Research Assistant (RA)

BCBL; Donostia/San Sebastián; On-site; EUR 17,000 - 21,000; Full time

Job summary

The Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL) in San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain, is seeking a Research Assistant for the Babylab to support the Bilingual LENS ERC project. You will work within the Infant Language and Cognition group, conducting infant sessions, administering family interviews, and helping manage data and lab logistics.

The role involves close collaboration with researchers and students, with a 35-hour workweek and a 2-year temporary contract.

Qualifications

• Excellent written and oral communication in Basque and Spanish.
• - Previous experience working with children and communicating with families.
• - Strong organizational and interpersonal skills.
• - Proficiency in organizing and visualizing data (e.g., Excel).
• - Availability to work until 19:00 on at least three days per week.
• - Master’s degree in Psychology, Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, or related field.
• - Previous involvement in research projects (data collection, analysis).
• - Good written and oral communication in English.

Responsibilities

• Conducting laboratory sessions with young infants.
• - Administering interviews and questionnaires to infants’ families.
• - Scheduling laboratory sessions and organizing the lab’s calendar.
• - Organizing and archiving collected data.
• - Processing collected audio and video data.
• - Assisting the lead researchers with overseeing the progress of the research project.

Skills

Basque

Spanish

English

Interpersonal skills

Data organization

Lab scheduling

Education

Master’s degree in Psychology/Neuroscience/Cognitive Science

Tools

Excel

Job description

RESEARCH ASSISTANT in the BABYLAB DEPARTMENT - BilingualLENS

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.

1. INFORMATION ABOUT THE POSITION

• Position: Research Assistant (RA)
• Number of vacancies: 1
• Department / Research group: Infant Language and Cognition / Babylab
• Type of contract / Duration of the contract: Temporary. A two-year employment contract linked to a research project
• Job status: Full time
• Work schedule: The distribution of the 35 weekly working hours will be agreed with the project’s principal investigator, based on mutual convenience. The only requirement is that work must be carried out until 19:00on at least three days per week.

The BCBL BabyLab is a laboratory dedicated to the study of early language development in monolingual and bilingual infants and children from 0 months of age until school age. It is directed by Dr. Marina Kalashnikova and primarily used for the research of the Infant Language and Cognition group at the BCBL. Our team is seeking to recruit a Research Assistant (RA) to support and contribute to the ongoing research projects.

Specifically, the Research Assistant will contribute to the Bilingual LENS project funded by the European Research Council. In this project, we will combine advanced neuroimaging, behavioral and observational methods to follow the language development of children learning Spanish and Basque from birth until 2 years of age. The Research Assistant will join a vibrant team of researchers, research students, and research assistants.

The main responsibilities of the Research Assistant will include:

• Conducting laboratory sessions with young infants
• Administering interviews and questionnaires to infants’ families
• Scheduling laboratory sessions and organizing the lab’s calendar
• Organizing and archiving collected data
• Processing collected audio and video data
• Assisting the lead researchers with overseeing the progress of the research project

The research group:

The selected candidate will become part of Infant Language and Cognition group at the BCBL under direct supervision of Dr. Marina Kalashnikova.

Marina Kalashnikova

is an Ikerbasque Research Professor and the leader of the Infant Language and Cognition group The group investigates the process of early language acquisition in monolingual and bilingual infants, as well as the interactions between early language abilities and the development of general perceptual and cognitive capacities. The group’s primary objective is to define the earliest determinants of later individual language ability, including but not limited to endogenous factors, such as family risk for developmental language disorders or hearing loss, and environmental factors, such as the quantity and quality of infants’ early language input. The team is highly multidisciplinary; our expertise combines the fields of linguistics, psychology, and neuroscience. The group members have unrestricted access to the BCBL’s BabyLab, a state-of-the-art facility that hosts specialized methods for investigating the first steps of human language development, including fNIRS, EEG, eye-tracking, and LENA, among others.

2. CANDIDATE’S PROFILE AND SELECTION CRITERIA

Required skills and academic background:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in both Basque and Spanish
• Previous experience working with children and communicating with their families
• Strong organizational and interpersonal skills
• Proficiency in organizing and visualizing data (e.g., using Excel)
• Availability to work until 19:00 on at least three days of the week
• Master’s degree in Psychology, Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, or a related field
• Previous involvement in research projects (e.g., data collection, analysis)
• Good written and oral communication skills in English

3. WORKING CONDITIONS

Salary: 19.200€ gross annual salary

Entitlements and other benefits:

https://www.bcbl.eu/en/join-us/what-is-like-to-work-bcbl

Training opportunities and Career development plan:

Opportunity to develop professionally in a multicultural, young and dynamic environment.

The necessary technical training for this position will be offered by the centre.

BCBL seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, sex, sexual orientation, age, sociocultural background, nationality or impairments. We are proud to have in place both an LGTBIQ+ Plan and a Gender Equality Plan to actively promote inclusion and equal opportunities. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support, please contact us.

4. OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION

Language policy

• The working language at the center is English; however, within the Babylab department, Basque and Spanish are used for internal communication and when interacting with participants (infants and their families).
• The interview may be conducted in Spanish or Basque, although proficiency in Spanish, Basque, and English will be assessed during the interview.