Job Description

Join the Beam Position Measurement (BP) Section as an Electronics Engineer for Beam Instrumentation low level SW design! This section is part of the Beam Instrumentation (BI) Group within the Accelerator Systems (SY) Department is in charge of designing and maintaining the systems measuring the transverse position of the various particle beams used at CERN.

CERN's AWAKE (Advanced Wakefield Experiment) is preparing for its next experimental run with a major upgrade to its beam position monitoring system. We are looking for a skilled and motivated electronics engineer to help design, implement, and operate high-performance diagnostic systems critical to unlocking new frontiers in plasma wakefield acceleration.

Your responsibilities

Your responsibilities will include:

• Assist in the design of the low level and real-time SW deployed in the SoC used for the project.
• Assist in the specification of the front-end software API exposed to the AWAKE operators.
• Implement, qualify and test the beam position computation routines.
• Integrate the electronics hardware with CERN's accelerator control infrastructure, working closely with the digital and software experts in the group.
• Commission the upgraded BPM system, performing calibration and validation using calibration and beam data.
• Operate and assess system performance during AWAKE dry-runs.
• Contribute to performance optimisation and long-term reliability of the new system.

Your profile

• Hands-on experience with low level SW (C/C++);
• Hands-on experience with real-time SW (C/C++);
• Hands-on experience with SoC firmware development;
• Experience with data analysis with Python;
• Experience with hardware control and data acquisition systems (e.g. FPGA, SoC or similar) is a strong asset.

Skills:

• C++ coding;
• Real-time SW development;
• SoC firmware development;
• Python for data analysis;
• Spoken and written English, with a commitment to learn French.

Eligibility criteria:

• You are a national of a CERN Member or Associate Member State.
• You have a professional background in Electronics or software (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: 01.12.2025 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 Organisation.

Job reference: SY-BI-BP-2025-192-GRAP

Field of work: Software Engineering and IT

Benchmark job: 200050 - Electronics 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.