The Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language (BCBL) in San Sebastian (Basque Country, Spain) is looking for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join its team.
Information about the project
The Infant Language and Cognition group at the BCBL is welcoming applications for a Postdoctoral Researcher position funded by the European Research Council Consolidator Project Bilingual LENS. The goal of Bilingual-LENS is to determine the quantity, quality, and timing of early bilingual exposure that accurately predict bilingual infants’ individual language outcomes. For this purpose, we will conduct large-scale longitudinal studies, combining a variety of neuroimaging, behavioral, and observational measures, to assess bilingual infants’ dual language development during the first two years of life. The studies will target three core components: (1) neural maturation, (2) stimulation through language exposure, and (3) the maturation-exposure interaction. Specifically, we will focus on the development of the maturation-exposure interaction over time, and its role in the continuous fine-tuning of infants’ perceptual sensitivities to their native languages and their developing dual-language competence.
Job description
The postdoctoral researcher will join the multidisciplinary team of the Bilingual LENS project and will work closely with the Principal Investigator (Dr. Marina Kalashnikova) and members of the Infant Language and Cognition group.
The successful candidate will have a strong interest in developmental neuroscience, language acquisition, and bilingualism. The primary responsibility for this position will be to develop and lead fNIRS studies on early language processing. In addition, the postdoctoral researcher will be responsible for processing and analysing complex fNIRS data, as well as related behavioural and observational data, and developing methods to model longitudinal trajectories of bilingual infants’ language processing skills and language exposure.
This position offers an engaging collaborative environment and the opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research on bilingual language development in infancy. In addition to the core longitudinal work, the postdoctoral researcher will have opportunities to design complementary cross-sectional studies within the Bilingual LENS framework. Postdoctoral researchers at the BCBL can acquire mentoring skills by co-supervising Master’s and PhD students. Additionally, there is the opportunity to gain teaching experience on the BCBL’s Master’s program in the cognitive neuroscience of language.
Application deadline: 20 March 2026