FUNDED Phd POSITION- SIGNAL PROCESSING IN NEUROIMAGING GROUP (C.C)

at the BCBL- Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language (San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain) www.bcbl.eu

INFORMATION ABOUT THE POSITION

Position: PhD student
Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1- up to the point of PhD)
Number of vacancies: 1
Location: Spain > Donostia-San Sebastián
Founding source: Agencia Estatal de Investgación, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
Research Field: Neuroimaging, Signal Processing, Neuroscience
Type of contract/Duration of Contract: Temporary, 3 years (extensible to a maximum of 4 years depending on performance and funding availability).
Job Status: Full-time
Hours per week: 35
Starting date: As soon as possible. The candidate must start the contract before 1^st March.
Application deadline: 6 January 2026

The Signal Processing in Neuroimaging research group (https://www.bcbl.eu/en/research/research-groups/signal-processing-neuroimaging) at the Basque Centre on Cognition, Brain, and Language (San Sebastián-Donostia, Spain) invites applications for a fully funded three-year PhD position. The position is supported by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades.

We are seeking a highly motivated and talented early-career researcher with a strong interest in working at the intersection of neuroimaging, signal processing and cognitive neuroscience. The PhD candidate will actively contribute to ongoing research activities of the SPIN group and will develop an original doctoral research project under the supervision of Dr. César Caballero Gaudes, leading to the completion of a PhD degree at the University of the Basque Country.

Project summary:

The Signal Processing in Neuroimaging research group develops advanced neuroimaging and signal processing methods to deepen our understanding of human brain function and physiology. Our work spans cutting-edge acquisition, preprocessing and analysis techniques in magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and high-density functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) (diffuse optical tomography, DOT).

The selected PhD candidate will have the opportunity to design and develop an original doctoral project with one, or a combination, of the following research lines of the group:

Investigate how macrovascular and microvascular factors shape brain function, perfusion and neurovascular coupling through multimodal MRI (BOLD functional MRI, perfusion MRI - arterial spin labelling, 4D-Flow MRI).
Novel methods for cerebrovascular reactivity mapping and calibrated fMRI.
Novel methods for high-resolution functional, structural and vascular MRI at 3T.
Advanced MRI methods for studying the glymphatic system and neurofluid circulation.
Data analysis algorithms for naturalistic neuroscience with fMRI and fNIRS/DOT.
Precision neuroimaging in densely sampled individuals with fMRI and fNIRS/DOT.

Job description

The PhD candidate will play an active role in the scientific life of the SPIN-lab and will be expected to:

Perform a thorough review of the relevant scientific literature and identify open research questions within their chosen research line(s).
Design and implement novel MRI and/or fNIRS/DOT experimental protocols, including MR pulse sequence optimization and/or data acquisition strategies.
Conduct MRI and/or high-density fNIRS measurements in healthy participants, following best practices in research ethics and data quality assurance.
Ensure proper data organization, version control, and documentation following best practices of open science and reproducibility standards.
Develop, validate, and maintain state-of-the-art preprocessing and analysis pipelines.
Write manuscripts for publication in leading international journals, in collaboration with the PI and the research team.
Present scientific results at international conferences, workshops, and meetings.
Engage in weekly lab meetings, seminars, and collaborative activities at the SPIN-lab and at the BCBL, contributing to a stimulating and productive research environment.
Participate in training and professional development activities (e.g., workshops, summer schools, specialized courses) organized by BCBL and externally.

PI and research group:

Our group broadly focuses on investigating advanced methods for the acquisition and analysis of neuroimaging and biomedical data in order to advance our understanding of human brain function, structure and physiology.

With a focus on cognitive and clinical neuroscience, our current projects mainly concern the development of signal processing algorithms for functional magnetic resonance imaging and functional near-infrared spectroscopy, including signal denoising and deconvolution, physiological and neurovascular processes, functional connectivity analyses, decoding and encoding brain activity, and multimodal imaging. We aim to apply these methods to examine the functional organization of large-scale brain networks and how they shape cognition in single individuals and across subjects in healthy and diseased conditions across their lifespan.

CANDIDATE PROFILE AND SELECTION CRITERIA

Required skills:

Master’s (or equivalent) degree in Engineering (Biomedical, Electrical, Telecommunications), Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Mathematics, Physics, Neuroscience, Psychology, Medicine, or a closely related field.
Previous experience with MRI and/or high-density fNIRS/DOT techniques.
Strong understanding of signal processing and data analysis, including statistics and machine learning techniques.
Proficiency in scientific programming, especially Python and/or Matlab, and experience in shell scripting.
Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
To be eligible for a PhD program at UPV/EHU university, candidates must have completed a minimum of 300 ECTS credits across their bachelor's and master's studies (240 ECTS from the bachelor's degree and 60 ECTS from the master's)

Desirable skills:

Prior experience participating in research projects, including data collection, preprocessing and analysis.
Experience in MRI sequence programming, preferably using the Siemens IDEA platform, is a plus, particularly for projects involving sequence development.
Experience applying deep learning techniques to neuroimaging or biomedical data is a plus.
Familiarity with high-performance computing clusters (e.g. using SLURM) is a plus.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Salary: 24.468€ gross annual salary.

Opportunity to undertake a 3-month international research stay at a leading research institution during the PhD.
Access to advanced neuroimaging facilities at the BCBL, including a fully available Siemens 3T PrismaFit MRI scanner and Gowerlabs LUMO system for high density fNIRS/DOT.
Networking opportunities through active collaborations with world-leading researchers in neuroimaging and cognitive neuroscience.
Support to attend and present research findings at leading national and international conferences, and applications for additional visiting fellowship.
Access to professional development workshops, courses, and training programs at the BCBL.

Entitlements and other benefits: https://www.bcbl.eu/en/join-us/what-is-like-to-work-bcbl

Training opportunities and Career development plan:

Researchers at any stage of their career, regardless of their contractual situation, are given an opportunity for professional development and for improving their employability through access to a Personal Career Development Plan which includes

(1) Training through individually personalized research projects under senior supervision

(2) Exchanging knowledge with the scientific community and the general public

(3) Network-wide training in theory and methods

(4) Complementary training courses

(5) Involvement in proposal writing, task coordination

(6) Development of skills for the organization of training and scientific events

Postdoctoral researchers at the BCBL can acquire mentoring skills by co-supervising Master’s and PhD students. Additionally, there is the opportunity to gain teaching experience on the BCBL’s Master’s program in the cognitive neuroscience of language.

BCBL seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, sex, sexual orientation, age, sociocultural background, nationality or impairments. We are proud to have in place both an LGTBIQ+ Plan and a Gender Equality Plan to actively promote inclusion and equal opportunities. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support, please contact us.

OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION

Language policy

The corporative language at the BCBL is English.
Knowledge of Spanish and/or Basque is not required, but advantageous in the daily life. The BCBL provides initial-level Spanish and Basque lessons to all the international staff members
The interview will be conducted entirely in English.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Submission of the application and documentation:

To submit your application, please follow this link: applying for “FUNDED PHD POSITION – SIGNAL PROCESSING IN NEUROIMAGING GROUP” and attach the following documentation:

A curriculum vitae
A statement outlining research interests and motivation to apply for the position
Transcript of records for the master and bachelor degrees
Two letters of recommendation (submitted by the referees no later than the application deadline)

Learn more about the BCBL’s OTM-R policy

Timeline:

Deadline for application: 6 January 2026
Evaluation by committee: 7-12 January 2026
Interviews: 14-15 January 2026
Final decision: 16 January 2026
Work contract start date: Before 1^st March 2026 (flexibility for relocation to San Sebastián can be discussed).

Contact details for enquiries:

For technical problems with the calls platform please contact: hr@bcbl.eu

For inquiries or questions related to the content of the position and/or information about the project and the research group please contact: c.caballero@bcbl.eu