Job Description

CERN designs, develops, and operates world-leading particle accelerators and experiments to deepen our understanding of the fundamental laws of the universe. These activities inevitably produce stray radiation through interactions between particle beams and matter. To monitor radiation levels precisely, CERN deploys a network of detectors positioned near beam lines, targets, and experimental facilities across its site.

Within the Radiation Protection (RP) Group, the Instrumentation & Logistics (IL) Section is responsible for the design, development, installation, commissioning, operation, and maintenance of this specialised radiation monitoring equipment.

Radiation monitoring plays a vital role in ensuring the safe operation of CERN's accelerator complex and experiments, while fulfilling legal and regulatory obligations to protect personnel, the public, and the environment. In this challenging context, the RP-IL Section has developed a new generation of safety-critical radiation monitoring system known as CROME, designed to meet stringent performance and reliability standards.

These monitors rely on custom-built electronics interfacing with ionisation chamber detectors, which generate a current proportional to the radiation dose rate. To collect and process this current accurately, the RP-IL team has designed a dedicated Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) known as ACCURATE.

Your responsibilities

The Reliability Engineer will play a key role in ensuring the dependability and qualification of ACCURATE ASIC for integration into CERN Radiation Monitoring Electronics (CROME).

• Evaluate the reliability and robustness of the ACCURATE ASIC under various operational and environmental conditions.
• Conduct degradation experiments to evaluate the effect of aging on measurement accuracy
• Define and implement qualification and validation plans in compliance with CERN safety and reliability standards.
• Conduct Failure Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) and Root Cause Analyses (RCA) for identified issues.
• Establish and monitor reliability metrics such as Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) and Failure Rate (λ).
• Coordinate accelerated life testing, radiation tolerance testing, and environmental stress screening.
• Collaborate closely with ASIC designers, system engineers, and safety specialists to define qualification criteria for integration into the CROME platform.
• Document results and present findings through technical reports and design review meetings.

Your profile

• Proven experience in reliability engineering, the development of test plans, and the setup of experimental campaigns.
• Proven experience of electronics simulation, test automation with scripting languages.

Skills:

• Proficiency with circuit simulation concepts and experience using SPICE-based tools. Capable of setting up simulation testbenches, analysing waveforms, and interpreting results.
• Proficiency in developing automation scripts, data processing tools, and system utilities using Python and Bash. Ability to write clean, efficient, and well-documented code for simulation setup, data extraction, and workflow automation.
• Proficiency in Git in collaborative development environments. Understanding of branching strategies, code review workflows, and best practices for maintaining clean, traceable version histories.
• Knowledge in Linux-based development. Skilled in using command-line tools, shell environments, and system administration tasks.
• Familiarity with instrumentation for ionising radiation monitoring is a strong asset.
• Knowledge with reliability modelling tools and methodologies (FMEA/FMECA, Weibull analysis, HALT/HASS).
• 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 Mechanical/Reliability Engineering/Microelectronics (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: 04.01.2026 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: Hybrid

Target start date: 01-April-2026

This position involves:

• Work in Radiation Areas.
• Interventions in underground installations.

Job reference: HSE-RP-IL-2025-247-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.