Job Description

The Engineering Department (EN) pushes forward the limits of technology to provide innovative research tools to the physics and engineering worldwide community. The position is opened in the Mechanical and Materials Engineering (MME) Group, which owns, maintains and develops the 40 years old know-how on the mechanical design, manufacturing and assembly of accelerator and detector devices.

The Engineering Department at CERN is seeking an experienced International Welding Engineer (IWE) to join the Forming & Welding Section (MME-FW) within the Mechanical and Materials Engineering Group (MME). The selected candidate will provide advanced technical expertise in welding and non-destructive testing (NDT) in support of complex interventions scheduled in the underground areas of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and its associated experiments.

These activities will take place during the Long Shutdown 3 (LS3), expected to begin at the end of 2026 and continue until 2029. This position is part of the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) and Experiments Upgrade, a major program aimed at significantly increasing the collider's performance.

Your responsibilities

Your main tasks will be to:

• Prepare welding activities for the LS3 underground interventions, including automated welding operations. This includes reviewing and updating existing welding procedures, drafting new procedures, and carrying out welding qualifications with notified bodies.
• Support non-destructive testing (NDT) activities by reviewing and improving existing procedures and drafting new ones as required.
• Contribute to the training and qualification of welders who will be involved in LS3 underground operations.
• Monitor and follow up on welding activities underground during LS3 to ensure compliance with specifications, quality standards, and safety requirements.
• Follow the fabrication of complex components in CERN's main workshop, participate in the quality control of the welds, and ensure full traceability of welding activities, including proper documentation and management of welding books.

Your profile

Significant practical experience in welding engineering:

• In-depth knowledge of welding standards and welding codes.
• Good Knowledge of destructive and non-destructive testing for weld inspection and qualifications and proven experience working with Radiography Testing, Visual Testing and Metallographic Weld Inspection.
• Good knowledge of material sciences, materials selection and characterization applied to welding.
• Familiarity with quality management: application of quality control standards in mechanical production (welding, NDT, metrology, mechanical measurements) and experience drafting and implementing quality assurance documentation.
• Familiarity with mechanical fabrication in the following domains is an asset: pressure vessels, vacuum chambers, cryogenics.
• Initial experience in mechanical components assembly, good understanding of fabrication techniques and their application to the design process.

Skills:

• An International Welding Engineer (IWE) diploma is required.
• Spoken and written English or French, with a commitment to learn the other language.

Eligibility criteria:

• You are a national of a CERN Member or Associate Member State.
• You have a professional background in Mechanical or Materials Engineering (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: 17.11.2025 at 23:59 CET.

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

Working hours: 40 hours per week

Job flexibility: Fully Onsite

Target start date: 01-February-2026

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.

Job reference: EN-MME-FW-2025-182-GRAP

Field of work: Mechanical Engineering

Benchmark job: 200090 - Mechanical Engineer

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.