Associação Fraunhofer Portugal ResearchJob Title: Digital Industry Innovation Lead
Job Category: Manager
Job Ref: AICOS_Jobs_2026_01
Job Type: Full-time contract
Job Location: Porto, Portugal
Organization: Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS (FhP-AICOS)
1.1 Why This Role Matters
Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS is reinforcing its leadership in applied research and innovation by strengthening its focus on key areas – Digital Health, Digital Industry, and Digital Futures.
Industrial environments are complex socio-technical systems, where people, equipment, and data must interact seamlessly. At AICOS, we believe technology should empower workers, optimize processes, and improve working conditions while strengthening industrial competitiveness.
As Digital Industry Innovation Lead, you will contribute to this mission by shaping and operationalizing the Digital Industry roadmap, ensuring that research and innovation activities form a coherent, relevant, and transferable portfolio, closely aligned with industrial challenges, emerging market trends, and real-world industrial application.
1.2 Your Mission
As Digital Industry Innovation Lead, you will:
> Define, implement, and continuously refine the Digital Industry roadmap, aligning R&D activities with industrial challenges, partner needs, and emerging market and technology trends.
> Ensure the coherence and alignment of Digital Industry projects as a portfolio, supporting complementarity, and reuse across activities.
> Follow and support ongoing projects, maintaining continuous collaboration with project managers and R&D teams to capitalize on project outcomes and ensure the transferability and reuse of results, and tools across projects and industrial contexts.
> Ensure that research outcomes are effectively translated into real-world applications through demonstrators, pilots, and other technology transfer initiatives.
> Build and strengthen collaborations with industry partners, technology providers, and other research organizations.
> Represent AICOS in national and international industrial innovation ecosystems, positioning the organization as a reference in industry digitalization.
> Identify and shape funded and contract research opportunities, working closely with Business Development, Pre-Award and R&D teams.
1.3 Your Profile
You are a technically grounded, innovation-oriented professional who can navigate between research and industry with ease. You understand industrial systems, can discuss complex technologies in detail, and know how to connect technical potential with business relevance. You are comfortable working close to projects and teams, while maintaining a portfolio-level view that allows you to align R&D activities with industrial challenges and emerging market trends.
We are looking for someone with:
> A degree in engineering, computer science, or related discipline, ideally in areas such as Electronics, Informatics, Mechanical or Industrial Engineering.
> At least 2 years of professional experience in applied research, IT consultancy, or digital transformation projects within industrial or manufacturing contexts.
> Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams and manage R&D or innovation portfolios.
> Solid understanding of industrial systems, IoT- and AI- based applications for predictive maintenance, process optimization, or decision support.
> Sensitivity to the impact of technology on occupational safety and health.
> Ability to define and operate roadmaps, translating industrial challenges and market trends into coherent, reusable project and portfolio priorities.
> Demonstrated experience working with or for industrial organizations, IT services providers, technology providers, or system integrators.
> Excellent communication and relationship-building skills - able to engage confidently with engineers, researchers, and decision-makers alike.
> Strategic mindset, results orientation, and a motivation to convert research outcomes into tangible societal and industrial impact.
> Excellent written and verbal communication in Portuguese and English.
1.4 What We Expect in Your First 12 Months
1.3.1 Months 0–3
> Gain a clear understanding of AICOS’s structure, research areas, people, and internal processes.
> Map ongoing projects and activities relevant to the Digital Industry vertical.
> Build trust, credibility, and strong working relationships with scientific teams, project managers, and internal stakeholders.
> Develop an initial portfolio-level view of Digital Industry activities, identifying main thematic areas, alignment with industrial challenges, and early opportunities for reuse and transfer.z
1.3.2 Months 4–9
> Define and refine the first version of the Digital Industry Innovation Roadmap, aligning it with AICOS’s scientific capabilities and industrial needs.
> Actively follow and support selected projects, ensuring alignment between roadmap priorities, research goals, and industrial needs.
> Start engaging with external stakeholders to validate roadmap assumptions and support demonstrators, pilots, or applied results.
> Begin positioning AICOS within relevant industrial and innovation ecosystems.
> Deepen understanding of the Digital Industry domain, emerging technologies, and market trends.
> Identify portfolio-level gaps and consolidation opportunities and support proposal preparation and project definition activities in collaboration with Business Development, Pre-Award, and R&D teams.
1.3.3 Months 10–12
> Strengthen AICOS’s external visibility and reputation in the Digital Industry ecosystem.
> Showcase results through demonstrators, dissemination, or participation in sector events.
> Contribute to internal reflection and reporting on Digital Industry outcomes, lessons learned, and reuse potential.
> Define next-year goals for the Digital Industry roadmap.
1.5 We Offer
> A dynamic, multicultural, and collaborative environment, where scientific excellence meets real-world application.
> A culture that values initiative, responsibility, and innovation.
> The chance to contribute directly to Fraunhofer Portugal’s mission of bridging research and industry, leading projects with tangible impact on society and the economy.
> Excellent working conditions in a supportive, inclusive, and flexible environment.
> Opportunities for professional growth.
> A competitive salary package, adjusted to your academic qualifications and professional experience.
> A comprehensive private health insurance plan.
1.6 Experience and Skills
Tell us about your experience and skills in the areas below. Use the scale provided to indicate your level of familiarity (No Experience, Basic Experience, Solid Experience):
Technical and Domain Knowledge |
Innovation and Strategic Skills |
Collaboration and Leadership Skills |
|---|---|---|
Industrial Processes & Systems |
Technology mapping |
Interdisciplinary Collaboration |
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning |
Market & Trend Analysis |
Team Leadership |
Cyber-Physical Systems and Sensing |
Technology Transfer and IP Awareness |
Presentation and Public Speaking |
Data-Driven Decision Support in Industrial Settings |
Project Coordination & Reporting |
Stakeholder Engagement and Influence |
Strategic Thinking and Decision-Making |
1.7 Application Process
Applications are open from the 3rd to the 28th of February 2026.
The selected candidate is expected to start working on April 1st, 2026.
Applications must be made via Fraunhofer Portugal Website and contain:
> Curriculum Vitae – mandatory;
> Motivation Letter – mandatory;
> Recommendation Letters – optional.
1.8 Selection Process
Admitted candidates will be subject to a curricular evaluation. Based on the results, the top-ranked candidates will be invited for an interview. All applicants will be notified of the results of the call via the email address provided in their application.
After notification, all candidates have 10 days to comment.
1.9 Note
The research activities in the scope of this job opportunity are planned to be developed within the framework of the following projects:
- AI4CarOps – AI-Powered Vehicle Reception Operations for Car Workshops, with Notice No. MPr-2023-07 SIID I&D Empresarial and Project Reference No. 18234 - COMPETE 2030 Copromoção.
- ATE – Aliança para a Transição Energética, with Notice No. 01/C05-i01/2021 Agendas Verdes para a Inovação Empresarial and Project Reference No. 56 - NextGenerationEU (PRR) Copromoção.
- FIBFlow – Financial Intelligent Business Flow, with Notice No. MPr-2023-08 SIID I&D Empresarial and Project Reference No. 20856 - COMPETE 2030 Copromoção.
- Microelectrónica – Agenda Microeletrónica, with Notice No. 01/C05-i01/2021 Agendas Verdes para a Inovação Empresarial and Project Reference No. 19 - NextGenerationEU (PRR) Copromoção.
- NeAIxt – New Generation of Edge AI Crossing Technology Fields, with Notice No. HORIZON-JU-Chips-2024-1-IA The Chips Joint Undertaking (JU) and Project Reference No. 101194172 - Horizon Europe Framework Programme.
- PRODUTECHDIH – PRODUTECH Digital Innovation Hub, with Notice No. 03/C16-i03/2022 Polos de Inovação Digital (DIH) and Project Reference No. 760 - NextGenerationEU (PRR) Copromoção.
- RAICC – Responsible AI Call Center, with Notice No. MPr-2025-01 SIID I&D&I Empresarial and Project Reference No. 25476 - COMPETE 2030 Copromoção.
- VineKeeper – Intelligent Identification and Digital Curation of Portuguese Wine Heritage, with Notice No. MPr-2025-04 SIID-I&D Empresarial and Project Reference No. 26058 - COMPETE 2030 Copromoção.
- NEURA – New EEG with Unified Radio Antenna, Project Proposal submitted within Notice No. MPr-2025-01 SIID I&D&I Empresarial - COMPETE 2030 Copromoção.