PhD Engineer or Industrial PhD Candidate

Role Description

Energiot is looking for a highly motivated PhD Engineer or Industrial PhD Candidate in Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Telecommunications, Industrial Engineering, or a related field to join our Product and R&D team in Barcelona.

This position is designed to be aligned with Spanish R&D talent programs such as Torres Quevedo and Doctorados Industriales. The Torres Quevedo program supports the incorporation of PhD-level researchers into companies to develop R&D projects, while the Doctorados Industriales program supports doctoral research carried out in collaboration with companies, linking academic research with industrial innovation.

At Energiot, the selected candidate will work on advanced R&D projects related to self-powered IoT devices for electrical grid monitoring, with a particular focus on energy harvesting, power electronics, embedded systems, and fault detection for smart grids.

The role will combine applied research and product development, contributing to the design of AC/DC converters for magneto-piezoelectric energy harvesting devices, the development of fault detection models using self-powered IoT sensors, and the improvement of next-generation monitoring devices deployed in demanding field environments.

This is an ideal position for someone who wants to work at the intersection of scientific research, hardware development, and real-world energy applications, contributing to innovative technologies for the future of electrical networks.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead or contribute to R&D projects related to energy harvesting, power electronics, IoT devices, and electrical grid monitoring.
• Design, model, and validate AC/DC converters for magneto-piezoelectric energy harvesting systems.
• Develop and test fault detection models using data from self-powered IoT sensors deployed in electrical grid environments.
• Explore new architectures, circuits, and algorithms to improve device autonomy, reliability, and field performance.
• Contribute to the definition of research objectives, technical work packages, experimental plans, and validation methodologies.

Product and Hardware Development

• Participate in the electronic design and development of Energiot’s next-generation self-powered IoT devices.
• Work on PCB design, circuit development, component selection, and hardware validation.
• Support the development, testing, debugging, and improvement of electronic prototypes and production-ready devices.
• Program and test microcontrollers and embedded systems, with a focus on low-power and energy-efficient operation.
• Collaborate with firmware, mechanical, product, and operations teams to ensure integration between hardware, software, and mechanical design.

Testing, Validation and Documentation

• Design and execute laboratory and field validation tests for energy harvesting systems, converters, sensors, and IoT devices.
• Prepare technical documentation, including schematics, BOMs, test reports, research reports, design revisions, and validation results.
• Support product certification processes and compliance-related activities when required.
• Contribute to technical reports and documentation required for R&D funding programs such as Torres Quevedo or Doctorados Industriales.

Innovation and Scientific Contribution

• Contribute to scientific publications, patents, technical papers, and knowledge-generation activities when relevant.
• Collaborate with universities, research centers, industrial partners, and electrical utilities on R&D and validation activities.
• Support the identification of new research opportunities, funding programs, and strategic technology partnerships.
• Help translate research outcomes into practical product improvements and commercially relevant technology capabilities.

Qualifications

Essential

• PhD in Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Telecommunications, Industrial Engineering, or a related field; or current eligibility / interest in pursuing an Industrial PhD in collaboration with Energiot.
• Strong background in power electronics, energy harvesting, embedded systems, electrical systems, or related R&D areas.
• Experience with AC/DC converter design, modeling, testing, or validation.
• Experience with electronic circuit design, PCB design tools, and hardware validation.
• Experience with microcontroller programming and embedded systems.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work on open-ended technical challenges.
• Ability to prepare high-quality technical documentation, research reports, and experimental results.
• Fluent in English an