PhD Engineer or Industrial PhD Candidate - IoT and Energy Harvesting Specialist

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

Research and Development

• 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 and Spanish.
• Proactive, autonomous, and solution-driven attitude.
• Ability to work in a multidisciplinary team environment combining electronics, firmware, mechanical design, product development, and field applications.

Preferred

• Experience with magneto-piezoelectric, piezoelectric, inductive, or other energy harvesting technologies.
• Experience with low-power electronics and autonomous IoT devices.
• Experience with fault detection, condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, signal processing, or data-driven models for electrical systems.
• Experience with Texas Instruments SoC or similar microcontroller platforms.
• Familiarity with wireless communication protocols such as LoRa, SigFox, I2C, SPI, UART, BLE, NB-IoT, LTE-M, or similar.
• Hands-on experience with laboratory equipment such as oscilloscopes, multimeters, logic analyzers, power supplies, and signal generators.
• Experience with simulation tools such as COMSOL, SPICE, MATLAB/Simulink, Python, or similar.
• Previous experience in R&D projects with companies, universities, research centers, or public funding programs.
• Knowledge of Spanish or European R&D funding programs.
• Experience contributing to scientific publications, patents, or technical reports.
• Interest in smart grids, electrical networks, IoT, sustainability, and the energy transition.

What We Offer

• Full-time contract in Barcelona, with potential alignment with Torres Quevedo or Doctorados Industriales funding programs.
• Opportunity to work on advanced R&D projects in self-powered IoT, energy harvesting, power electronics, and smart grid monitoring.
• Entrepreneurial startup culture with a high level of ownership and autonomy.
• Opportunity to contribute to scientific publications, patents, and R&D funding projects.
• Private medical insurance coverage (Adelas).
• Flexible working hours and partial remote work.
• Office located in Barcelona area, with a strong focus on innovation, sustainability, and the energy transition.

Program Alignment

This position may be structured to align with one of the following R&D talent programs:

• Torres Quevedo: aimed at supporting the incorporation of PhD-level researchers into companies to carry out industrial R&D projects.
• Doctorados Industriales: aimed at supporting doctoral research projects developed in collaboration with companies, where the research work is connected to real industrial challenges.

The final structure of the position will depend on the candidate's profile, eligibility, research interests, and the applicable funding program requirements.

Join Energiot and help shape the future of self-powered IoT technologies for smarter, more reliable, and more sustainable electrical grids.