PICs@ICFO Strategic Initiative: Engineer or Research Scientist position in control and testing of PIC based devices

As part of the PICs@ICFO Strategic Initiative, ICFO coordinates PIXEurope, a flagship Pilot Line funded under the European Chips JU program focused on Advanced Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) through which ICFO is advancing frontier technologies, including optical interposers for Co-packaged optics for next-generation optoelectronic and photonic devices.

To strengthen this initiative, ICFO is seeking up to two Engineers or Research Scientists with a background in optical engineering and PIC technologies, particularly in applied or industrial environments.

Position Overview:

We offer a project researcher engineer position to a scientist or engineer with experience in photonic integrated circuits (PICs), electronic control systems, software development for test automation, and experimental characterization of photonic devices.

Key Responsibilities:

The selected candidate will be expected to:

Perform testing and characterization of Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) at both chip and device levels.

Contribute to the fabrication of PICs and their packaging for being able to test them.

Design, develop, and integrate control electronics for photonic devices and technology demonstrators.

Develop and maintain software tools to support the testing, automation, and analysis of chips, devices, and demonstrator systems.

Collaborate with multidisciplinary research and engineering teams to improve testing methodologies and system performance.

This position will report to the Prof. Dr. Valerio Pruneri, Director of the European Chips JU Pilot Line PIXEurope.

This contract has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe under the Grant Agreement # 101213727, Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips JU) and the Spanish Ministry for Digital Transformation and Civil Service, and is supported by funds from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR).

Applicants must hold a min Master degree in Science or Engineering, preferably in fields related to photonics, materials science, or electronic engineering.

Candidates should demonstrate expertise in:

Hands-on experience with the control and readout electronics of photonic or electronic devices.

Experience developing or using software interfaces for device control, testing, and data acquisition.

Experience in the characterization, testing, or development of photonic devices and systems.

What We Offer

Fixed-term contract linked to NextGeneration funds (406)

Access to cutting-edge facilities and a vibrant, interdisciplinary research environment.

Opportunity to lead impactful projects that connect fundamental research with commercial applications.

A family allowance may be granted to candidates with dependents, upon request and in accordance with ICFO’s policies.

Suitable candidates are requested to submit:

Presentation letter with a declaration of interest,

Curriculum Vitae, including contact details,

The contact e-mail of two potential referees.

The selection process will follow open, transparent, and merit-based recruitment (OTM-R) principles. It will consist of:

Eligibility check of applications.

Assessment of merits (education, experience, and language)

Interview with shortlisted candidates

Candidates may contact jobs@icfo.eu for formal enquiries regarding the application, as well as address scientific enquiries to valerio.pruneri@icfo.eu.

For update information about the hosting group, please visit https://www.icfo.eu/research-group/15/optoelectronics/home.

For updated information about ICFO, please visit https://www.icfo.eu.

Data Protection

In accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and Organic Law 3/2018, ICFO informs applicants that their personal data will be processed exclusively for recruitment purposes.

Controller: Fundació ICFO – Institut de Ciències Fotòniques, Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss 3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona).

DPO: dpo@icfo.eu

Legal basis: performance of a task in the public interest.

Rights: access, rectification, erasure, restriction, and opposition.

Supervisory authority: Catalan Data Protection Authority (APDCAT) https://apdcat.gencat.cat.

All recruitment files will be retained in accordance with the Catalan public-sector archival retention schedule (DOGC 2117).

Reference: 1126

27th of July, 2026