Research and Development Expert

Your tasks

Your team You will be part of the New Banknotes Section in the Directorate Banknotes. The Directorate has around 70 staff responsible for coordinating and monitoring banknote activities within the Eurosystem and with third parties. Such activities include designing, developing, producing, issuing, distributing, circulating and supporting the fight against counterfeiting of euro banknotes. The Directorate is currently focused on ensuring that cash is accessible and accepted and on developing innovative and safe euro banknotes while reducing their environmental impact across the entire cash cycle.
In your role as Research and Development Expert, you will be part of the Section that develops and tests new security features and concept banknotes in preparation for the issuance of future banknotes. The Section maintains a close dialogue with the various stakeholders and identifies innovative technologies that can support the development of new banknotes. It also coordinates and runs a wide range of research and development projects in partnership with its stakeholders and the national central banks of the Eurosystem.

Your role As a Research and Development Expert, you will:

• contribute to developing and updating the product requirements for future banknotes in consultation with the relevant stakeholders;
• propose and manage projects to develop innovative technologies that address the product requirements, from the early development stages up until validation in industrial conditions;
• support the development and production of the third series of euro banknotes, from prototype to the final banknote stage;
• prepare reports, presentations and technical and legal documentation for a wide range of audiences, including scientists and the ECB's decision-making bodies.

The position offers you excellent opportunities to work on a public and widely distributed high-tech product. You will help maintain trust in euro banknotes by ensuring that they are developed using the latest technologies and are both secure and convenient to use. You will be part of a multicultural team that strives for continuous innovation to make a positive impact on the lives of European citizens.

Qualifications, experience and skills

Essential:

• a master's degree or equivalent in physics, chemistry, engineering, technology, mathematics, or another relevant field (see How you can join us for details on degree equivalences);
• in addition to the above, a minimum of four years' professional experience (excluding internships and traineeships) in paper making or printing and project management.
• an advanced (C1) command of English and an intermediate (B1) command of at least one other official language of the EU, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Desired:

• proven experience in the development of security features, design and origination or the processing of banknotes;
• drafting skills related to the preparation of presentations, memos and reports for a wide audience, ranging from scientists to decision-making bodies.

You engage collaboratively with others. You pursue team goals and learn willingly from other people's diverse perspectives. You signal any need for change by explaining it and proposing alternative solutions. You analyse complex information effectively and can evaluate different views to arrive at solutions. You know and anticipate stakeholder needs.
You are motivated to contribute to the ECB's mission, to serve the citizens of the EU as a member of a public institution and to work with colleagues from all over Europe.
You are motivated to be part of our team and to develop and use your skills and competencies to achieve the aims of this position.

We offer

Banknotes
13424

General Information

Type of contract Fixed-term contract, which may be extended subject to individual performance and organisational needs

Who can apply? EU nationals

Salary F/G (bracket 1 - step 1) full time monthly net salary: €5,876 plus benefits, for further information see what we offer.

Working time Full time

Place of work Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Closing date 23.03.2026

The ECB is an inclusive employer and we strive to reflect the diversity of the population we serve. We encourage you to apply irrespective of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or other characteristics.

Further information The contract offered will be fixed-term, non-convertible, the appointment being until 30 June 2030.
Temporary appointments may be extended or made permanent subject to organisational needs and budgetary constraints. This may result in a staff member with a non-convertible fixed-term contract being offered a convertible contract in accordance with the ECB Conditions of Employment.

Contact

For additional information on this specific vacancy, you can contact Philippe Geoffroy, by email at the following address: [email protected].

Application and selection process
The recruitment process for this position will be conducted remotely. It will include a written exercise, a presentation and interviews.
If you are not selected for this position but are still considered suitable, you will be placed on a reserve list (see step 4 of How we hire), from which you might be considered for similar positions within the ECB.
Find out how to apply for a position at the ECB.
Read more about how you can join us.