UNINOVA – Instituto de Desenvolvimento de Novas Tecnologias, by decision of the Executive Committee, opens an international call to hire 1 (one) Doctorate Researcher, over an uncertain term contract and full time under the project BURST (HORIZON-CL5-2023-D3-02, Grant No. 101146684), for the development of R&D activities to be carried out by post-doctoral researchers, financed by the Horizon EU program of the European Union, and under local scientific-technical coordination of Prof. Manuel J. Mendes.

Admission Requirements/Profile of the Candidate:

Applicants may be any Portuguese national, foreign, or stateless, holders of a PhD degree in Applied Physics, Materials Engineering or similar areas, duly registered and/or recognized in Portugal and that holds the following requirements:

• Have a PhD in Silicon-related materials for photovoltaic applications or a minimum of 3 years of involvement in projects related to photovoltaics. 
• Have training in the areas of Materials Engineering, Applied Physics, and/or other related areas that have given the candidate experience in solar cells fabrication and characterization, preferably composed of Silicon-based photovoltaic materials.
• Solid expertise in PECVD technique and other physical/chemical deposition processes for solar cell fabrication. 
• Fluency in both written and spoken English. 

Candidates who have obtained the degree abroad must have the degree recognized in Portugal, pursuant to Decree-Law No. 66/2018 of August 16.

Work Plan Activities:

The candidate will develop research work, performing the following tasks with the following objectives:

• Development of the efficiency, stability and commercial applicability of Silicon-based solar cell technologies, with focus on optimizing the properties of the constituent materials of the PV devices and integrating light trapping solutions via photonic structuring;
• Characterization of materials and devices fabricated according to modelling guidelines, establishing a feedback learning loop between the tests results and the computational models;
• Assistance in the coordination of the execution of project activities, such as interaction and exchange of samples/data/results with the project consortium, preparation of reports and technical-scientific presentations, as well as management of intellectual property;
• Dissemination of the work in scientific articles and technical-scientific conferences, as well as periodic organization of communication actions to promote the results obtained.
• Exploitation of the scientific work developed, through involvement in academic lecturing, R&D projects in the group, as well as application to new funding opportunities.

Applicable legislation:

• Portuguese Labour Code, approved by Law nº 7/2009, of February 12th, in its current version.
• Administrative Procedure Code, as republished in Decree-Law nº 4/2015, from 7th January in its current version (CPA).

Start Date and Workplace:

The contract will tentatively start in April 2025, and will last expectedly for 1 (one) year, renewable within the project and for the period of execution necessary for the work plan described above.

The work will be carried out at CEMOP-UNINOVA's facilities, in other facilities located in FCT/NOVA Campus and/or in other facilities that may be necessary for its execution, under the scientific guidance of Prof. Manuel J. Mendes and Prof. Hugo Águas. UNINOVA will be the contracting entity.

Application process:

The call for applications is open for the period from February 3 to March 7, 2025 (24 working days).

Applications must be formalised by submitting the following documentation:

... Letter of application;

... Curriculum Vitae;

... Motivation Letter;

... Certificate of Qualifications or declaration of commitment of honour on the ownership of the respective academic degree according to draft available on the UNINOVA website (https://www.uninova.pt/job-opportunity/internal-documents),;

 Upon contracting, the Certificate of Qualifications must be delivered;

... Informed consent statement duly dated and signed, according to the draft available on the UNINOVA website (https://www.uninova.pt/job-opportunity/internal-documents);

... Copy of ID;

... Other documents attesting to what was reported on the CV.

Applications must be submitted to UNINOVA or submitted by email to cenimat.rh@fct.unl.pt and to recrutamento@uninova.pt with the subject PostDoc-BURST-01/2025.

NOTE: In the event the degree was awarded by a foreigner higher institution, the degree must comply with the provisions of Decree-Law nº 341/2007, October 12th, and all formalities established there must be fulfilled by applications deadline.

The non-compliance with these requirements determines the immediate rejection of application. False statements provided by the candidates shall be punished by law.