FCPA Research Assistant

KINGS COLLEGE LONDON; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 42,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK university is seeking a full-time FCPA Research Assistant to investigate Sagnac interferometry for fibre amplification. The role involves conducting research, mentoring students, and actively contributing to a high-performing team in a premier attosecond quantum physics laboratory. Ideal applicants will have a master's in Photonics and expertise in femtosecond laser technologies. This position is based onsite and offers a salary of £41,761 per annum, providing excellent opportunities for professional growth in a diverse and inclusive environment.

Benefits

Flexible working options

Caring support funds

Training and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Master's degree with femtosecond fibre laser expertise.
• Proficient in femtosecond pulse measurement techniques.
• Skilled in optical setup and research design.

Responsibilities

• Conduct research on FCPA amplifier set-up.
• Assist in supervision of master's students.
• Document research findings and progress.

Skills

Femtosecond fibre laser expertise

Femtosecond pulse measurements

Technical drawing expertise

Optical paths setup and design

Excellent communication skills

Coding ability (LabVIEW, MATLAB, Python)

Data documentation and management

Mentorship ability

EDI awareness

Education

Master's degree in Photonics

Job description

Offer Description

About us

The position is for a FCPA research assistant to investigate Sagnac interferometry for fibre amplification.

The FCPA project is for 6 months to be held in the attosecond quantum physics laboratory at King’s College London, in the NMES faculty at the Strand Campus (under the supervision of Dr Amelle Zair).

We are looking for hiring an excellent research assistant with a master’s degree in Photonics. Candidates should have expertise in fibre amplifier, either through a master project, and internship or a secondment. This experience should include setting up, testing, characterising a fibre femtosecond amplifier. Any additional experience in research link to the measurement of femtosecond pulses will be complementary.

The Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences (NMES) comprises Chemistry, Engineering, Informatics, Mathematics, and Physics – all departments highly rated in research activities and a wide-ranging portfolio of education programmes. Celebrating diversity and supporting staff is important to us and we offer a range of provision including flexible working, caring support (including a Parenting and Carers Fund and the Carer’s Career Development Fund), training, and a variety of diversity and inclusion networks. Staff can apply for flexible working to help them balance the demands of their professional and personal commitments and we offer comprehensive leave policies for parental, adoption, surrogacy, dependant and shared leave.

The university is making investment in NMES and both student and staff numbers are growing. Our staff come from over 45 countries and 56% of our students are from outside the UK. Principally located on the Strand Campus in the heart of central London, further details available at www.kcl.ac.uk/nms.

The study of Physics at King's dates back to the foundation of the College in 1829. The Department is currently undergoing significant growth with substantial investment in new appointments, research infrastructure and laboratory space refurbishment. Further information may be found at: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/physics

About the role

The FCPA research assistant primary role will consist of investigating Sagnac interferometry for fibre amplification of a high repetition rate femtosecond Ytterbium CPA system at King’s College London in the Attosecond quantum physics laboratory led by Dr Amelle Zair.

The FCPA researcher assistant will be responsible for the following activities:

Research: Undertaking research on FCPA amplifier by preparing and setting up the amplification architecture. Conducting measurements of the stability of the amplifier, beam quality, the gain and the power law. Conducting literature review and experiments and document all data and results obtained.

Expertise: He/She/They need to have expertise in fibre amplifier set up in depth and be capable of learning implementing this in a whole CPA chain.

Teaching and learning: Assisting in the supervision of master students and support the other member of the laboratory. He/She/they will be expected to show consideration as part of pastoral care duty.

Communication: Write research material on FCPA (reports, publications, documentations). Present research progress to supervisor and collaborations and meetings.

Liaison and networking and support managing: Liaise with the group members and support them in research activities.

Teamwork: Participate to all diagnostic developments (CEP stability, femto-measurement via FROG, SPIDER, POLLYWOG etc…) and attend and contribute to all relevant meetings (experimental meetings, group meetings, one-to-one, collaborative meetings and journal club).

Initiative, problem solving and decision making: He/She/They are expected make use of standard technique concerning amplifier build up (optical alignment procedure and NA fitting etc…), measurement of all characteristic and data management (analysis, coding, organization, storage etc…) needed for the FCPA project and find solution on optical implementation. Contribute to the delivery of the lines (amplified line, multi colour line etc…) for the research applications with the team. Generate original idea on the design of FCPA and its implementation based on outcomes.

Planning and managing resources: He/She/They will be in charge of support planning and allocating bam time to the experiments on a weekly basis, coordinate the FCPA work.

Work environment: Be the main point of contact for safety documentation and participating as a representative of the group to the monthly H&S meeting.

This is a full-time post (35 Hours per week) with a probation of 6 months, offered on a fixed term contract until 31st May 2026. The position is an onsite position. It cannot be undertaken remotely.

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

• A master in photonics that includes a clear femtosecond fibre laser expertise (master project)
• A strong expertise in femtosecond pulse measurements
• An expertise in technical drawing of system.
• An expertise in optical paths set up and design for research.
• Excellent communication skills and reporting
• High level of commitment and working in a team
• Coding ability (labview, Maltab, Python or similar)
• Ability to produce, archive, organize and test data and documentations
• Ability to assist in mentoring or sub supervision
• Being EDI aware and bystander

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

Further Information

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.

As part of this commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and through this appointment process, it is our aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit ’ pages.

Grade and Salary: £41,761 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance

Job ID: 129805

Close Date: 21-Dec-2025

Contact Person: Amelle Zair

Contact Details: [e-mail]