R&D Engineer: CMOS Design of Smart Biosensor Chips for Adv. Medical Discovery (Masters/PhD thesis)

Location

Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona | Spain

Job description

"Organ-on-chip" (OoC) technology - understood as the microfabrication of cell culture devices to model functional units of human organs in vitro - has seen significant advancements in recent years. OoC is transforming biomedical research by replicating organ-level physiology within complex and controlled microenvironments. However, its progress is hindered by current knowledge gaps in the spatiotemporal dynamics involved in the development of organoids, which are three-dimensional cell tissue cultures with enormous potential to revolutionize the control over specific physiological and pathological responses of human organs in OoC.

In this project, you will collaborate with a multidisciplinary team with expertise in neuroscience, microelectronics, chemistry, and computational biology, incorporating the latest advances in CMOS biochemical sensors and neuromorphic engineering to develop the first smart biochip for precise interpretation of organoid biochemical activity in organ-on-chip platforms. You will investigate new ultra-low-power ICs for the readout of micron-sized sensor arrays for non-optical electrochemical imaging, which can be integrated to provide comprehensive chemical analyses in the miniaturized dimensions of organoids-on-chip. The readout circuits will be optimized to (i) deliver tunable compression of interfering components to enhance measuring resolution, and (ii) distributed event-based encoding to boost performance in posterior neuro-AI processing stages.

Your tasks:

• Design of neuromorphic readout architectures for multimodal sensing. This includes developing sensor analog frontends, asynchronous A/D converters, and the digital communication stages. You will integrate your circuit proposals in sub-micron CMOS technologies;
• Tape-out of your own custom chips and electrochemical characterization;
• Integration into a lab-on-a-chip device and validation through biochemical assays carried on real organoids.

Your profile:

• Finishing a Master’s degree in Electronics/IT Engineering (or similar) covering analog/mixed-signal VLSI design; 
• Competence with Cadence EDA tools for CMOS circuit design;
• Experience with PCB design and FPGA/embedded systems programming;
• Research-oriented attitude, capable of taking initiatives and with a solid problem-solving attitude;
• Ability to work in an interdisciplinary team;
• Fluent in spoken and written English.

What we offer:

• Full-time employment for 3 years (extendable), with an official go/no-go assessment within 6 months;
• An excellent technical infrastructure in a stimulating, multidisciplinary, and dynamic environment;
• Extensive benefits package for work-life balance in line with Spanish Administration’s and CSIC’s regulations;
• International collaboration network with possibility to perform research stays among partners in related European and National projects;
• Personalized hands-on training on cutting-edge technology topics with links to industry;
• Opportunity to join an ongoing startup project as entrepreneur.

Application procedure:

If you identify with this offer please contact Dr. Josep Maria Margarit-Taulé by sending the following information to  [email protected] :

• A brief description of your main motivation for joining our team;
• Your CV, highlighting relevant experience and accomplishments in related areas;
• Contact details of at least 2 references;
• A transcript of your academic records including undergraduate and master’s studies.

CSIC is committed to creating equal opportunities for people, independently of gender, culture, and race. Anyone with relevant qualifications is therefore strongly encouraged to apply for the position.

Job tags

Salary

de 30000 a 35000 €/año