Os enviamos información sobre una oferta de contrato postdoctoral en el Brain Rhythm and Cognition Group del Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (San Sebastián, País Vasco, España).

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

1. INFORMATION ABOUT THE POSITION

• Position: Postdoctoral researcher
• Researcher profile: Recognised Researcher (R2 – PhD holders or equivalent who are not yet fully independent)
• Number of vacancies: 1
• Project: AIA2025-163317-C33
• Founding source: Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation
• Location:  Spain > Donostia-San Sebastián
• Research field: Neuroscience > Cognitive computational neuroscience and neuroimaging
• Type of contract/Duration of Contract: Temporary, 4 years.
• Job Status: Full-time
• Hours per week: 35
• Starting date: Autumn 2026
• Application deadline: June 10^th 2026

Information about the project

Decoding Bilingual Speech Perception (Deco-B) explores how the bilingual brain represents meaning across two structurally different languages: Spanish and Basque. The central question is whether bilinguals use separate language-specific semantic systems or a shared, unified semantic representation. To investigate this, the project combines advanced neuroimaging techniques (MEG and fMRI) with transformer-based multilingual AI models. Twenty young adult Spanish–Basque bilinguals will listen to natural speech in both languages while their brain activity is recorded across multiple sessions. A specially designed bilingual speech corpus will support high-resolution neural decoding. The decoding models will be trained on brain activity from one language (e.g., Spanish) using semantic features extracted from pre-trained language models (such as GPT-2, XLM-R, mT5, and LaBSE). The models will then be tested on the other language (Basque) to assess cross-language generalization. The reverse direction (training on Basque, testing on Spanish) will also be examined to evaluate symmetry in bilingual semantic mapping. To integrate the spatial precision of fMRI and the temporal resolution of MEG, the project will use advanced multimodal fusion techniques, including cross-modal transformers, shared latent space models (e.g., Deep CCA, multimodal VAEs), and contrastive learning approaches inspired by CLIP. Through this interdisciplinary approach, Deco-B aims to uncover whether meaning in the bilingual brain is language-specific or shared, offering new insights into the neural architecture of bilingual semantic representation.

Job description

​One full-time postdoctoral researcher with a background in computational neuroscience, machine learning, or a related field will be hired for a three-year period. The researcher will work under the direct supervision of the Principal Investigator (Prof. Nicola Molinaro) and will play a leading role in developing and implementing machine learning models for the decoding of bilingual speech and neural data.

Primary responsibilities will include developing and optimizing multimodal analysis pipelines integrating MEG and fMRI data, extracting and aligning linguistic features from transformer-based language models, and leading cross-language decoding analyses and model evaluation. The researcher will also contribute to data preprocessing, quality control, and documentation, and collaborate with other members of the project to integrate shared decoding frameworks and explainability tools.

The postdoctoral researcher is expected to take an active role in the conceptual development of the project, contribute to scientific publications, and present results at international conferences. Opportunities for supervision of junior researchers and involvement in grant-related activities may also be available.

The position offers advanced training in neuroimaging analysis, multilingual AI modeling, and multimodal data integration, within a highly interdisciplinary research environment. The contract is full time and includes an end-of-contract payout in accordance with institutional and funding regulations.

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.

PI and research group: 

Nicola Molinaro is Group Leader of the Brain Rhythms and Cognition group at the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL). During his career, he has spearheaded cutting-edge research bridging neurobiology and language, leveraging advanced EEG and MEG neuroimaging techniques to investigate the temporal dynamics of speech and cognition.

The Brain Rhythms and Cognition group explores how the brain encodes visual, auditory, and linguistic rhythms, with a focus on neural oscillatory activity. This approach is used to study predictive processing in language comprehension, music perception, and visual and attentional processes. These research lines converge on the broader goal of identifying neural mechanisms underlying language processing and its disorders across the lifespan.

2. CANDIDATE PROFILE AND SELECTION CRITERIA

Required skills:

• Have a PhD in computational neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, machine learning, or a related field
• Have demonstrated expertise in developing and applying machine learning or statistical models
• Be able to independently carry out research within defined project objectives
• Have experience working with complex datasets and implementing analysis pipelines
• Be capable of critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis of new and complex ideas
• Have the ability to contribute to research design and methodological development
• Be able to communicate research results effectively to colleagues and broader audiences
• Have experience in scientific writing and dissemination (e.g., publications, conferences)
• Be able to work collaboratively in interdisciplinary research environments
• Have good programming skills (e.g., Python) and experience with scientific computing tools

Desirable skills:

• Experience with MEG, EEG, or fMRI data analysis
• Familiarity with transformer-based language models or multimodal learning approaches
• Experience with open science practices and reproducible research workflows
• Ability to supervise students or junior researchers

3. WORKING CONDITIONS

Salary: 30,000€-32,000€/year gross

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.

4. 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

5. APPLICATION PROCESS

Submission of the application and documentation:

To submit your application, please follow this link:  applying for “PostDoc position in Artificial Intelligence» and attach the following documentation by June 10^th, 2026:

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

Learn more about the BCBL’s OTM-R policy

Application process timetable:

1. Deadline for application: June 10^th 2026
2. Evaluation by committee: June 20^th 2026
3. Interviews: July 5^th -15^th 2026
4. Final decision: July 20^th 2026
5. Feedback to all applicants: July 24^th 2026
6. Work contract start date: Early Autumn 2026

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