ICFO News

Quantum Photonics with Solids and Atoms Group: Post-doctoral position in Development of Cold ...

Sun, 11 Oct 2026 22:00:00 +0100

ICFO is offering a postdoctoral position to a well-qualified, highly motivated and dynamic young scientist who wishes to enhance his/her scientific career in a friendly and stimulating environment. The successful candidate will be joining the Quantum Photonics group led by Prof. Hugues de Riedmatten. The group has experience in quantum technologies for quantum networks, including quantum memories, quantum light sources, quantum frequency conversion and quantum processing nodes. The current position will be within a project aiming at developing quantum network nodes with laser cooled atoms, including quantum memories and highly excited Rydberg atoms enabling deterministic quantum light generation and processing capabilities. The nodes will be tested with photonic integrated lasers and modulators The selected candidate will strongly benefit from a multidisciplinary environment with other postdocs and PhD students working in quantum technologies at ICFO and with strong collaborations with our European academic and industrial partners in the framework of the Q-Planet project. This contract will be supported by the European Union’s Horizon Europe (Q-Planet, 101291743), Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips JU) and the Spanish Ministry for Digital Transformation and Civil Service under reference CJU-010200-2026-6, as part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR).

Research Group Officers

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 22:00:00 +0100

ICFO – The Institute of Photonic Sciences is a world-leading research center devoted to advancing the science and technologies of light. Based in Castelldefels, Barcelona, ICFO combines frontier research, education, innovation and technology transfer to generate scientific and societal impact. Over the past two decades, ICFO has established itself as an internationally recognized center of excellence and a global reference in photonics. Today, with a highly international community of around 500 employees representing more than 70 nationalities, ICFO continues its institutional development aimed at strengthening scientific excellence, organizational effectiveness and long-term impact. As a public research institution, ICFO is governed by a Board of Trustees and led by an Executive Leadership comprising the Director and the Managing Director, who are responsible for the scientific, strategic and operational development of the Institute. ICFO is seeking Research Group Officers to strengthen the administrative and organizational support provided to its Research Groups. The Role Research Group Officers will provide structured administrative and organizational support to a portfolio of Research Groups. Their purpose will be to reduce the administrative and coordination burden currently absorbed by Group Leaders and research staff, while improving the quality, consistency and timeliness of interactions with ICFO’s Operational Teams. RGOs will take ownership of the preparation, organization, coordination and follow-up of the administrative matters assigned to their role. They will help ensure that applicable policies, procedures, documentation requirements, approvals and deadlines are properly addressed. The scope of the role will be defined through a common and evolving catalogue of activities, processes and responsibilities. This catalogue will clarify the tasks owned by RGOs, those owned by other institutional teams, and the matters requiring coordination or escalation. The role is focused on institutional activities associated with the operation of Research Groups. Personal assistance and tasks unrelated to institutional research activity are outside its scope. Each RGO will support a limited portfolio of Research Groups. Group Leaders will identify the needs and operational priorities arising from their group activity, within the agreed institutional framework. A designated RGO Coordinator will be responsible for hierarchical supervision, workload allocation, prioritization across groups, consistency of practice and professional development. The RGO Coordinator will report to the Executive Leadership. RGOs will work in close alignment with ICFO’s Operational Teams. These teams will provide the procedures, criteria, information and training required for RGOs to perform their role consistently and effectively. RGOs will, in turn, help ensure that these teams receive complete, structured and timely information and will contribute to the continuous improvement of institutional processes. Main Responsibilities Administrative and Organizational Support

Provide structured administrative support to assigned Research Groups.
Help Group Leaders and researchers navigate ICFO’s policies, procedures and institutional requirements.
Prepare, organize and follow up on requests, documentation and recurring administrative processes.
Anticipate requirements, deadlines and approvals.
Maintain visibility over pending matters and support their timely completion.

Institutional Coordination

Coordinate administrative interactions between Research Groups and the relevant institutional teams.
Structure and channel requests to the appropriate Operational Teams.
Help ensure that information is complete, coherent and submitted through the appropriate processes.
Monitor actions involving several teams and escalate unresolved issues when required.
Support compliance with institutional policies, procedures and deadlines.

Support to Research Activity

Contribute to the administrative and organizational preparation of activities involving Research Groups.
Support processes related to visitors, meetings, events, logistics, onboarding, personnel matters, training, travel, purchasing, access and other recurring institutional activities.
Coordinate with the teams responsible for each process and work according to their procedures and guidance.
Prepare briefings, supporting documentation and practical arrangements where required.

Process Improvement and Digital Transformation

Contribute to the review, simplification and standardization of administrative processes affecting Research Groups.
Participate in digital-transformation initiatives led by the relevant Operational Teams.
Support the implementation and adoption of new tools, workflows and ways of working.
Identify recurring inefficiencies, gaps, duplication and opportunities for improvement.
Provide structured feedback based on day-to-day interaction with Research Groups and institutional teams.

Positioning and Working Relationships Research Group Officers will be hierarchically assigned to the RGO coordination function. Functionally, they will work closely with their assigned Group Leaders and research teams, while maintaining an institution-wide perspective and operating within common processes, priorities and standards. RGOs will also work regularly with the RGO Coordinator and other Research Group Officers; and Operational Teams and Scientific Development services. The effectiveness of the role will depend on close coordination, regular information exchange and shared ways of working across Research Groups and institutional teams.

Admissions period Summer 2026

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 22:00:00 +0100

ICFO offers a limited number of PhD positions to well-qualified applicants who wish to obtain a doctoral degree in any of the research topics available within our Research Groups

. Our PhD-program brings together top-level training and teaching for young scientists in a stimulating, international and interdisciplinary environment. Research lines include, but are not limited to theoretical and experimental aspects of:

Atto-Science, Ultrafast Optics & Nonlinear Optics
Photovoltaics, Thermal Photonics & Solar Fuels
Optical Sensing & Optoelectronics
NanoPhotonics & NanoMechanics
Ultracold Quantum Gases
Quantum and Low-Dimensional Materials
Quantum Communications, Sensing & Simulation
Quantum Optics & Quantum Information
Nanophotonics, Condensed Matter Physics & Light-Matter Interactions
Medical Optics
Biophysics, Biophotonics & Super-Resolution Imaging

All PhD students admitted to ICFO are provided with a fellowship, with conditions as described in detail below. Important: Students applying to join the program are advised to directly contact the Research Group(s) of interest as part of the application process. We will use internal recommendations from Group Leaders to help identify candidates of interest during the admissions period. As part of your application you will be requested to indicate the research group(s) in which you are interested in undertaking your PhD. Please be as specific as possible here, explaining your motivation to join the groups indicated. Please, browse our website for details about ICFO Research Groups and Group Leaders at https://www.icfo.eu/research/groups/. In the group profile, you will also see specific available PhD-projects in that particular group (application should be formalized through this present general call with the corresponding selection process applicable). If you are interested in discussing possible research topics, please contact ICFO Group Leaders directly.

CO2 Mitigation Accelerated by Photons Group: Post-doctoral position in automation of ...

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 22:00:00 +0100

ICFO is offering postdoctoral positions to well-qualified, highly motivated and dynamic young scientists who wish to contribute advance technologies that drive the clean energy transition. The CO2 Mitigation Accelerated by Photons group led by Prof. Dr. Pelayo García de Arquer is seeking exceptional researchers and engineers with a strong scientific and technical background and an excellent proven track record to contribute to the development and automation of advanced electrolysis systems. The successful candidates will work on the automation, operation and optimization of electrochemical systems, including water, CO₂ and nitrate electrolysis, with a particular focus on improving experimental workflows and enabling reliable, high-throughput data generation and analysis. Project PID2025-172289OB-I00 funded by MICIU /AEI /10.13039/501100011033

PICs@ICFO Strategic Initiative: Process Engineer or Research Scientist in PIC Packaging

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 22:00:00 +0100

As part of the PICs@ICFO Strategic Initiative, ICFO is currently coordinating the European Chips JU Pilot Line PIXEurope and the Catalan PhotonChip project—two flagship programs aimed at advancing Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) in Europe. As part of our expanding efforts, we are reinforcing our leadership in the full PIC value chain—including design, fabrication, advanced packaging, testing, and application development. We are seeking up to two Process Engineers or Research Scientists with hands-on experience in packaging and assembly of photonic integrated circuits (PICs). The selected candidates will play a key role in the experimental development of advanced PIC technologies within the PICs@ICFO strategic initiative. The position is hands-on and lab-oriented, suited for candidates with a solid technical background and a passion for practical work with integrated photonic devices. Key Responsibilities:

Development and optimization of Photonic Packaging technologies (e.g. die bonding, wire bonding, optical coupling, hybrid integration) on semi-automated assembly machines – including process programming and setup.
Support on suppliers and material selection to ensure quality and process compatibility.
Closely work with cross-functional team (including PIC, optical, mechanical and RF designers) to implement manufacturable and scalable packaging processes.
The candidate will be expected to collaborate closely with design, fabrication, and testing teams to ensure performance consistency across the development cycle.

This position will report to the Prof. Dr. Valerio Pruneri, Scientific Coordinator of the PICs@ICFO Strategic Initiative encompassing the European Chips JU Pilot Line PIXEurope and the Catalan PhotonChip project. Aquest contracte està cofinançat amb el Fons Europeu de Desenvolupament Regional (FEDER) de la Unió Europea, en el marc del Programa del FEDER de Catalunya 2021- 2027.

PICs@ICFO Strategic Initiative: Engineer or Research Scientist in Nanofabrication for ...

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 22:00:00 +0100

As part of the PICs@ICFO Strategic Initiative, ICFO coordinates PIXEurope, a flagship Pilot Line funded under the European Chips JU program. With €400 million in investments and a consortium of 20 partners across 11 countries, the project aims to reinforce Europe’s strategic autonomy in photonic technologies and accelerate industrial uptake of cutting-edge integrated photonics. Over the next decade, PIXEurope will enable the transfer of advanced technologies to manufacturing environments, while fostering innovation and scalability across the European photonics ecosystem. To strengthen this initiative, ICFO is seeking a highly motivated Engineer or Research Scientist with strong expertise in nanofabrication of photonic devices. Position Overview: We offer a staff research engineer position to a scientist or engineer with hands-on experience in nanofabrication processes for photonic devices. The ideal candidate will have experience working with platforms such as Silicon, Silicon Nitride, and/or Lithium Niobate. The successful candidate will contribute to the development, optimization, and scaling of fabrication processes for integrated photonics. Key Responsibilities: The selected candidate will be expected to:

Develop and optimize nanofabrication processes for photonic devices based on techniques like EBL and fs-laser writing
Prepare and manage masks for etching processes and ensure process reproducibility
Perform and optimize dry and/or wet etching processes for nanophotonic structures
Develop and optimize laser-based etching processes for glass micro-structuring
Carry out metal deposition using e-beam evaporation and sputtering techniques for lift-off fabrication processes.
Work within a cleanroom environment, ensuring best practices and compliance with fabrication protocols
Characterize fabricated devices using techniques such as SEM, AFM and other metrology tools
Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams on device development, fabrication workflows, and process integration
Contribute to research and development projects in integrated photonics, including interaction with academic and industrial partners

This position will report to Prof. Dr. Valerio Pruneri, Director of the European Chips JU Pilot Line PIXEurope and Dr. Joel Moser, the Head of Nanofabrication Lab where the related activities will be hosted. 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).

PhD student for the project Encoded Light Illumination FOR Scan-less volumetric microscopy ...

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 22:00:00 +0100

ICFO is offering one PhD position to a well-qualified graduate student, who wish to obtain a doctoral degree in the SLN - Team Loza group led by Prof. Dr. Pablo Loza-Alvarez Our PhD-program brings together top-level training and teaching for young scientists, benefiting from the extensive course offerings of local universities and focused instruction by ICFO professors, in a stimulating, international and interdisciplinary environment. PhD-students have the opportunity to take advantage of our network of excellence, consisting in partners of national and international research institutes and universities, as well as industrial partners in the field. The successful candidate will be joining the SLN - Team Loza group led by Prof. Dr. Pablo Loza-Alvarez. The group conducts research in bioimaging through the development of cutting-edge advanced microscopy techniques. Its main focus lies in interdisciplinary research at the intersection of photonics and biology. Main Tasks and Responsibilities

Design and build a light-sheet encoded-illumination microscope
Characterize the system
Sample Chamber Development
Development of Decoding Algorithms
Single-Plane SR Imaging
Volumetric Imaging of selected biomedical applications

Proyecto PID2025-169761OB-I00, financiado por MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 y por el FSE+

Ultracold Quantum Gases Group: Post-doctoral position on quantum-gas microscopy of SU(N) ...

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 22:00:00 +0100

ICFO is offering a postdoctoral position to a well-qualified, highly motivated and dynamic young scientist who wishes to enhance his/her scientific career in a friendly and stimulating environment. The successful candidate will be joining the Ultracold Quantum Gases group led by Prof. Dr.Leticia Tarruell . The Fermi-Hubbard model is a cornerstone model of condensed matter physics. It describes the physics of strongly-correlated materials, quantum magnets, and might hold the key of high-temperature superconductivity. Investigating its low-temperature many-body phases is extremely challenging using classical computers and, as a result, many of them remain poorly understood. UItracold atoms trapped in optical lattices provide a pristine realization of the Hubbard model and hold the promise of solving many of its puzzles in a quantum simulation approach. Moreover, they allow one to engineer and investigate even richer variants of the model, which go beyond the realm of existing materials. In our group, we are interested in exploring a particularly intriguing one: the SU(N) Fermi-Hubbard model. It describes fermions of spin N and SU(N)-symmetric interactions, for which intricate magnetic orders and exotic spin liquid phases have been predicted. It can be realized using atoms with two valence electrons, such as ytterbium or strontium. To investigate such SU(N) physics, our group has developed a quantum-gas microscope that allows one to perform single-atom and single-site resolved fluorescence images of strontium Hubbard systems for the first time. Furthermore, we have very recently been able to push our setup to obtain spin-resolved images of fermionic systems with N up to 10. The successful candidate for this position will join a small team of PhD and post-doctoral researchers working to elucidate the mysteries of the SU(N) Fermi-Hubbard model and its low-temperature phases at the microscopic level.

Atomic Quantum Optics Group: Post-doctoral positions in Experimental quantum sensing with ...

Sun, 13 Sep 2026 22:00:00 +0100

ICFO is offering up to three postdoctoral positions to a well-qualified, highly motivated and dynamic young scientists who wish to enhance their scientific career in a friendly and stimulating environment. The successful candidates will be joining the Atomic Quantum Optics group led by Prof. Dr. Morgan Mitchell. Key responsibilities:

Conduct experimental research in: Quantum sensing using atomic vapors, cold and ultra-cold atoms
Build experimental apparatus, design and conduct experiments
Present research findings at group meetings, conferences, and through scientific publications
Support mentoring and supervision of junior researchers and students within the group
Maintain lab equipment and ensure compliance with safety protocols

Optoelectronics Group: Post-doctoral in application-driven PIC development for neutral atom ...

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 22:00:00 +0100

ICFO is offering up to two postdoctoral positions to a well-qualified, highly motivated and dynamic young scientists who wish to enhance their scientific career in a friendly and stimulating environment. The successful candidate will join the international project “Photonics for Quantum (P4Q)”. P4Q will establish a distributed, pan-European infrastructure for manufacturing high-performance photonic integrated circuits (PICs) tailored to quantum applications. Quantum technologies, including neutral atom quantum computing and simulation, rely heavily on photonics for encoding, processing, and detecting quantum information. P4Q will address the stringent requirements of these technologies, such as low-loss, high-speed visible-wavelength operation, by stabilizing cutting-edge manufacturing processes and advancing both technology and manufacturing readiness levels. These PIC-based solutions are expected to support the transition from complex optical laboratory setups towards more scalable and deployable quantum technology architectures. In the Optoelectronics research group at ICFO, led by Prof. Dr. Valerio Pruneri, we are seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral researchers with a broad background in physics and photonics and familiarity with integrated photonics and neutral atom experimental architectures. The selected candidate will play a central role in the conception, coordination of design, fabrication and packaging activities, as well as testing and characterization of advanced PICs within the P4Q project, contributing to both technological development and application-oriented demonstrators. The position combines conception and design-oriented work, coordination, and experimental lab work, and is ideal for candidates with a solid technical background and strong motivation to work with integrated photonics for quantum applications in a dynamic R&D and pre-industrial environment. Key responsibilities:

Contribute to coordinating research activities on PICs for neutral atom experiments, including quantum computing and simulation.
Conceptualize and contribute to coordinating the development of novel visible-wavelength PICs in close collaboration with neutral atom end users. Analyse possible use cases of PICs within a neutral atom lab, while ensuring that the user requirements are translated into PIC specifications and test metrics.
Contribute to coordinating the design and simulation of PICs for these applications within ICFO.
Contribute to coordinating collaboration with:
- P4Q project partners, in particular within the Quantum Computing with Atoms and Ions work package: PIC manufacturers, packagers, and end users,
- the relevant teams within ICFO, including the Optoelectronics research group, facilities and project management.
Contribute to coordinating the Quantum Computing with Atoms and Ions work package, including preparation of project deliverable reports.
Develop characterization testbeds as well as optical/electrical testing procedures for visible-wavelength PICs.
Use the testbeds and testing procedures to analyse and validate PIC performance, operating test instrumentation including lasers, OSAs, VNAs, photodiodes, RF sources, power meters, and probe stations.
Contribute to coordinating with end users to facilitate qualification in application-oriented demonstrators.
Prepare structured testing reports, and support debugging activities across the development cycle
Actively identify concepts for future PIC iterations in collaboration with end users and project partners. Contribute to conceptualizing and preparing related follow-up projects.

Funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe (P4Q, 101291189), Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips JU) and the Spanish Ministry for Digital Transformation and Civil Service under reference CJU-010200-2026-5, as part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Chips Joint Undertaking. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.