Thin Film Materials Scientist

Big Science Sweden; Genf; Hybrid; CHF 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

The Vacuum, Surfaces and Coatings (VSC) Group within CERN’s Technology Department is responsible for the full lifecycle of accelerator vacuum systems, including coating and surface treatments. The Surface Coating and Chemistry (SCC) section focuses on wet surface treatments, plasma-based surface treatments and thin-film materials for SRF cavities and related technologies.

You are expected to meet the listed eligibility criteria and hold a Master’s degree with 2–6 years of experience or a PhD

Qualifications

• Master’s degree with 2–6 years of professional experience since graduation or a PhD with a maximum of 3 years of professional experience since graduation.
• Bachelor’s degree alone is not sufficient.

Education

Master's degree + 2–6 years experience OR PhD + up to 3 years experience

Job description

The Vacuum, Surfaces and Coatings (VSC) Group within CERN’s Technology (TE) Department is responsible for the full lifecycle of accelerator vacuum systems, from development and design through to installation, operation and maintenance. The group operates facilities for measuring vacuum performance, assessing the compatibility of materials and surface technologies, and performing thin film coating, surface finishing, and vacuum-related physical and chemical characterisation.

As part of this group, you will join the Surface Coating and Chemistry (SCC) section, which provides CERN-wide expertise and services in wet surface treatments, surface and chemical analysis, and surface coating using physical vapour deposition techniques. In this role, you will contribute to the development of coating systems, thin-film materials and plasma-based surface treatments, with a particular focus on applications related to superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities and adjacent technologies.

Be sure to meet the eligibility criteria

• You are a national of aCERN Member State or Associate Member State. Currently, we cannot consider applications from Pakistani, Lithuanian, Latvian, Cypriot and Croatian nationals, as the ceiling defined under Article II.5 of the Associate Membership Agreement has been reached.
• By the application deadline, you have a master’s degree with 2 to 6 years of professional experience since graduation or a PhD with a maximum of 3 years of professional experience since graduation. You are not eligible with only a bachelor’s degree.
• You have never had a CERN fellow or graduate contract before.
• Please pay attention to the additional criteria and requirements for this specific position and mentioned above.