Your responsibilities

The Beam Instrumentation Group (BI) is responsible for designing, building and maintaining the instruments that allow observation of the particle beams and the measurement of related parameters for all CERN accelerators, transfer lines and secondary beam lines.

The range of activities undertaken by the Group include: accelerator physics, detector technology, custom built electronics, mechanical and vacuum engineering for detector housings and software engineering.

You will join the Beam Position Measurement Section (BI-BP), which is responsible for designing and maintaining systems measuring the transverse position of the various particle beams used at CERN. The section is responsible for around 2000 Beam Position Monitors (BPM) installed across the accelerator complex.

A typical BPM system is a chain of an in-vacuum electromagnetic sensor, front-end analogue RF circuit, high-speed digitisers FPGA and back-end software. During your appointment you will have access to classroom courses and receive on-the-field training carried out by experienced technicians, technical-engineers and engineers; this position therefore presents many opportunities of growth to a person willing to learn.

As a technician in the beam position section of the beam instrumentation group (SY-BI-BP) you will:

• Participate in the maintenance of the tunnel and surface installations in the various CERN accelerators including the LHC;
• Work on/with the digital, analogue and RF components of instrumentation systems;
• Diagnose and debug electronic devices in the accelerator facilities and in the laboratory;
• Use, after being trained, advanced instruments such as high-end oscilloscopes, VNAs, logic analysers;
• Design, after being trained, test benches comprising laboratory instrumentation and custom electronics, including PCBs designed by you;
• Develop, after being trained, python scripts for the control of laboratory instruments and test benches.

More information here: https://sy-dep-bi.web.cern.ch/bp

Your profile

Skills and/or knowledge:

• Qualifications Technical diploma or equivalent relevant experience in the field of electronics. Required experience and technical competencies:
• Proven hands-on experience in soldering of SMD components;
• Proven hands-on experience with the use of laboratory instruments such as oscilloscopes, multimeters and power supplies;
• Ability to read electronic schematics;
• Valid driving license.

Beneficial Technical skills/or knowledge: 

• Knowledge of CAD software such as Altium or KiCad;
• Knowledge of Python;
• Language skills: Fluent in English or French. Ability to understand and speak English in routine situations. Willingness to acquire knowledge of the other language rapidly.

Eligibility criteria:

• You are a national of a CERN Member or Associate Member State.
• By the application deadline, you have a maximum of two years of professional experience since graduation in Electronics (or a related field) and your highest educational qualification is a general secondary education diploma.
• You have never had a CERN fellow or graduate contract before.
• Applicants with a Bachelor, Master or PhD degree are not eligible.

Job closing date: October 4th at 23:59 PM (midnight) CEST.

Job reference: SY-BI-BP-2024-149-GRAE

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

Target start date: 01-February-2025

This position involves:

• Work in Radiation Areas.
• Interventions in underground installations.
• A valid driving licence.
• Work during nights, Sundays and official holidays, when required by the needs of the Organization.

What we offer

• A monthly stipend of 4569 Swiss Francs (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.

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.