Os enviamos información sobre dos ofertas de contrato para Ayudante de Investigación en distintos grupos del Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (San Sebastián, País Vasco, España). La primera posición se enmarca en el proyecto DISORDERED SPEECH (IPs: Marie Lallier y Marina Kalashnikova), mientras que la segunda corresponde al grupo CONSCIOUSNESS (IP: David Soto).
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- RESEARCH ASSISTANT POSITION – ERC ADVANCED GRANT – DISORDERED SPEECH – BCBL
The Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language (BCBL) in San Sebastian (Basque Country, Spain) is looking for a Research Assistant to join its team within the DISORDERED SPEECH project and to be based in Vitoria-Gasteiz area.
Information about the position
Position: Research Assistant (RA)
Researcher Profile: Research Assistant
Number of vacancies: 1
Research groups: Educational Neuroscience and Developmental Disorders group / Infant Language and Cognition group
Project: ERC Advanced grant – DISORDERED SPEECH
Funding sources: European Research Council
Location: Spain > San Sebastian
Research Field: Neuroscience > Cognition and Language
Type of contract/Duration of Contract: Temporary – 2 years
Job Status: Full-time
Hours per week: 35
Starting date: 01/10/2026
Application deadline: 01/09/2026
INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROJECT:
The Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL) is offering a Research Assistant position within the DISORDERED SPEECH project, recently funded by the European Research Council (ERC).
Advances in recent years have improved our ability to address language problems in both children and adults, with roughly 7 % of children known to have significant spoken language problems (developmental language disorder, DLD) and another 7 % having written language problems (developmental dyslexia, DD). Early identification remains difficult, and no theory has yet explained their overlaps. The ERC-funded DISORDERED-SPEECH project will introduce and explore a novel research frontier for developmental language disorders, focusing on speech rhythm and the accurate production of prosodic patterns. It will use novel speech-production tasks alongside the neural theory of child language acquisition to develop tools for the identification of DD and DLD across a variety of European languages.
Job Description:
· Coordinate participant recruitment and testing through outreach activities in the BCBL Junior Lab (Colegio Carmelitas Sagrado Corazón) in Vitoria-Gasteiz
· Collect behavioural and neuroimaging data from bilingual children with and without developmental dyslexia and developmental language disorders in the BCBL Junior Lab (Colegio Carmelitas Sagrado Corazón) in Vitoria-Gasteiz.
· Collaborate on the finalization and implementation of experimental designs
· Preprocess and organize behavioural data
· Participate in regular scientific meetings of the research groups at BCBL
· Contribute to the dissemination of research findings to the general public
Research groups:
The RA position will be shared between the Educational Neuroscience and Developmental Disorders Group (PI: Marie Lallier) and the Infant Language and Cognition Group (PI: Marina Kalashnikova) at the Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language.
Marie Lallier is an Ikerbasque Research Professor and the leader of the Educational Neuroscience and Developmental Disorders group. The group has extensive experience in clinical and educational neurocognitive science research and employs a wide range of behavioural and neuroimaging techniques (e.g., EEG, MEG), as well as diverse experimental designs (e.g., longitudinal, training-based, and single-case studies) involving young populations with or without developmental language disorders. The team is also strongly committed to the societal impact of science, actively engaging in the transfer of scientific knowledge to society by working closely with clinicians and educators and fostering dialogue between scientists and the broader community.
Marina Kalashnikova is an Ikerbasque Research Professor and the leader of the Infant Language and Cognition group The group 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. The group’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 group members 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.
CANDIDATES’ PROFILE AND SELECTION CRITERIA
Required skills:
· Excellent written and oral communication skills in both Basque and Spanish
· Previous experience working with children and communicating with their families
· Strong organizational and interpersonal skills
· Proficiency in organizing and visualizing data (e.g., using Excel)
Desirable skills:
· Previous experience conducting neuropsychological assessments of language and reading disorders
· Experience with working with children with developmental disabilities
· Master’s degree in Psychology, Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, or a related field
· Previous involvement in research projects (e.g., data collection, analysis)
· Good written and oral communication skills in English
· Familiarity with statistical software such as RStudio
WORKING CONDITIONS
Salary: 19.200€ gross per annum
APPLICATION PROCESS:
Submission of the application and documentation:
To submit your application, please follow this link: applying for “RA Position- ERC Advanced Grant – DISORDERED SPEECH_VITORIA-GASTEIZ” and attach the following documentation:
· 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)
The interview may be in English although the level of Basque and Spanish will be assessed at the interview.
Application process timetable:
1. Deadline for application: 01/09/2026
2. Evaluation by committee: 02/09/2026 – 11/09/2026
3. Interviews: 14/09/2026-18/09/2026
4. Final decision: 21/09/2026
5. Feedback to all applicants: 22/09/2026
6. Work contract start date: 01/10/2026
Contact details for enquiries: hr@bcbl.eu
Marie Lallier and Marina Kalashnikova are also very happy to have informal chats about the project and the position with prospective candidates: m.lallier@bcbl.eu and m.kalashnikova@bcbl.eu.
2. RESEARCH ASSISTANT POSITION – CONSCIOUSNESS Group – BCBL
INFORMATION ABOUT THE POSITION
Position: Research Assistant (RA) research group
Researcher profile: Research Assistant
Number of vacancies: 1
Research group: Consciousness
Project: Decoded Neurofeeback
Funding source: The Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness: project PID2023-149267NB-I00.
Location: Spain > Donostia-San Sebastián
Research field: Cognitive Neuroscience
Type of contract/Duration of Contract: Temporary, 21 months.
Job Status: Full-time
Hours per week: 35
Information about the project:
While existing theories link consciousness to specific neural signatures, the possibility of directly shaping conscious experience through targeted brain activity patterns remains underexplored. This project addresses this gap by using decoded neurofeedback (DecNef) and brain imaging technologies to investigate how conscious states can be identified, decoded, and modulated across perceptual and emotional domains. We will combine real-time neuroimaging (e.g., fMRI/fNIRS/EEG), machine learning, and subjective reports to map neural representations associated with different forms of conscious experience. By training participants to bias brain activity toward specific representational states, the project will test whether experimentally altering neural patterns can produce measurable changes in conscious perception, emotion, and subjective awareness.
Job description: We seek a highly motivated candidate with a background in Psychology/Computer Science/Engineering/Cognitive Neuroscience, with interests in human brain imaging and neurofeedback technologies. The RA will be involved in all steps of the research: experimental design, data collection, development of analysis pipelines.
PI and research group: The candidate will join the Consciousness research group (https://www.bcbl.eu/en/research/research-groups/consciousness) led by Prof. David Soto (d.soto@bcbl.eu), who will be the main supervisor. We develop and test targeted neurocognitive interventions, including decoded neurofeedback, to shape conscious and non-conscious information processing in the brain and promote adaptive changes in cognition and behaviour.
2. CANDIDATES’ PROFILE AND SELECTION CRITERIA
Required skills:
· Background in Computer Science/Engineering/Cognitive Neuroscience (First Stage Researcher (R1).
· Previous (demonstrable) experience in human neuroimaging data analyses (e.g. fMRI, fNIRS, EEG).
· Neuroimaging experience including signal pre-processing and analysis.
· Machine learning knowledge.
· Python programming.
· Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
Desirable skills:
· Machine learning experience directly applied to neuroimaging signals.
· Experience in real time analysis pipelines and neurofeedback.
· Spanish language proficiency
Additional considerations (if any):
The candidate will be encouraged to apply for grants for PhD fellowships at national and international levels.
3. WORKING CONDITIONS
Salary: 19.200€ gross per annum
APPLICATION PROCESS
To submit your application, please follow this link: applying for “RA_Consciousness_NFB_2026″ and attach the following documentation: by :
- 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)
The interview will be in English although the level of Spanish will be assessed at the interview.
Application process timetable:
· Evaluation by the committee: –
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: d.soto@bcbl.eu
OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION VALID FOR BOTH POSITIONS:
Entitlements and other benefits:
https://www.bcbl.eu/en/join-us/what-is-like-to-work-bcbl
https://www.bcbl.eu/en/about-us
https://www.bcbl.eu/en/join-us/hr-strategy-hrs4r
https://www.bcbl.eu/en/join-us/otm-r
Training opportunities and Career development plan:
Opportunity to develop professionally in a multicultural, young and dynamic environment.
The necessary technical training for this position will be offered by the centre.
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.
Language policy
· The corporative language at the centre is English although, in many research groups, Spanish or/and Basque is/are also used as the language of communication within the department. The center provides initial level Spanish and Basque lessons to all the international staff members.
Learn more about the BCBL’s OTM-R policy
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