ENG-PSR-CAC-2026-43 - Senior support technician: Physically-based Rendering and Material Modeling

Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Department / School of Engineering; España; On-site; EUR 33,000 - 40,000; Part time

Job summary

Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Department / School of Engineering in Barcelona is inviting applications for a part-time researcher position linked to the REALM project. The role focuses on rendering technologies and immersive virtual worlds within WP3 and WP6, contributing to data capture, reconstruction, and dissemination activities.

The candidate should have a PhD in Physically-Based Rendering or closely related field.

Qualifications

• PhD in Physically-based Rendering or closely related field completed or close to completion.

Responsibilities

• Support development and implementation of tools and prototypes for UPF-GTI participation in REALM.
• Contribute to WP3 Tasks: Technologies & Algorithms for Multimodal Data Capture.
• Assist Virtual Worlds Reconstruction for Immersive Viewing tasks.
• Support WP6 Communication and Project Dissemination activities.
• Help produce the corresponding deliverables.

Skills

Physically-Based Rendering

Monte Carlo Rendering

Material Modeling

Education

PhD in Physically-based Rendering or closely related field

Job description

Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Department / School of Engineering

Organisation/Company Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Department / School of Engineering Department Engineering Research Field Computer science “Other Researcher Profile” First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Research Support Positions Application Deadline 12 Nov 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Madrid) Country Spain Type of Contract Other Type of Contract Extra Information Indefinite according to article 23 bis of the “Llei 17/2022, de 5 de setembre, per la qual es modifica la Llei 14/2011, d'1 de juny, de la ciència, la tecnologia i la innovació” Job Status Part-time Hours Per Week 30 Offer Starting Date 29 Oct 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Horizon Europe Reference Number CL4-2025-03-HUMAN-14 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

REALM is a 36-month RIA that will define, develop, and demonstrate core technologies to establish a cross-media continuum towards the next generation of Virtual Worlds. Its vision is to deliver content that remains truly immersive, across diverse platforms and modalities, ultimately creating a profound and consistent sense of presence, regardless of the device.

To achieve this, REALM adopts a human-centric methodology structured around three pillars: (1) Novel Capture Technologies, acquiring holistic environment data extending to scene geometry, material textures, temperature, surfaces, etc.; (2) Transformative Authoring Tools, leveraging this enhanced data for realistic, scene-based, intuitive interactions; and (3) Human-Centric Delivery Platforms, providing low-friction access across devices. Grounded in open standards and leveraging advances in Generative AI, volumetric reconstruction, real-time and haptic rendering, and networked systems, these interoperable tools will build a shared framework to enable media convergence and a novel concept of Virtual Worlds.

REALM brings together Europe’s leading institutions in optics & photonics, 3D graphics, networking, HCI, haptics, and immersive arts—covering the entire value chain. The project will generate high-value impact for Europe’s creative industries, with spillover into industrial training, advanced manufacturing, and healthcare. Ultimately, REALM will contribute to a sovereign, interoperable, and human-centric European ecosystem for Virtual Worlds.

Tasks to be performed:

The successful candidate will support the development and implementation of the required tools and prototypes linked to UPF-GTI’s participation in the European Project REALM. This translates into the following tasks:

Within WP3 - Novel Technologies for Capture, Reconstruction and Creation of Virtual Worlds

WP3. Task 2: Technologies & Algorithms for Multimodal Data Capture

WP3, Task 3: Virtual Worlds Reconstruction for Immersive Viewing

Within WP6 - Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation Strategy

WP6, Task 1: Communication and Project Dissemination

The successful candidate shall also provide support to the generation of the corresponding deliverables.

Group and complement: Group 1 + Level n

Dedication and working hours: Part time (30 h/week)

Planned remuneration approx: 36.315,90 € gross per year

The expected start date is January 1st, 2027, the job is in Barcelona .

Additional Information

Eligibility criteria

Selection criteria: The selection of the candidates will be made through evaluation of the curriculum and, where appropriate, with the carrying out a test and/or interview. Valuation will be as follows:

1- Academic Training (0-50 punts/ points).

• PhD in Physically-based Rendering or closely related field completed or close to completion.

2- Other professional training and experience, adequacy to the proposed profile (0-30 punts/ points):

• Demonstration of a very strong background in Physically-Based Rendering.
• Demonstration of a very strong background in Monte Carlo methods for Global Illumination.
• Demonstration of a very strong background in material modeling for Physically-Based Rendering.

3- Other merits (0-20 punts/ points):

• Demonstrated ability to publish in top-tier Rendering venues such as ACM TOG, IEEE TVCG, CGF or C&G is a plus

The minimum score to pass the selection process is 80 points. The candidate with the highest score in the selection process will be offered the job.