The Aragonese Foundation and Agency for Research & Development (ARAID) is launching a new international call for applications to fill up to a maximum of 9 full-time research positions for candidates with a consolidated track record of high-quality research and a demonstrated capacity for leadership to join any of the Research and Innovation Centers in Aragon in the research areas open to applications in this call:
Research Areas open to applications in this call
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Research areas ARAID 2025
- 1 Medical technologies and advanced therapies.
- 2 Industrial decarbonization and energy transition.
- 3 Biotechnology and agri-food technologies.
- 4 Quantum technologies, photonic technologies and microelectronics.
- 5 Computer science, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. *
- 6 Technologies of space and matter.
(*) Panel 5 has a minimum requirement of 2 years of postdoctoral experience.
Applications must be sent electronically through the ARAID website between January 2nd, 2024, and 14:00h on March 14th, 2025.
The call is open to candidates of any nationality who meet the required academic training and research experience requirements. The final number of contracts will be subject to the quality of the applications and the strategic interest of the proposed lines of research. Up to a maximum of 2 applications will be accepted per panel per entity and/or R&D&I Research, Development and Innovation center in Aragon. Entities requesting an ARAID researcher must have or sign a collaboration agreement with ARAID before incorporating the researcher.
If the established maximum number is exceeded, all applications submitted by said entity and/or center will be excluded. Each candidate can only present their application using a Host Center/Institution where they can carry out their research. Each Research Manager can support applications (through the expression of interest form) only for a single Host Centre/Institution. Failure to comply with any of the above rules will invalidate the applications submitted by the candidate, the Research Manager or the Host Centre/Institution.
Technological Readiness Levels (TRLs) and EU alignment: Research proposals submitted can mention the strategic technologies, missions and social challenges of the EU Framework program with which they are aligned and must estimate of the progression of the technological readiness (in initial-final TRLs) of the proposal to be developed during the first 3 years in case of obtaining an ARAID contract. If the applicant provides a letter of support from an industrial/private entity to the research proposal, it will be taken into account in the interview.
Job position´s characteristics:
It is expected to hire up to a maximum of 9 researchers through indefinite full-time employment contracts carrying out their activity in Institutions/Research Centers located in Aragon. ARAID researchers must substantially reinforce or help create new research teams in their centers in addition to participating in and promoting science and technology in Aragon.
The final salary offer will be adapted to the experience and will be in line with that of professionals with the same level of responsibility in the research center and in accordance with the regional legislation on remuneration of public personnel in the regional government of Aragon and its dependent entities. Salary evolution is linked to periodic evaluations of research performance and recognition of the progression of the professional research career. As an indicative measure, the entry level as R3.1 ARAID Researcher corresponds to A.26 of the General Government of Aragon (DGA) public servant salary table.
Start-up Aid: Up to €30,000 will be granted as start-up aid for expenses directly related to the start-up and execution of your research activities during the first year at ARAID. Likewise, up to an additional €3,500 will be granted as relocation support payment of researchers residing outside of Aragon.
ARAID is committed to helping foreign researchers as much as possible in the visa and work permit procedures. The contract will be effective only when the selected candidates can legally work in Spain.
Application requisites:
Candidates are required to have 6 or more years of postdoctoral experience (at the end of the application submission period) with at least 2 years of research residency in centers of recognized national and international prestige outside of Aragon.
Panel 5 Computer Sciences, Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity will accept applications that have at least 2 or more years of postdoctoral experience (at the end of the application submission period) with at least 1 year of research residency in recognized prestige, national and international outside Aragon.
Candidates who prior to 02/01/2024 are part of the permanent staff assigned to the Center requesting the position will not be able to submit an application. Exceptionally, if the candidate has an undefined term contract at the Center, started before 02/01/2024, that depends on temporary financing, this situation must be clarified in the Expression of Interest detailing the type and (in-)stability of the funds to which said contract is associated.
Only complete applications will be evaluated. These will consist of:
- Curriculum Vitae of the applicant (in abbreviated AEI format)
- Research Proposal (in pdf, see instructions in the online call platform). (You can find the pdf above this text)
- Letters of Support/Reference (about the candidate and/or research proposal).
- Expression of Interest Form signed by the Research Manager and Legal Representative of the Host Centre/Institution.
All application documents must be completed in English.
Candidates who have received a Starting or Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council to fund their project and have not yet started it, must indicate this in their application. These applications will go directly to the interview phase and may receive an offer without waiting for the final resolution if approved by the ARAID´s Board of Trustees.
The Curriculum Vitae, the Research Proposal and the Letters of Support are to be uploaded to the online application platform of the call by the candidate. In addition, candidates must indicate the center through which they are submitting the application and an email address of the Research Manager who supports the proposal. Each Institution/Center assigned to the ARAID program has an identified address and/or contact person to channel the requests they receive directly or through ARAID. To obtain information about R&D&I Research, Development and Innovation agents in Aragon, visit the website: https://www.aragoninvestiga.es/que-hacemos-idi/.
The Expression of Interest form is provided by the Research Manager/Scientific Person or immediate superior of the candidate in the Host Institution/Center. Before the deadline for closing the call, it must be uploaded to the online application platform of the call by the Research Manager or sent by email to araid@araid.es, signed electronically by the Research Manager, the administrative position in charge of the host Institution/center and the Legal Representative of the Center. It is recommended not to rush the application deadline to upload the documents to the platform and given the signatures contained in the Expression of Interest, it is advisable to start this process at the Host Institution well in advance.
Evaluation process:
ARAID is a program of excellence recognized by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of Spain and all its calls comply with the principles of equality and transparency recognized with the European Seal of Excellence in Human Resources Management HRS4R of the European Commission.
The applications will be evaluated by an external commission of experts from the bank of evaluators of the ACPUA and other national evaluation agencies selected based on the applications received in each area of knowledge. These experts will assess the scientific excellence of the candidate (60%) and the originality, impact and viability of the research proposal (40%) to classify the applications by consensus in a ranking from which the top ranked will access the interview phase. Host Centers and candidates who will not progress to the interview will receive the consensus form, but not the marks obtained or their position in the panel. The result of the interview phase is a ranked list for each panel that is presented to the Board of Trustees, which is the final body that decides the offers and reserve positions per panel. The Host Centers and their candidates will be informed if they are not selected for an offer or reserve position, but the final rank in the panel is not public. Candidates who receive the offer will have 48 hours to accept or renounce it.
Indicative timeline: It is expected that interviews could be carried out in May-June and the call will be resolved in June-July 2025. The visa and work permit application procedures can begin as soon as possible after accepting the offer. Selected candidates must start their contract at ARAID and join their host center within six months of the resolution, granting in exceptional cases up to a maximum period of 1 year. The final resolution of the call will be made public on the ARAID website.