AI Research for Bone-Conducted Speech Enhancement

OUR STORY At STMicroelectronics, we believe in the power of technology to drive innovation and make a positive impact on people, businesses, and society. As a global semiconductor company, our advanced technologies and chips form the hidden foundation of the world we live in today. When you join ST, you will be part of a global business with more than 115 nationalities, present in 40 countries, and comprising over 50,000 diverse and dedicated creators and makers of technology around the world. Developing technologies takes more than talent: it takes amazing people who understand collaboration and respect. People with passion and the desire to disrupt the status quo, drive innovation, and unlock their own potential. Embark on a journey with us, where you can innovate for a future that we want to make smarter and greener, in a responsible and sustainable way. Our technology starts with you. ABOUT THE PROJECT Speech captured with body-conduction sensors is particularly attractive for wearable applications because it can remain usable in noisy environments and when conventional microphones are not practical. However, this type of signal is typically bandwidth-limited and less intelligible than air-conducted speech, and it often requires speech enhancement to recover both intelligibility and perceived quality. Recent deep learning approaches have shown strong potential for bandwidth extension and speech enhancement, but there is still room to improve both performance and efficiency, especially for wearable and resource-constrained scenarios. In this internship, the student will work within an R&D team on research aimed at advancing our current speech enhancement work for body-conducted speech. The starting point will be our existing solution, but the objective is broader: to explore new architectures, training strategies, or learning paradigms that can further push the state of the art in bone-conducted speech enhancement. YOUR ROLE • You contribute to the research and development of a speech enhancement solution for body-conducted speech, with the goal of improving and extending our current approach. • You take part in investigating alternative model architectures, training strategies, and conditioning methods, and in evaluating their impact on speech quality and intelligibility. • You contribute to the implementation of the AI pipeline in Python, including data processing, training, validation, and experimental analysis. YOUR SKILLS & EXPERIENCES • The candidate is currently pursuing, or has recently completed, a Master’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Signal Processing, or a related technical field • Strong programming skills in Python • Good experience with PyTorch or another major deep learning framework • In-depth knowledge of digital signal processing • Strong interest in speech processing and audio AI • Experience working with audio signals is a plus • Familiarity with speech enhancement, bandwidth extension, or related tasks is a plus ST is proud to be one of the 17 companies certified as a 2025 Global Top Employer and the first and only semiconductor company to achieve this distinction. ST was recognized in this ranking thanks to its continuous improvement approach and stands out particularly in the areas of ethics & integrity, purpose & values, organization & change, business strategy, and performance. At ST, we endeavor to foster a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we do not tolerate discrimination. We aim to recruit and retain a diverse workforce that reflects the societies around us. We strive for equity in career development, career opportunities, and equal remuneration. We encourage candidates who may not meet every single requirement to apply, as we appreciate diverse perspectives and provide opportunities for growth and learning. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is woven into our company culture. To discover more, visit st.com/careers.