Research Assistant

• Training at the R1 / predoctoral level in Computer Science, Engineering, Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychology, or a related field.
• Demonstrable experience working with human neuroimaging or physiological data, with familiarity with data preprocessing and analysis. Experience with fMRI and/or fNIRS is highly relevant.
• Good programming skills in Python, including experience with scientific computing and data analysis.
• Familiarity with machine learning or multivariate data analysis.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively within an interdisciplinary research team.
• Strong written and oral English communication skills.

• Previous experience applying machine learning, multivariate pattern analysis, or decoding methods to neuroimaging data.
• Experience with fMRI and/or fNIRS analysis, particularly multivariate or representational approaches.
• Experience developing or working with real-time data analysis pipelines or neurofeedback paradigms.
• Experience with experimental design, psychophysiological measures, or the assessment of subjective emotional experience.
• Strong interest in the neuroscience of consciousness, cognition, and emotion, and enthusiasm for interdisciplinary research.

Additional considerations (if any):

The candidate will be encouraged to apply for grants for PhD fellowships at national and international levels.

• The corporative language at the centre is English.
• The center provides initial level Spanish and Basque lessons to all the international staff members
• The interview will be in English although the level of Spanish will be assessed at the interview.

at the BCBL- Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language (San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain) www.bcbl.eu

The Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language (BCBL) in San Sebastian (Basque Country, Spain) is looking for a Research Assistant to join its team.

• Position: Research Assistant (RA)
• Researcher profile: Research Assistant
• Number of vacancies: 2
• Research group: Consciousness
• Project: Emotion Neurofeedback
• Funding source: La Caixa
• Location: Spain > Donostia-San Sebastián
• Research field: Cognitive Neuroscience
• Type of contract/Duration of Contract: Temporary, 3 year
• Job Status: Full-time
• Hours per week: 35
• Starting date: 1 January 2027
• Application deadline: 8 October 2026

Previous research has identified neural signatures associated with conscious experience, but how these representations shape subjective experience-particularly emotional experience-remains poorly understood. This project will investigate how emotion-related neural representations can be decoded and experimentally modulated using functional neuroimaging and decoded neurofeedback.

We are recruiting two Research Assistants: one position will focus on an fMRI-based protocol and the other on an fNIRS-based approach. Both RAs will contribute to the development and implementation of neurofeedback procedures and will work closely together to compare and integrate approaches across the two neuroimaging modalities.

The project will examine how changes in brain representations during neurofeedback relate to changes in physiology and subjective emotional experience, with the broader aim of understanding how specific patterns of brain activity contribute to the construction and modulation of conscious emotional states. It combines methods from cognitive neuroscience, neuroimaging, machine learning and neurofeedback, providing an interdisciplinary research environment for candidates interested in the neural basis of emotion and consciousness.

Job description: We seek a highly motivated candidates with a background in Psychology/Computer Science/Engineering/Cognitive Neuroscience, with interests in human brain imaging and neurofeedback technologies. The RA will have the opportunity to contribute to all stages of the research, including experimental design, data collection, and the development of neurofeedback analysis pipelines

PI and research group: The candidate will join the Consciousness research group (https://www.bcbl.eu/en/research/research-groups/consciousness) led by Prof. David Soto (d.soto@bcbl.eu), who will be the main supervisor. We develop and test targeted neurocognitive interventions, including decoded neurofeedback, to shape conscious and non-conscious information processing in the human brain and promote adaptive changes in cognition, behaviour and subjective experience.