Expressions of Interest for PhD, Postdoctoral and Research Fellowship Opportunities with Rinn Semiconductors – One of Europe's Leading Semiconductor Research and Training Programmes

PhD, Postdoctoral & Research Fellowship Opportunities with Rinn Semiconductors

Rinn Semiconductors is inviting applications and Expressions of Interest for opportunities to join one of Europe's leading semiconductor research and training programmes.

As part of a €460 million national investment in advanced research, Rinn Semiconductors is leading Ireland's response to the next generation of semiconductor technologies. Bringing together seven leading universities and research institutions, Rinn Semiconductors is pioneering research in heterogeneous integration, advanced packaging and chiplet-based semiconductor systems, with applications spanning digital healthcare, future communications and sustainable technologies.

Opportunities are distributed across multiple locations in Ireland, including Cork, Dublin, Galway and Limerick, and include:

• PhD Studentships
• Postdoctoral Researcher positions
• Research Fellowships

Ireland is home to a vibrant semiconductor industry cluster supporting 20,000 high skilled jobs and generating €15.5 Billion in exports, which includes many of the world’s leading multinational companies as well as fast growing indigenous small-to-medium enterprises and start-ups (more info can be found here). This new investment in talent aims to develop the next generation of world-class scientists and engineers who will ensure the future growth of this critical sector of the economy in line with the objectives of Silicon Ireland, Ireland’s national semiconductor strategy.

Successful applicants will:

• Join a vibrant and highly diverse community of PhDs, Postdoctoral Researchers, Research Fellows and Principal Investigators (PIs) to achieve your career goals
• Engage with over 30 industry partners to learn about their work and future career opportunities
• Become an in-house entrepreneur and explore the opportunity to commercialise your research through a Spin-Out company
• Follow in the footsteps of our current trainees where over 86% of PhDs have transitioned into industry with some of the world’s leading semiconductor companies, in Ireland and the EU.

If you aspire to be a future PI and academic research leader our programme will support you to build your research track record and vision, equipping you to take the next steps on your career journey.

Successful applicants will join a vibrant distributed centre of excellence in semiconductor research and training involving more than 100 PhD students, more than a 100 Postdoctoral Researchers and around 35 experienced PIs and Research Fellows, which will expand over the next 5 years, in close collaboration with more than 30 industry partners.

All participants will have the opportunity to engage in one or more of five closely interlinked, cutting-edge collaborative research themes which target some of the outstanding challenges in semiconductor research today. These include:

1. Heterogeneous Integration (HET) – creation of novel chiplets combining silicon photonic circuits (lasers, data modulators, detectors etc.) with electronics (inductors, capacitors, integrated circuits etc.) and other materials.
2. Advanced Packaging (PACK) – major developments in process technologies, equipment automation and advanced packaging design rules leading to new standards, with a focus on glass interposer technology for interconnecting photonic and electronic chiplets to create systems-in-package.
3. Future Networks and the Internet (NET) – transforming the energy efficiency of AI processing clusters in data centres and developing ultra-high speed intelligent air interface technologies for 6G wireless systems.
4. Sustainable Energy and Environment (ENV) – the development of wide area distributed acoustic sensing systems for the protection and optimisation of offshore cables and windfarms and the creation of low power, autonomous, sensors for greenhouse gas and pollutant monitoring.
5. Digital Healthcare (CARE) – The realisation of multi-modal ‘chip-on-tip’ endoscopes for metabolic imaging and precision diagnostics addressing gastrointestinal disease and wearable sensors for precision biomarker monitoring, focusing in particular on neonatal care.

Job advertisements for specific positions will be advertised in the coming months, however in the meantime we now welcome Expressions of Interest

Potential applicants should indicate their areas of interest and availability as follows:

• Post: PhD Studentship (PHD), Postdoctoral Researcher (PDR) or Research Fellow (RF)
• Theme: HET, PACK, NET, ENV, CARE or combinations of.
• Preferred location: Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick or Flexible.
• Availability: earliest and latest start dates, noting that most positions are available from July 1st 2026.

Specific roles will be advertised and appointments made over the following few months.  All posts are funded in line with national PhD stipend (€25k per annum, plus applicable fees) and researcher salary scales in Ireland.  UCC salary scales can be found here.

If you have a strong interest in developing a career in the semiconductor sector and are highly motivated to work as part of a large multidisciplinary world-class research team please contact us.

Applications are now open for the following opportunities across our research themes:

Digital Healthcare (CARE):

• PhD Position – iNIRS System Architecture and SiN Photonic Integrated Platform for Wearable Biomarker Sensing (Apply Now)
• PhD Position – Chip-on-Tip FLIM Integration for a Multimodal Single-Use Endoscope (Apply Now)
• PhD Position – Low-Light Readout Electronics for Wearable iNIRS Sensing (Apply Now)
• PhD Position – FLIM Photonic Integrated Circuit Design and Pulsing Schemes for Next-Generation Endoscopy (Apply Now)

Heterogeneous Integration (HET):

• PhD Position – Photonic Integrated Optical Frequency Comb Sources (Apply Now)
• Post Doctoral Researcher in the Growth and Characterisation of III-N Lasers (Apply Now)
• PhD Scholarship in Novel Electro-Optic Materials and Integrated Photonic Devices for High-Speed Optical Communications (Apply Now)

Advanced Packaging (PACK)

• PhD/ Masters - Advanced Design, Assembly and Packaging Technologies for Integrated Photonic Systems

New opportunities will continue to be released over the coming months as Rinn Semiconductors expands across its research themes.

If you are passionate about developing a career in semiconductor research and innovation and want to work as part of a multidisciplinary, world-class research team, we encourage you to apply for one of our current opportunities or register your interest to hear about future positions.