PI - Call for Postdoctoral fellow candidates at the Deusto Design Research Group

Location: Bilbao (Spain)
Contract: Temporary
Working day: Full time
Vacancies: 1
Work modality: On site

Universidad de Deusto - Investigación

Job description

The Vice-rectorate for Research and International Relations along with the Deusto Design research team at the University of Deusto are seeking postdoctoral candidates to join the Faculty of Engineering.

Research team’s website: https://www.deusto.es/en/home/research/whos-who/research-teams/deusto-desing-research/equipoinvestiga

Campus: Bilbao

Purpose of the position:

The researcher will join the Deusto Design Research Group (DDRG) as a Postdoctoral Fellow for a 3-year period, working directly with the Principal Investigator (PI) Dr. Sara Lenzi and the rest of the team. The primary role will be to provide expertise in design (product, industrial, interaction, or digital media) to develop research projects at the intersection of health, well-being, and climate change.

We are seeking a hybrid profile with a strong interest in contemporary design methodologies and technical execution capabilities. The candidate will lead design processes focused on Patient-Centered Care and/or Post-Human Design, applying technological solutions to environmental health challenges and assistive technologies. We highly value competencies in multimodal prototyping strategies, including physical and digital fabrication as well as virtual environments.

Collaboration tasks will include:

Strategic research and design: Participating in the conception of complex projects by applying User-centered Design and Research-through-Design
Advanced prototyping and experimentation: Leading the prototyping phases using one or more of the following approaches: digital fabrication (3D printing, CNC), Virtual/Augmented Reality (VR/AR), interactive environments for the evaluation of solutions within Living Lab
Dissemination and funding: Contributing to the writing of high-impact scientific publications and the preparation of competitive grant proposals, providing a technical and cutting-edge technological perspective.
Mentorship and documentation: Supporting the mentorship of students and leading the technical documentation required for intellectual property or patent processes.

Research Topic:

Design, with a specific focus on sustainable futures, patient-centred care, more-than-human design.

Objectives of the position

Publishing in high impact journals (WoS and SJR) along with group members
Working in competitive projects (Basque Government, Spanish Government, Horizon Europe…)
Submitting competitive research proposals.

Principal Investigator:

Sara Lenzi.

We offer:

Duration: The contract will be for 3 years.
Amount and terms of paymen An allocation of 37,000€ to 41,000€ gross euros per year will be granted, distributed into 15 monthly installments, depending on the candidate’s experience.
The contract with the University of Deusto will fall under the associate researcher/investigador/a asociado/a category.
Expected start date: September 1, 2026

Application deadline:

Deadline for submitting applications: 15 April 2026
Contact information: dit.apoyo@deusto.es

Requirements

Qualifications required:

Applicants must hold a PhD degree. All PhD holders may apply; however, we especially encourage applications from those who completed their PhD in 2023 or later.
PhD degree in a design-related field (design, industrial design engineering, architecture).

Evaluation criteria for candidates:

Quality and relevance of scientific publications in journals, books, or book chapters, including open-access publications.
Experience and contribution in research projects.
Relevance of work presented at scientific or technical conferences.
Recognition received through awards, honors, or distinctions.
Scope and impact of participation in scientific outreach activities.
International research stays with a duration of more than four weeks.
Candidates who meet the Marie Curie international mobility criteria—i.e., those who have not lived, worked, or studied in Spain for more than 12 months during the three years immediately prior to the application deadline—will be given positive consideration, though meeting this criterion is not required.

Other valuable aspects:

We are looking for a person with professional competences, empathy, ability to work in a team, motivation for innovation and research, ability to adapt, and that identifies with the mission of the University of Deusto.
The University of Deusto promotes inclusive diversity management and views its Community as a pluralistic and heterogeneous space that embraces linguistic, cultural, ideological, functional, religious, and ethnic diversity. It is also committed to gender equality and the inclusion of people with disabilities. Candidates who hold a recognized disability certificate are encouraged to indicate this in their application.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS — PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

To apply, click the blue ‘APPLY’ button and upload the following documents as a SINGLE PDF (2 MB maximum) in the ‘CV FILE’ section. Please ensure the file is not a ZIP or RAR, as these cannot be read:

Curriculum Vitae (CV): include academic training, research experience, publications, and methodological expertise. It should also include grants, conference presentations, teaching experience, and relevant academic service.
Research proposal (brief statement of research interests and future plans): present the main research interests, situating them within their previous academic work and key research questions or methodologies. It should also outline proposed future research projects for the postdoctoral period and explain their relevance to the host institution and the applicant’s long-term academic development.

Two Recommendation letters

Location: Bilbao (Spain)
Contract: Temporary
Working day: Full time
Vacancies: 1
Work modality: On site

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