JOB OFFER PhD RESEARCHER - BILINGUAL LENS - INFANT LANGUAGE AND COGNITION RESEARCH GROUP (M.K.) |

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

The Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language (BCBL) in San Sebastian (Basque Country, Spain) is looking for a PhD Researcher to join its team.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE POSITION

Position: PhD researcher
Researcher profile: First Stage Researcher (R1- up to the point of PhD)
Number of vacancies: 1
Project: ERC Bilingual LENS
Founding source: ERC Bilingual LENS
Location: Spain > Donostia-San Sebastián
Research field: Neuroscience > Cognition and Language
Type of contract/Duration of Contract: Temporary, 4 years.
Job Status: Full-time/Part-time
Hours per week: 35
Starting date: 1 September 2026
Application deadline: 20 April 2026

Information about the project

The Infant Language and Cognition group at the BCBL is welcoming applications for a PhD Researcher position funded by the European Research Council Consolidator Project Bilingual LENS. The goal of Bilingual LENS is to determine the quantity, quality, and timing of early bilingual exposure that accurately predict bilingual infants’ individual language outcomes. For this purpose, we will conduct large-scale longitudinal studies, combining a variety of neuroimaging, behavioural, and observational measures, to assess bilingual infants’ dual language development during the first two years of life. The studies will target three core components: (1) neural maturation, (2) stimulation through language exposure, and (3) the maturation-exposure interaction. Specifically, we will focus on the development of the maturation-exposure interaction over time, and its role in the continuous fine-tuning of infants’ perceptual sensitivities to their native languages and their developing dual-language competence.

Job description

The PhD researcher will join the multidisciplinary team of the Bilingual LENS project, working under the direct supervision of Dr. Marina Kalashnikova. The PhD project, specifically, will focus on investigating the development of attentional abilities recruited during language processing in young bilingual infants. The PhD researcher will be involved in the design and implementation of experimental studies with young infants, using a combination of neuroimaging (fNIRS) and behavioral (eye tracking) methods. This position offers an engaging collaborative environment and the opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research on bilingual language development in infancy.

PI and research group:

The Infant Language and Cognition (ILC) group at the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language investigates the process of early language acquisition in monolingual and bilingual infants, as well as the interactions between early language abilities and the development of general perceptual and cognitive capacities. ILC’s primary objective is to define the earliest determinants of later individual language ability, including but not limited to endogenous factors, such as family risk for developmental language disorders or hearing loss, and environmental factors, such as the quantity and quality of infants’ early language input. The team is highly multidisciplinary; our expertise combines the fields of linguistics, psychology, and neuroscience. The members of ILC have unrestricted access to the BCBL’s BabyLab, a state-of-the-art facility that hosts specialized methods for investigating the first steps of human language development, including fNIRS, EEG, eye-tracking, and LENA, among others.

The ILC group is led by Dr. Marina Kalashnikova (https://www.bcbl.eu/es/conocenos/equipo/marina-kalashnikova), an Ikerbasque Research Associate Professor, and Principal Investigator on the Bilingual LENS project. Dr. Kalashnikova investigates language acquisition, with a specific focus on the qualities of infants’ early linguistic environment, and its role in shaping individual developmental trajectories.

CANDIDATE PROFILE AND SELECTION CRITERIA

Required skills:

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)
Experience with neurophysiological or neuroimaging methods.
Excellent oral and written communication skills in English.

Desirable skills:

Strong interest in developmental neuroscience, language acquisition, and bilingualism.
Relevant programming and statistical analysis skills.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Salary: 21.000€ gross annual salary

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

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 Center is English but the national language will be an asset for this particular position
The center 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 “PhD-BILINGUAL LENS" and attach the following documentation: by April 20, 2026:

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 (submtted by the referees no later than the application deadline)

Learn more about the BCBL’s OTM-R policy

Application process timetable: