at the BCBL- Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language (San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain) www.bcbl.eu
- INFORMATION ABOUT THE POSITION
- Position: Predoctoral Researcher
- Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1- up to the point of PhD)
- Number of vacancies: 1
- Location: Spain > Donostia-San Sebastián
- Founding source: Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities, (MICIU) - Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica, Técnica y de Innovación 2024–2027.
- Type of contract/Duration of Contract: Temporary, Minimum 1 year and up to 4 years (annual renewal subject to positive evaluation)
- Job Status: Full-time
- Hours per week: 35
- Starting date: No earlier than 1 October 2026. Exact date will be indicated in the final resolution.
- Internal application deadline at the BCBL: November 10, 2025
- Application deadline at the AEI: from November 25 to December 17, 2025
The Brain Rhythms and Cognition research group (https://www.bcbl.eu/en/research/research-groups/brain-rhythms-cognition) at the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (San-Sebastián-Donostia, Spain) aims to sponsor a candidate for an FPU PREDOCTORAL GRANTS FOR TRAINING FUTURE UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS, a competitive call for predoctoral grants awarded by Science, Innovation and Universities Ministry– see last year’s call here).
The selected candidate will be invited to apply for the grant with the support of the PI and the BCBL admin team.
Project summary:
How does the adult brain transform speech into meaning, and how does this process adapt as individuals learn and use additional languages? This project addresses that question by examining how linguistic experience and proficiency shape the neural encoding of speech across multiple levels—from basic acoustic cues to higher-order lexical and semantic information. Understanding these mechanisms is essential for explaining how adults acquire new languages, how multilinguals manage several linguistic systems, and why individuals differ so widely in learning outcomes. The project combines naturalistic speech listening with magnetoencephalography (MEG) and state-of-the-art computational modelling. Its structure follows three main components. First, it characterizes individual linguistic experience through detailed measures of exposure, use, typological distance, and multilingual balance. Second, it models the cortical encoding of speech using multivariate temporal response functions, testing whether increased proficiency leads to general enhancement across linguistic domains or to a shift from acoustic toward more abstract linguistic encoding. Third, it links these neural responses to real-time comprehension, assessing how fluctuations in understanding relate to fluctuations in cortical encoding within and across languages. Together, these components provide a comprehensive framework for explaining how language experience reorganizes the brain’s speech-processing system, and how neural encoding supports successful comprehension in adult multilinguals.
Job description
We are seeking a highly motivated PhD student to investigate how the brain processes spoken language and how this processing evolves with linguistic experience and learning. The project combines magnetoencephalography (MEG), behavioural testing, and computational linguistic modelling to study how acoustic, phonological, lexical, and semantic information are encoded during natural speech comprehension. The successful candidate will contribute to experimental design, data collection, and advanced analysis using multivariate modelling techniques. The position offers training in cognitive neuroscience, language science, and quantitative methods, as well as the opportunity to work in a collaborative, interdisciplinary research environment.
PI and research group:
The position will be supervised within a leading research group specialising in the neural dynamics of speech and language. The group investigates how the brain uses rhythmic activity to encode acoustic, phonological and semantic information in real time, combining MEG/EEG, computational modelling and behavioural methods. The PI has extensive experience in speech processing, bilingualism and neural oscillations, and leads an interdisciplinary team with strong international collaborations and a solid track record in producing high-impact research.
- CANDIDATE PROFILE AND SELECTION CRITERIA
Elegibility: Candidates must:
- Hold a valid NIF/NIE or EU Citizen Registration Certificate
- Hold an electronic certificate to prepare the application online
- Must meet one of the following academic situations at the deadline:
- Be enrolled in a doctoral program for the 2025–2026 academic year, or be enrolled in a Master’s degree qualifying for PhD admission in 2026–2027.
- Must have obtained the qualifying degree after 1 January 2021 or 2022, depending on the study type (see call details).
- Special extensions apply for candidates with disabilities, caretaking responsibilities, or health-related interruptions.
- Must meet the minimum academic average score defined by the call (according to ISCED classification).
Incompatibilities:
- Holding a previous PhD degree.
- Having received other public or private predoctoral grants for more than 24 months.
- Simultaneous participation in other predoctoral grants.
- Previous FPU grant beneficiaries are not eligible.
- Compatible with short research stays, conference attendance, and limited teaching activities (up to 100 hours total).
Required skills:
- Background in cognitive science, psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, or a related discipline.
- Strong interest in speech, language, and brain research.
- Solid analytical and critical-thinking abilities.
- Willingness to learn advanced neuroimaging and computational methods.
Desirable skills:
- Knowledge of English and Basque (spoken and/or written).
- Programming experience, preferably in Python.
- Familiarity with computational linguistics or statistical modelling.
- Experience with electrophysiological methods (MEG/EEG) or experimental data collection.
- Prior work with speech or language research tasks.
- WORKING CONDITIONS
Salary:
- 24.360€ gross annual salary approximately
- Additional research stay funding for a 1-3 months stay at a foreing (or exceptionally Spanish) research center, to be carried out during the PhD or POP phase.
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 center is English
- The center provides initial level Spanish and Basque lessons to all the international staff members
- The interview will be conducted entirely in English
- Knowledge of Spanish and/or Basque is not required, but is considered an advantage for integration and for certain research tasks involving local participants.
- All scientific communication, meetings, and written work can be carried out in English, and no other language is mandatory for the position.
- APPLICATION PROCESS
Submission of the application and documentation:
Interested candidates are invited to send their CV and a brief research statement describing their research interests and previous experience (if any), as well as contact data of 1-2 referees to Dr. Nicola Molinaro (n.molinaro@bcbl.eu) before 10 December, 2025.
Timeline:
- Deadline for application: 10 December 2025
- Interview period: 10-20 January 2026
- Final decision: 30 January 2026
- The selected candidate will be invited to apply for a FPU Predoctoral Grant for training future university professors. The BCBL admin team will support the selected candidate within the application process.
Contact details for enquiries:
For technical problems please contact: hr@bcbl.eu
For inquiries or questions related to the content of the position and/or information about the research group please contact: n.molinaro@bcbl.eu
