Development and Characterization of a Multisensor Platform for Monitoring Onshore CO2 Storage Sites

Mines Saint-Etiennee; France; On-site; EUR 20,000 - 26,000; Full time

Job summary

Mines Saint‑Étienne in Saint-Étienne (42) invites applications for a Doctoral Student (R1) within the CO2MET project at the SPIN–LGF Center. The position is a 36-month public contract starting January 2027, under the supervision of Riadh Lakhmi.

You will select sensors, study selectivity, develop prediction algorithms, assess aging effects, and conduct real-world tests at Sainte‑Marguerite site, contributing to decarbonization sensing.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in a relevant field with a strong experimental background.
• Multidisciplinary knowledge in instrumentation, sensors and data processing.
• Excellent English oral and written communication.

Responsibilities

• Select existing sensors meeting specifications to develop a detection platform.
• Study sensor selectivity under lab conditions using multivariate analysis.
• Develop prediction algorithms accounting for drift, linearity and variability in complex gas mixtures and environmental conditions.
• Study the effect of sensor aging on response and propose compensation algorithms.
• Conduct real-world case studies at Sainte-Marguerite site (Puy‑de‑Dôme) to validate developed sensor platforms.

Skills

Instrumentation

Sensors

Data processing

Multivariate analysis

English communication

Education

Master’s degree in Measurement / Instrumentation

Master’s degree in Data Acquisition / Analysis

Bac +5 diploma

Tools

Python programming

Job description

Organisation/Company Mines Saint‑Etiennee Research Field Physics Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Master Positions Application Deadline 1 Nov 2026 - 00:00 (Europe/Paris) Country France Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Offer Starting Date 4 Jan 2027 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Type of contract: 36 months permanent public contract

Category: managerial position

Job family: RESEARCHER

Field of activity:research

Place of work: Saint‑Etienne (42)

Earliest start date:January 2027

The position reports hierarchically to: (Assistant professor) Riadh LAKHMI

Joining Mines Saint‑Étienne means committing to an institution where science and innovation build a more sustainable future. It is a school of excellence where everyone has the opportunity to unlock their full potential and contribute to tackling the challenges of tomorrow.

Ranked among the top engineering schools in France and recognized worldwide, our school, a member of the Institut Mines‑Télécom, educates the talents of tomorrow while actively addressing major industrial, digital, and environmental challenges. By joining us, you become part of a community of 500 members of staff, 2,500 students and take part in an ambitious project: combining academic excellence, cutting‑edge research, and positive societal impact.

The Institut Mines‑Télécom brings together France’s leading Grandes Ecoles to tackle major industrial, digital, energy, and environmental challenges. With its eight public Grandes Écoles and two affiliated Graduate Schools, it is the leading public institute dedicated to engineers and managers. Together, we imagine and build a sustainable future by educating the leaders who will shape tomorrow’s transitions.

What we expect from you

As a doctoral student, you will play a central role in our research and innovation efforts and, to a lesser extent, in our teaching activities. You will be assigned to the SPIN–LGF Center (Georges Friedel Laboratory, UMR CNRS 5307). At this center, you will combine scientific passion with societal impact.

The SPIN Center (Science of Industrial and Natural Processes), which will play a major role in the PhD, is developing its expertise at Mines Saint‑Etienne in the field of process engineering applied to dispersed systems: grains, particles, droplets, bubbles, and porous media. It also has expertise in the development of sensors and instrumentation.

CO₂ capture and storage technologies will play a key role to decarbonizing the industrial sector. Offshore storage has already proven feasible, but onshore storage appears necessary to increase storage capacity while reducing CO₂ transport. However, the proximity of these sites to populated areas makes their deployment uncertain and raises questions regarding social acceptability.

Long‑term monitoring of CO2 storage sites, as required by the European CCS Directive, presents an opportunity to enhance transparency and local acceptance of storage by involving stakeholders in data collection and interpretation. However, current monitoring systems do not allow for the simultaneous use of in‑situ measurements, numerical simulations, and interactive visualization to support an integrated approach to monitoring storage sites.

The CO2MET project aims to develop and advance key units or components to lay the groundwork for a future integrated long‑term digital monitoring system that will improve the reliability and acceptability of geological CO2 storage.

To achieve these objectives, the CO2MET consortium was formed and consists of IFPEN, BRGM, Mines Saint‑Etienne, and Cerema.

Long‑term monitoring requires reliable and high‑performance tools, particularly in the field of environmental sensors, which raises the question of implementing corrective measures to process the signal, as well as the question of how long‑term variations in external parameters influence sensor response (and the impact of climate change).

Given that CO₂ concentration signals alone may not be sufficiently discriminating (since biological concentrations in soils can exceed 10% by volume), considering their various origins (deep sources, from storage or gas‑rock interaction; respiratory processes; methane oxidation), the prevention of false positives in storage site monitoring must rely on CO₂ sensors (NDIR or photoacoustic)and on other sensors (for example, a chemical O₂ sensor), as well as on environmental sensors (humidity, pressure, temperature) to ensure accurate identification of the CO₂ source.

Among his assigned tasks assigned, the doctoral student will :

• Select existing sensors that meet the specifications in order to develop a detection platform
• Study, under laboratory conditions, the selectivity of the sensors with respect to interfering gas species, using multivariate analysis
• Develop prediction algorithms that account for reproducibility, drift, linearity, and variability in complex gas mixtures and under varying environmental conditions (temperature, pressure, and relative humidity)
• Study the effect of sensor aging on sensor response and on the resulting predictions, in order to propose a compensation algorithm
• Finally, conduct real‑world case studies at the Sainte‑Marguerite site (Puy‑de‑Dôme), with varying levels of CO₂ emissions, in order to test and validate the sensor platforms that have been developed.

Your ability to work in a project‑based environment and to create links between teaching, research, and practical applications will be essential for success.

What we are looking for

You hold a:

Bac + 5 diploma or equivalent,

And ideally:

• You hold a Master’s degree (Level 2) in one of the following fields: Measurement / Instrumentation / Metrology; Data Acquisition, Processing, and Analysis
• With internship or professional experience in research (strong interest in the experimental aspect)
• Junior applicants accepted: yes

Your additional strengths:

• Since the topic is multidisciplinary, a solid understanding of instrumentation/sensors, data processing, and multivariate analysis will be required. In addition, knowledge of probability and statistics will also be appreciated.
• The topic includes a significant experimental component, but a solid background in computer science will be useful for the data processing portion (particularly Python programming).
• Oral and written communication skills (particularly in English)

We support each of our employees on the path to excellence, with the conviction that together, we can have a lasting and significant impact on our world.

Joining Mines Saint‑Etienne is the opportunity to find:

• A stimulating environment:Cutting‑edge experimental resources, a welcoming working environment and a solid international network (T.I.M.E., EULIST).
• A real impact:Contractual research projects worth €11 million/year, mainly with industrial partners, A science culture centre, La Rotonde, which has been committed to science outreach for 25 years, welcoming over 50,000 visitors per year.
• An incomparable quality of life:46/49 days of paid leave, partial remote working, 75% reimbursed public transport, financial support for carpooling and cycling and a social barometer where 83% of employees praise the quality of life at work.

Let's build a more sustainable future, through science, engineering, and projects that make sense.

As part of its Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion policy, the École des Mines de Saint‑Étienne is committed to fair treatment of all applicants.

Additional information

• Remuneration set according to the candidate's profile, according to the rules defined by the management framework of the Institut Mines Télécom
• The positions offered for recruitment are open to all with, on request, facilities for candidates with disabilities
• Position open to civil servants (category A and B) and/or people on public contractsAll applications may be subject to an administrative investigation

Candidates selected following a review of their application materials will be interviewed via videoconference during interviews conducted on an ongoing basis.

Contacts

• For the content of the position:
  Riadh LAKHMI – Maitre‑assistant
  Mail: [e-mail]
  Tel.: [phone]
• You hold a Master’s degree (Level 2) in one of the following fields: Measurement / Instrumentation / Metrology; Data Acquisition, Processing, and Analysis
• With internship or professional experience in research (strong interest in the experimental aspect)
• Junior applicants accepted: yes

Specific Requirements

• Since the topic is multidisciplinary, a solid understanding of instrumentation/sensors, data processing, and multivariate analysis will be required. In addition, knowledge of probability and statistics will also be appreciated.
• The topic includes a significant experimental component, but a solid background in computer science will be useful for the data processing portion (particularly Python programming).
• Oral and written communication skills (particularly in English)