He then obtained his Ph.D. in Telecommunications Engineering from the same university in 1989, receiving the National Award COIT-AEIT-ANIEL (AMETIC) to the Best PhD Thesis (Premio Nacional a la Mejor Tesis Doctoral).

In November 2009 he was appointed Director General for Technology Transfer and Corporate Development at the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN)[3][4][5], a position he held until his appointment as Director General at the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial - CDTI), the Spanish agency to fund research in private companies, on May 30, 2010.

[6][7][8] In February 2012 he returned to his post as full professor at the Department of Telematics Engineering at University Carlos III of Madrid and Director of IMDEA Networks Institute.

In July 2023, he regained his position as full professor in the Department of Telematics Engineering at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and director of IMDEA Networks Institute.

In November 2021 he was elevated to the rank of IEEE Fellow in the “Technical Leader” category, for the scientific and industrial impact of his research contributions to the development of 5G technology.

He has also performed advisory and technological consulting work for organizations such as Servicom, the European Space Agency, MFS-Worldcom, the Community of Madrid, RENFE, REPSOL, the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte), Ericsson-Telebit and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology.