IMDEA Materials Institute is a public research organization founded in 2007 by Madrid’s regional government to carry out research of excellence in Material Science and Engineering by attracting talent from all over the world to work in an international and multidisciplinary environment. IMDEA Materials has grown rapidly since its foundation and currently includes more than 120 researchers from 22 nationalities and has become one of the leading research centers in materials in Europe which has received the María de Maeztu seal of excellence from the Spanish government. The research activities have been focused on the areas of materials for transport, energy, and health care and the Institute has state-of-the-art facilities for processing, characterization and simulation of advanced materials.

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IMDEA's Computational and Data-driven Materials Discovery Group is seeking a research assistant to support a project focused on accelerating materials discovery using laboratory automation, which involves collaborative and research robots.

The successful candidate will be involved in various robot programming tasks that are responsible for automated laboratory workflows. Of particular interests are applications of mobile robots such as a Turtle Bot as a sample transport system connecting various material characterization experiments. The successful candidate will join a vibrant team dedicated to autonomous experimentation, with the opportunity to explore other cutting-edge topics such as machine learning and methodology for accelerated materials discovery.

Additionally, the hired researcher will have access to regular training activities on transferable skills, organized by the Project Management Office at IMDEA. These include project management, leadership, funding strategies, grant writing, intellectual property, and science communication to both specialized and non-specialized audiences.

A BSc degree in an engineering field is required. Previous experience with robotics and computer programming is essential. Proficiency in English is also necessary.

Current Master's students are encouraged to apply, as it may be possible to combine this appointment with thesis-related research.

This position is part-time, limited-term employment. The ideal candidate will have the flexibility to arrange working hours according to their schedule, with an expected effort of 10-20h/wk. The contract will be for 3-4 months, with the possibility of extension.

The selected person will work on the project MATERIALES DISRUPTIVOS BIDIMENSIONALES (2D) which is funded by the Community of Madrid, the State through the Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia, and the European Union through the NextGeneration EU funds.