ICFO jobs & fellowships

Welcome to ICFOjobs

Our job openings site and
online application interface

Please consult openings for further information on available projects and positions, as well as for elegibility, conditions, required application material and deadlines.

We invite displaced researchers and eligible MSc and PhD students, in particular those affected by the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, to apply to the opening listed below that fits best their case. A statement describing clearly the applicant’s situation and eligibility is to be included in the corresponding presentation letter.

Dear applicant,

In the event that you have lost the acknowledging e-mail containing the link providing access to your application, you may retrieve your data by completing the form below.

Please, provide the required data and click on the ‘submit’ button. You will receive an e-mail, containing the link to your application.

In case of any troubles, please contact us at jobs@icfo.eu.

Are you interested in a position or a specific opening at ICFO, browsed our FAQs section, but still have a question you would need us to answer? Would you like to know more about a career at ICFO, or the application process? If so, please do not hesitate to contact us by submitting the form below.

Contents

Job openings

Post-doctoral Researchers

Group Opening

Staff Researchers

Project Engineers

PhD-fellows

ICFO offers several pathways for talented and motivated candidates interested in pursuing a PhD within one of our Research Groups.

All PhD students admitted to ICFO receive a fully funded fellowship.

To be considered for institutional PhD fellowships, candidates must apply to the official PhD Fellowship Program Calls.

In addition, candidates may also submit separate applications to Group Openings advertised by specific research groups.

If no fellowship calls or group openings are open at the time of application, students who wish to pursue a PhD at ICFO are encouraged to contact the Group Leader(s) of the research groups they are interested in joining. Candidates should include their CV and a motivation/presentation letter when reaching out.

Students may also join ICFO with their own funding or through external fellowships such as the LaCaixa INPhINIT Incoming and Retaining calls. Interested candidates should apply directly to such programs and are likewise encouraged to contact the prospective the Group Leader(s) in advance.

For general information regarding ICFO fellowships and specific calls, please contact us at https://www.icfo.eu.

Currently we have the following call(s) open:

General Call

Undergraduate and Master Students

General Call

ICFO offers a variety of internship opportunities for talented and motivated Bachelor’s and Master’s students interested in undertaking a Final Degree Project, Master’s Thesis, or a Research Stay within one of our Research groups.

Students may join ICFO through our specialized Fellowship Programs when these are available. Alternatively, students can be hosted through funding programs such as Erasmus+, in which case they should apply through their home institution. If no ICFO fellowship programs are open at the time of application, students are encouraged to contact the group leaders directly. Some financial support may be provided by the host group. Please send the following documents when contacting the group leader(s) of your interest:

  • A cover letter explaining your research interests, why you want to join that particular ICFO group, your career goals and any specific requests in terms of period and duration of the internship.
  • Your CV including education, relevant experience, skills, and publications (if any).

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at jobs@icfo.eu.

Currently we have the following call(s) open:

Admin & Technical Engineers

Innovation Manager – Health Portfolio

Position Overview

ICFO is seeking an Innovation Manager for its Health Portfolio within the KTT team. This role focuses on biomedical and health technologies, including bio-photonics and advanced imaging. The successful candidate will organize, manage, and promote ICFO’s portfolio of technologies in the health sector, develop strategic partnerships —particularly with hospitals and biomedical centers— and help translate research outcomes into impactful clinical and commercial applications.

This call is issued under the framework of the approved ICFO Public Employment Offer (OPO 2026), as approved by the ICFO Board of Trustees in January 19th 2026 and in accordance with Law 14/2011 on Science, Technology and Innovation, Law 9/2022 on the Catalan Science System, the Basic Statute of Public Employees (Royal Legislative Decree 5/2015 – EBEP), and Law 19/2014 on Transparency, Access to Public Information and Good Governance.

Key Responsibilities

  • Lead and manage the Health Portfolio team, including junior innovation managers and project managers, as resources and projects allow, reporting directly to the Head of KTT.
  • Collaborate closely with Group Leaders to accelerate the commercialization, clinical validation, and industrial impact of ICFO technologies.
  • Conduct market analysis, technology scouting, and benchmarking to identify trends, opportunities, and competitive positioning in bio-photonics, advanced imaging, and health technologies.
  • Manage ICFO’s patent portfolio in the Health sector, promoting inventions, exploring licensing opportunities, and facilitating technology transfer.
  • Evaluate the commercial potential of new inventions, research initiatives, and discoveries, providing recommendations for strategic development.
  • Draft, negotiate, and manage contracts, agreements, and partnerships with industrial partners, hospitals, and biomedical institutions.
  • Identify and secure public and private funding opportunities, supporting proposal development and providing strategic briefings to management.
  • Oversee LaunchPad incubation projects within the Health Portfolio, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives and timely execution.
  • Manage and coordinate the Barcelona Medical Photonics Network (BMPN), fostering collaboration among hospitals, biomedical centers, and ICFO researchers, and strengthening ICFO’s role as a key innovation hub in medical photonics.
  • Build and maintain strong relationships with industry partners, investors, research institutions, and other strategic stakeholders within the health and medtech ecosystem.
  • Represent ICFO at networking events, conferences, clinical–industrial forums, and industry meetings to promote the Health Portfolio and strengthen strategic alliances.

Share this opening!

Use the following URL:
https://jobs.icfo.eu/?detail=1079

Qualifications and Experience Required

Qualifications

  • Master’s or PhD degree in Science, Engineering, or a related field, with professional experience in industry, healthcare innovation or technology transfer.

Experience Required

The ideal candidate will have:

  • Proven experience in IP management, licensing, project management, or business development in research-driven or biomedical environments.
  • Strong interpersonal, negotiation, and communication skills (written and oral), particularly in multi-stakeholder settings involving clinicians and researchers.
  • Solid understanding of contractual, legal, and commercial implications of partnerships.
  • High attention to detail, responsibility, creativity, and an eagerness to learn.
  • Motivation, initiative, and a results-oriented mindset.
  • Flexibility to work outside standard hours for events and activities

Other competences that the candidate should have:

  • Ability to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
  • Strong organizational skills with proactive follow-up on assignments.
  • Fluency in English; knowledge of Catalan and Spanish is a plus.
  • Passion for innovation, healthcare impact, personal growth, and professional development.

CONDITIONS

This is a full-time position.

The contract offered will be a permanent contract (contracte indefinit) linked to the approved Public Employment Offer (Oferta Pública d’Ocupació – OPO) of ICFO and governed by the applicable public-sector labor framework.

A probationary period of 6 months will apply, in accordance with ICFO’s internal labor regulations and the applicable public-sector labor framework.

A salary according to ICFO’s approved salary scales will be offered, commensurate with the level of the position and the candidate’s experience.

The selected candidate will join ICFO under a permanent contract and will benefit from ICFO’s attractive working conditions, including a hybrid work model, flexible working hours, and access to professional development opportunities.

SELECTION PROCEDURE

To apply, please submit:

  • your resume
  • a cover letter outlining your experience

Selection will include a pre-screening of applicants based on eligibility and experience, followed by an interview with a short list of candidates.

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

    1. Eligibility check of applications.
    2. Assessment of merits (education, experience, and language)
    3. Interview with shortlisted candidates

The Evaluation Committee will include at least three members and ensure gender balance and impartiality.

Each phase will be documented, and candidates will be notified of the outcome within 15 days of the interview.

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: 1079
Application deadline: February 27, 2026

27th of February, 2026

Identify your interests

As your career goals and research interests are an integral part of the selection procedure itself, apart from the ICFOjobs site, we encourage you to browse ICFO’s corporate website to learn more about ICFO’s research activities and to identify the projects and/or areas that best match your background. We also recommend that you visit Careers @ ICFO. A clear indication of your interests and goals in your presentation letter will help us in reviewing your candidacy.

Did you identify an opening meeting your interest and career goals? Then, we are looking forward to your application!

Should there be no opening matching your interest or background, please contact us at jobs@icfo.eu or directly contact with the relevant ICFO Group Leaders or Unit Heads to explore potential future possibilities in their fields.

The application process

If you have identified an opening matching your interests, please read carefully the information about requirements, conditions and necessary application material and start the application process. Candidatures should be submitted online via ICFOjobs, our online application interface, in a 2-step procedure:

  1. Registration:
    The button ‘Apply to this opening’ takes you to the online application form, gathering your personal data for identification purposes. Once submitted, you will receive a link by e-mail, which you must follow in order to continue the application process.
  2. Application:
    In this second step of the process you will be asked to provide further details and the necessary application material, as well as, in some of the openings, to indicate potential referees. All enclosed documentation must be in PDF format or plain text.

Once the application form is complete and the relevant material has been uploaded, submit your candidature by clicking on the ‘apply’ button. Candidates will receive an automatic reply acknowledging submission including a reference number for further enquiries or updates (within deadline).

By submitting an application, you grant ICFO permission to use the provided data for the recruiting process. (See Data Protection Policy.)

The review process

Applications will first be reviewed to assure that they meet the requirements and conditions as indicated in the job opening. Candidatures will then be evaluated by the corresponding Selection Committee according to the selection criteria of each opening. ICFO is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are selected exclusively on merit and potential on the basis of submitted application material. No restrictions related to disabilities, citizenship or gender apply to ICFO positions. ICFO abides by the principles of openness, efficiency, transparency, supportiveness, and international comparability as stated in the European Charter for Researchers and the European Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers.

ICFO will notify candidates who are selected to pass to the next stage in the review process. Candidates who do not pass the first step of the review process will be notified of the outcome of their application at this time.

When requested, reference letters play an important role in supporting the candidate in the review process. Unless the call applied for indicate specific requirements in that sense, referees will be automatically contacted by ICFO requesting them to complete a standardized evaluation form and submit a letter of support for the candidates. Candidates should by no means submit a reference letter in support of their own candidature on behalf of their referees. The members of the selection committee will have access to reference letters.

On-site or online interviews (aiming at discussing the candidate’s suitability, project contents, hiring conditions and legal matters, etc.) with the Selection committee may be scheduled.

Notification of results

All candidates will be notified of the outcome of their application. Possible results are:

  1. Rejection:
    The Selection Committee reaches the conclusion that the background of other candidate(s) appears to be more suitable for the position.
  2. Waiting list:
    Candidate(s) may be placed on a waiting list based on the shortlist proposed by the Selection Committee. Candidate(s) on this list may receive an offer in the event that the top-candidate does not accept the position. Waiting list candidates will receive a final decision as soon as the top-candidate confirms acceptance.
  3. Acceptance / offer:
    ICFO extends an official offer, asking the selected candidate for formal confirmation of acceptance.

The selection process is completed as soon as the candidate confirms acceptance of the offered position and a tentative starting date has been agreed.

After acceptance @ ICFO

Staff of the ICFO Human Resources and Education Unit will assist new ICFO members with the following procedures:

  • Support with administrative and legal matters related to arriving and settling in, including immigration formalities (Visa application process, etc.) and personal assistance in relocation.
  • Particularly for PhD-students: Information and advice on the necessary academic documentation to be gathered and submitted for enrollment in the PhD in Photonics program, including information about how to legalize previous studies (e.g. BSc, MSc, etc.) whenever necessary, as well as registration to the doctorate program and academic planning.

ICFO’s applicant database

The applicant database and all applications received through ICFOjobs, are managed by the staff of ICFO’s Human Resources and Education Unit. All information is handled with due confidentiality and solely for the purpose mentioned, and will be made available to the members of the Selection Committee in so far as they are necessary for the management of the process.

As indicated through the application process, other relevant information is also gathered for statistical purposes or in order to verify the eligibility requirements indicated in the corresponding call.

Do I have to submit my application exclusively online or may I also submit a hard copy?

ICFO only accepts applications submitted online via the ICFOjobs interface. As an exception, and only in case of force-majeure problems with electronic submission, candidates may submit their application in hard copy within the deadline.

Is it possible to apply for more than one opening? May I apply even if I have been considered for an ICFO opening in the past (i.e., re-application)?

Yes.

Do I receive a confirmation acknowledging reception of my application?

Yes.

Is it possible to update my personal data or application material? Likewise, will I be able to delete my application (and therefore all personal data)?

In the first step of application, through the online application form, you will have to provide your personal data including your contact e-mail. Once submitted, you will receive an acknowledging e-mail, containing a link which you have to follow in order to continue with the procedure (submission of application material, etc.). Via the link you receive by e-mail, you will also be able to update your data and application material (within the established deadlines) or even to withdraw your application.

In case of questions - whom shall I contact for help in submitting my application?

Please contact the recruiting staff of ICFO’s Human Resources at jobs@icfo.eu.

Particularly for PhD- and Postdoctoral openings: Is it possible to apply even if I have not yet finished the minimum academic qualification required?

Yes, unless the call explicitly indicates otherwise, but please indicate this clearly in your presentation letter. In general, candidates should hold an internationally-recognized degree or evidence of its completion before the prospective starting date.

Applications need to be supported by reference letters. How should these be submitted?

For exact details on how to proceed with reference letters, please check the specific opening you are applying for. In general, you will be requested to indicate name, institution, contact data, and relationship in the last part of the online application form. Depending on the opening, referees will be automatically contacted by ICFO requesting them to complete a standardized evaluation form and submit a letter of support for the candidates. Candidates should by no means submit a reference letter in support of their own candidature on behalf of their referees.

Submission of academic transcripts and degrees?

The required documentation to be submitted for application is indicated in the ‘application process’ of each opening. In general, ICFO will ask that you provide a copy of your most recent academic degree certificate. Additionally, and particularly for fellowships and internship positions, ICFO will also need you to submit scanned copies of your academic transcripts (current and previous studies). The academic transcripts contain the list of courses, including the credits and marks obtained. Provisional degree certificates are generally accepted by ICFO.

The application form requires the indication of my GPA – what shall I indicate?

GPA stands for Grade Point Average. Apart from other criteria, selection for ICFO positions, above all for fellowships and internships, is measured in terms of the academic performance. In this regard, ICFO needs an indication of the average of your final overall grade obtained in your studies (stated in your transcripts), the minimum grade required to pass in your university and the maximum grade that can be achieved or the overall qualification obtained in your PhD-studies (for applicants with a PhD-degree).

Retrieve your application

Contact

You can write an email to Human Resources and Education at ICFO.

Appendix

No vacancies matching your profile?

In the event that there are no published vacancies matching your academic or professional background, you may contact us at jobs@icfo.eu.

Data Protection Statement

ICFO endeavours to safeguard and protect the privacy and confidentiality of your personal data pursuant to applicable laws (GDPR) and implementing regulations.

To help achieve this goal ICFO has drafted a Privacy Policy, which describes how we collect, use and otherwise handle “Personal Information” we receive from you when you use ICFO websites and explains the circumstances in which we may transfer this to others.

The full policy can be found in ICFO's main website.

Our Data Privacy Policy must be read together with any other legal notices or terms and conditions also available on our Website (Terms of use and Cookies Policy).

If you have any questions in relation to this Data Privacy Policy, or if you would like to contact us to exercise your rights as stated in our Privacy Policy, you should check ICFO's website.