptance of technology, satisfaction and usability, the current research will identify ethical, practical and social issues of in-situ hearing device tuning and translate these issues to an appropriate interaction protocol. Different from earlier research on these topics, for understanding acceptance of a hearing device, it is crucial to investigate determinants of more covert acceptance. That is, preferably, users remain unaware of many characteristics of this technology. For example, users preferably remain only peripherally aware of many interface elements, and even when interaction with the hearing aid is necessary (e.g., for requesting personalization), that interaction remains as covert as possible (to the user and her/his surroundings). Thereby, this research opens new domains of research into technology acceptance, satisfaction with, and usability of more covert technologies.

You will conduct your research under the supervision of dr. Jaap Ham (TU/e) and
Prof. dr. Bert de Vries (TU/e, EE). You will be a member of the Human-Technology Interaction group and the FEPLab group at TU/e.

Talented, enthusiastic candidates with excellent analytical and communication skills holding a master's degree or an equivalent university degree in human-technology interaction, interaction design, human-computer interaction, or a related discipline are encouraged to apply. The following experience and skillsets are preferred:

• Experience with and affinity for working in technology acceptance, interaction design, and persuasive technology fields
• Expertise with empirical research among humans and related statists knowledge and skills
• A strong interest in human-technology interaction research
• A research-oriented attitude 
• Strong conceptual thinking and planning skills; you are creative and proactive
• Ability to work in an interdisciplinary team and interested in collaborating with industrial partners.
• Motivated to develop your teaching skills and coach students
• Fluent in spoken and written English (C1 level).

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and with the possibility to present your work at international conferences. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you:

• Full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate evaluation (go/no-go) after nine months. You will spend 10% of your employment on teaching tasks.
• Salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, paid pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities.
• Additionally, an annual holiday allowance of 8% of the yearly salary, plus a year-end allowance of 8.3% of the annual salary.
• An allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
• A broad package of fringe benefits, including an excellent technical infrastructure, moving expenses, and savings schemes.
• High-quality training programs and other support to grow into a self-aware, autonomous scientific researcher. At TU/e we challenge you to take charge of your own learning process.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.
• Our Staff Immigration Team can support international candidates.
• To support you during your PhD and to prepare you for the rest of your career, you will have free access to a personal development program for PhD students (PROOF program).
• Family-friendly initiatives are in place, such as an international spouse program, and excellent on-campus children day care and sports facilities.