Applied Physicist for Plasma Sources (TE-VSC-SCC-2025-99-GRAP)

Job Description

Your responsibilities

The Vacuum, Surfaces and Coatings (VSC) Group within the Technology (TE) Department is responsible for the entire lifecycle of accelerator vacuum systems at CERN, from development and design to installation, operation, and maintenance. We operate facilities for the measurement of vacuum performance and compatibilities of materials and surface technologies, as well as for thin film coating, surface finishing, and vacuum-related physical and chemical characterization.

Development of plasma sources for the purpose of specific coating applications and for application related to new accelerators concepts like plasma wakefield accelerator (PWFA) are also part of the group activities.

This latter activity requires the development of highly uniform and reproducible plasma for the AWAKE project. A dedicated R&D program on scalable plasma source addresses these challenges with the development of plasma sources based on RF-heated plasma and pulsed-DC discharge plasma.

Your main activities will be:

• Developing and optimising a length scalable discharge plasma source.
• Adaptating/developing plasma diagnostics to characterise the discharge temporally and spatially, with the help of external institutes and source diagnostics (temperature, vacuum, electrical, etc.).
• Simulating the plasma source from plasma (including excitation circuit) and vacuum perspectives (gas density, tube temperature, pumping scheme - active/passive with NEG cartridge, etc.) to support the source design and its tolerances (effect of temperature stability, tube diameter, optimization of electrodes design, etc.), as well as benchmark with experimental data.
• Transferring the experimental plasma characteristics into wakefield simulations to quantify the acceptable tolerances of the source for the application.
• Participating in the different meetings/workshop/publications within the project and PWFA community.

Your profile

Skills:

• Knowledge in "cold" plasma physics.
• Experience of cold plasma source design.
• Experience of plasma diagnostics (interferometry, optical emission spectroscopy, etc.).
• Experienced with the use of vacuum systems and its measurement.
• Spoken and written English or French, with a commitment to learn the basics of the other language.

Eligibility criteria:

• You are a national of a CERN Member or Associate Member State .
• You have a professional background in Material Science (or a related field) and have either:
  • a Master's degree with 2 to 6 years of post-graduation professional experience.
  • or a PhD with no more than 3 years of post-graduation professional experience.
• You have never had a CERN fellow or graduate contract before.

Additional Information

Job closing date: 10.07.2025 at 23:59 CEST.

Contract duration: 24 months, with a possible extension up to 36 months maximum.

Working hours: 40 hours per week

Target start date: 01-October-2025

This position involves:

• Work in Radiation Areas.
• Interventions in underground installations.
• A valid driving licence.
• Stand-by duty, when required by the needs of the Organisation.
• Work during nights, Sundays and official holidays, when required by the needs of the Organisation.
• Operations on electrical installations or in their vicinity (over 1000 Volt AC or 1500 Volt DC) requiring a specific authorisation.
• Exposure to electromagnetic fields under certain exposure conditions.

Given the occupational health risks associated with this position, the selected candidate must obtain medical clearance before a contract offer is confirmed.

Job reference: TE-VSC-SCC-2025-99-GRAP

Field of work: Applied Physics

What we offer

• A monthly stipend ranging between 6287  and 6911  Swiss Francs per month (net of tax).
• Coverage by CERN's comprehensive health scheme (for yourself, your spouse and children), and membership of the CERN Pension Fund.
• Depending on your individual circumstances: installation grant; family, child and infant allowances; payment of travel expenses at the beginning and end of contract.
• 30 days of paid leave per year.
• On-the-job and formal training at CERN as well as in-house language courses for English and/or French.

About us

At CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, physicists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the universe. Using the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments, they study the basic constituents of matter - fundamental particles that are made to collide together at close to the speed of light. The process gives physicists clues about how particles interact, and provides insights into the fundamental laws of nature. Find out more on http://home.cern.

We are on a Quest. A Journey into discovery like no other. Bring your expertise to our unique work and develop your knowledge and skills at pace. Join world-class subject matter experts on unique projects, in a Quest for greater knowledge and deeper understanding.

Begin your CERN Quest. Take Part!

Diversity has been an integral part of CERN's mission since its foundation and is an established value of the Organization. Employing a diverse workforce is central to our success.