Institutional Positions. CSIC Research Professor at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC). Director General of the IAC (2013-24). Scientific Director of the Program IAC “Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence” (2011-2024). 

Scientific Research Leadership. PI of more than 20 funded research projects in observational cosmology, stellar/substellar physics, exoplanets and astronomical instrumentation for ground and space missions. Co-author of more than 600 research articles in astrophysics and space sciences. More than 75.000 citations. H-index: +100. Co-discoverer of the first brown dwarfs. Co-discoverer of terrestrial exoplanets in the nearest stars.

Technology Leadership. PI at the IAC for the “Planck” space mission for the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and the “Euclid” ESA mission to study dark energy. Co-Principal Investigator of the ESPRESSO spectrograph for the European 8m VLT telescopes (ESO) for detection of terrestrial planets in the habitable zone. He led the QUIJOTE international consortium to detect the footprint of the gravitational waves of the Big Bang and was co-PI of several CMB experiments at Teide Observatory which contributed to the early measurement of CMB anisotropies and to the measurement of the angular power spectrum of fluctuations with the VSA interferometer. Founder of IACTEC Laboratories at the Science and Technology Park of Tenerife that developed the Infrared cameras DRAGO for Low-orbit Earth-Observations   and the microsatellite ALISIO.  Coordinator of the CELESTE project of the IAC (a partnership with CNRS and ESA) aimed to develop a Center of Excellence for Advanced Optical and Space technologies in the Science and Technology Park of Tenerife in La Laguna (funded by the WIDERA program of the European Union and regional funding). 

Participation in International/National Boards and Evaluation Committees. Board of the European Association for Research in Astronomy (1998-2008).  Board of the European Coordination Network OPTICON (2001-2011). Chair of the “Key Technologies Working group” of the European Network OPTICON (2001-2004). Member of the Experts Committee of Plan Nacional del Espacio (2002-2003). Council of the Gran Telescopio Canarias (2014-24), Vice-president of the International Scientific Committee of the Observatories of the Canary Islands (2014-2024), First president of the Board of Directors of the European Solar Telescope (EST). Member of the Council of Cherenkov Telescopes Array (CTA). Member of Board of the Euclid Satellite Consortium (2010-). Member of the Board of the International Consortia ESPRESSO (VLT), NIRPS (3.5m), ANDES (39 m ELT). Member Comisión Nacional de Astronomía (2014-24). Chair Comisión de Investigación básica del Alto Consejo Consultivo I+D+i de Generalitat Valenciana (2020-). International Visiting Comm. of  CIEMAT (2023-). International Advisor of National Astronomical Obs. of the Academy of Sciences of China (2026-).

Awards and Recognitions. National Research Prize in Physical Sciences (Spain). Jules Janssen Prize for Astronomy (France). Jaime I Research Prize. Canary Islands Research Prize and Gruber Cosmology Prize of the International Astron.  Union (shared as co-I of the Planck space mission).  External Professor at the Max Planck Institute of Astronomy and member of the Max Planck Society. Member of the Royal Spanish Physics Society and the IAU.  Honorary Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Region of Murcia and Doctor Honoris Causa from the Polytechnic University of Cartagena.  Member of the Academy of Sciences of Canarias.Corresponding Member of the Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences of Spain.