Job Information
- Organisation/Company: INESC TEC
- Research Field: Engineering » Electrical engineering
- Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1)
- Application Deadline: 10 Sep 2026 - 23:59 (UTC)
- Country: Portugal
- Type of Contract: Temporary
- Job Status: Full-time
- Hours Per Week: 36
- Offer Starting Date: 1 Oct 2026
- Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?: Not funded by a EU programme
Offer Description
CALL FOR GRANT APPLICATIONS (AE2026-0260)
INESC TEC is now accepting grant applications to award 1 Research Initiation Grant (BII) within the scope of the Multiannual Funding of R&D Units 2025-2029, with the reference UID/50014/2025, Funded by national funds through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), I.P.
1. GRANT DESCRIPTION
Type of grant: Research Initiation Grant (BII)
General scientific area: ENGINEERING
Scientific subarea: Electrical engineering
Grant duration: 6 months, starting on 2026-10-01 , with the possibility of being renewed for a maximum term of one year.
Scientific advisor: Pedro Pascoal
Workplace: INESC TEC, Porto, Portugal
Maintenance stipend: 701.12, according to the table of monthly maintenance stipend for FCT grants, paid via bank transfer. Grant holders may be awarded potential supplements, according to a quarterly evaluation process (Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the Regulations for Grants of INESC TEC and Annex II), up to a maximum limit of 50% of the monthly maintenance stipend.
INESC TEC supports costs with registration, enrolment or tuition fees, during the grant duration, under the terms established in the internal document: "Payment of Tuition fees to grant holders"
The grant holder will benefit from health insurance, supported by INESC TEC.
2. OBJECTIVES:
- Study and understand the architecture of an edge gateway for integration, monitoring, and control of Distributed Energy Resources, such as photovoltaic systems, batteries, electric vehicle chargers, and other controllable equipment.
- Continue the development of the gateway (DERway), including support hardware, firmware, software, and communication interfaces with equipment from different manufacturers.
- Study and understand the architecture of an energy meter developed for local acquisition of electrical quantities in low voltage networks (MeterLink).
- Collaborate on the development and validation of the MeterLink hardware, firmware, and software.
3. BRIEF PRESENTATION OF THE WORK PROGRAMME AND TRAINING:
- Study of edge gateway architectures aimed at integrating Distributed Energy Resources, including hardware, software, firmware interfaces, and industrial communication protocols.
- Study of measurement system architectures for electrical quantities and energy, including acquisition circuits, digital processing, firmware, and communication mechanisms.
- Continuation of the development, integration, assembly, and testing of existing prototypes.
- Preparation and execution of laboratory tests to evaluate measurement accuracy, communication performance, command response, and stability of the developed solutions.
- Assembly and configuration of new prototype units and monitoring their installation and operation in laboratory or demonstration environments.
- Preparation of technical documentation, activity reports, and installation, configuration, and testing procedures.
- Participation in the preparation of scientific articles and other materials to share the results obtained.
4. REQUIRED PROFILE:
Admission requirements: The awarding of the fellowship is dependent on the applicants' enrolment in study cycle or non-award courses of Higher Education Institutions.
Preference factors:
- Fluency in English (spoken and written)
Minimum requirements:
- Experience or knowledge in hardware development, electronic circuits, and firmware for embedded systems;
- Knowledge of communication protocols and signal processing/electrical parameter measurement;
- Experience in writing technical or scientific documentation;
- Ability to analyze, optimize, and suggest improvements in hardware and software prototypes.
- Fluency in Portuguese (spoken and written)
5. EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS AND SELECTION PROCESS:
Selection criteria and corresponding valuation: the first phase comprises the Academic Evaluation (AC), based on the criteria referred to in Article 12 of the Regulations for Grants of INESC TEC, while the second phase comprehends the Individual Interview (EI).
All factors are evaluated on a scale of 0 to 100, taking into account the applicants' merit, suitability and conformity with the preference factors.
The weight of the AC factors are as follows: Academic Qualifications (FA, 20), Scientific Publications (PC, 20), Experience (EX, 45) and Motivation Letter (CM, 15).
Candidates who score less than 50 points in the AC average will be considered excluded on absolute merit. The top five candidates approved on absolute merit will be qualified for the individual interview. The Final Grade (CF) is obtained by the weighted average of AC (80) and EI (20).
DISABILITY INCENTIVE
Candidates who present a degree of disability equal to or greater than 90% will benefit from an incentive (20) in the score of the CV Assessment.
Candidates who present a degree of disability equal to or greater than 60% and less than 90% will also benefit from an incentive (10) in the score of the CV Assessment.
Said score may, in these cases, exceed 100 points.
Candidates must demonstrate the degree of disability during the application, namely through the submission of the Multi-Purpose Medical Certificate of Disability, issued in accordance with Decree-Law no. 202/96, of October 23 - currently in effect.
The Selection Jury is composed of the following members:
- President of the Jury: Carlos Moreira
- Full member: Cleberton Reiz
- Full member: Ahmed Hussein
- Substitute member: Clara Sofia Gouveia
Release of results and prior hearing: the results of the selection process, as well as the terms and procedures for prior hearing, will be released to the applicants by email, under the terms referred to in Article 13 of the Regulations for Studentships and Fellowships of INESC TEC.
6. FORMALISATION OF APPLICATIONS:
Application Documents:
- Motivation letter;
- Curriculum Vitae (must include the list of previous fellowships, their type, beginning and end dates, funding entities and host institutions);
- Certificate or diploma degree;
- Proof of enrollment in a degree awarding study cycle or in a non degree awarding Higher Education program.
- The proof of enrollment may be presented just during the grant hiring stage.
- Signed declaration stating not having benefited from any other research fellowship (Article 5, no. 5)
- Documental evidence to support the country of residence, residence permit or other legally equivalent document, in cases where the applicant is a foreigner or non-resident in Portugal - valid until the beginning of the grant.
- Other supporting documents relevant to the final assessment.
Failure to deliver the required documents within the 90-day period after the date of the notice of the conditional awarding of the grant implies its cancellation.
Application period: From 2026-08-27 to 2026-09-10
Submission of applications: the application will be formalised by submitting the form available in the Work With Us section of INESC TEC website.
7. BINDING LEGISLATION AND REGULATION
The hiring process shall comply with the current legislation regarding the Research Grant Holder Statute, approved by Law no. 40/2004 of August 18, in its current wording, as well as by the Regulations for Grants of INESC TEC and for FCT Grants Regulation in force.
For more information, please check the Regulations for Grants of INESC TEC and relevant annexes at www.inesctec.pt/bolsas
Where to apply
Website: https://www.inesctec.pt/en/opportunity/AE2026-0260
Requirements
Specific Requirements
Academic qualifications: -.
Minimum profile:
- Experience or knowledge in hardware development, electronic circuits, and firmware for embedded systems;
- Knowledge of communication protocols and signal processing/electrical parameter measurement;
- Experience in writing technical or scientific documentation;
- Ability to analyze, optimize, and suggest improvements in hardware and software prototypes.
- Fluency in Portuguese (spoken and written).
Preference factors:
- Fluency in English (spoken and written).
Research Field: Engineering » Electrical engineering
Years of Research Experience: None
Additional Information
Benefits
Maintenance stipend: 701.12 euros, according to the table of monthly maintenance stipend for FCT grants (https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Tabela-de-Valores-SMM_atualizacao-2024.pdf), paid via bank transfer. Grant holders may be awarded potential supplements, according to a quarterly evaluation process (Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the Regulations for Grants of INESC TEC and Annex II), up to a maximum limit of 50% of the monthly maintenance stipend.
Costs attributable to INESC TEC may include registration, enrolment or tuition fee stipend, either directly or through reimbursement, during the grant duration.
The grant holder will benefit from health insurance, supported by INESC TEC.
Selection process
5. EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS AND SELECTION PROCESS:
Selection criteria and corresponding valuation: the first phase comprises the Academic Evaluation (AC), based on the criteria referred to in Article 12 of the Regulations for Grants of INESC TEC, while the second phase comprehends the Individual Interview (EI).
All factors are evaluated on a scale of 0 to 100, taking into account the applicants' merit, suitability and conformity with the preference factors.
The weight of the AC factors are as follows: Academic Qualifications (FA, 20), Scientific Publications (PC, 20), Experience (EX, 45) and Motivation Letter (CM, 15).
Candidates who score less than 50 points in the AC average will be considered excluded on absolute merit. The top five candidates approved on absolute merit will be qualified for the individual interview. The Final Grade (CF) is obtained by the weighted average of AC (80) and EI (20).
DISABILITY INCENTIVE
Candidates who present a degree of disability equal to or greater than 90% will benefit from an incentive (20) in the score of the CV Assessment.
Candidates who present a degree of disability equal to or greater than 60% and less than 90% will also benefit from an incentive (10) in the score of the CV Assessment.
Said score may, in these cases, exceed 100 points.
Candidates must demonstrate the degree of disability during the application, namely through the submission of the Multi-Purpose Medical Certificate of Disability, issued in accordance with Decree-Law no. 202/96, of October 23 - currently in effect.
The Selection Jury is composed of the following members:
- President of the Jury: Carlos Moreira
- Full member: Cleberton Reiz
- Full member: Ahmed Hussein
- Substitute member: Clara Sofia Gouveia
Release of results and prior hearing: the results of the selection process, as well as the terms and procedures for prior hearing, will be released to the applicants by email, under the terms referred to in Article 13 of the Regulations for Studentships and Fellowships of INESC TEC.
Website for additional job details: https://www.inesctec.pt/en/opportunity/AE2026-0260
Work Location(s)
Number of offers available: 1
Company/Institute: INESC TEC
Country: Portugal
City: Porto
Postal Code: 4200-465
Street: Campus da Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias
Contact
City: Porto
Website: http://www.inesctec.pt
Street: Campus da FEUP - Rua Dr. Roberto Frias
Postal Code: 4200-465 Porto
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