Physicist

Tracerco; Billingham; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Tracerco is looking for an experienced Research Physicist to join their Product Development and Innovation Department. You will contribute to advanced radiation instrumentation and engage with interdisciplinary teams to develop physics-based solutions.

The ideal candidate will have a degree in Physics and solid experience in radiation signal processing, Monte Carlo simulations, and scientific programming. The role requires effective communication and teamwork to address customer requirements.

Qualifications

• Solid foundation in radiation physics including photon interactions and shielding.
• Hands-on experience with Monte Carlo radiation transport simulation.
• Ability to validate simulation outputs against experimental measurement.

Responsibilities

• Maintain and develop Monte Carlo simulations of radiation transport.
• Characterise and design signal chains from initial interaction to digital output.
• Create high quality technical reports and communicate results to stakeholders.

Skills

Monte Carlo radiation transport simulation

Signal processing for radiation detector systems

Scientific programming (Python, MATLAB, C++)

Collaboration in cross-disciplinary teams

Experimental validation of simulation outputs

Education

Degree in Physics or a closely related discipline (MSc/MPhys or PhD preferred)

Tools

GEANT4

GATE

Job description

Tracerco is a world-leading industrial technology company providing companies all over the world with the insights they need to make informed decisions about their operations. Our expertise allows customers to operate more productively, effectively and safely. With offices across six continents, Tracerco is a global leader with local values.

The Role

Tracerco are seeking an experienced Research Physicist to join our Product Development and Innovation Department working on the development of advanced radiation instrumentation and detector technologies.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to contribute to a range of research and development projects from radiation instrumentation concept through to CT design, signal processing and image reconstruction. Radiation transport simulation is central to the role and will drive forward research and support colleagues across the business with physics-based analysis and modelling. In addition, the Physics team are seeking an individual with radiation signal processing experience to contribute to the design and implementation of optimal radiation detectors for application within radiation instruments.

The role involves working in close collaboration with inter-disciplinary teams to translate fundamental physics into practical detector and instrumentation solutions. Physicists are required to engage with the full development chain from understanding of customer and commercial requirements, early-stage concept evaluation and feasibility assessment all the way through development to characterisation, validation and performance optimisation.

Key Responsibilities

Simulation and Radiation Physics

• Maintain and develop Monte Carlo simulations of radiation transport, scatter and detector response using GATE and/or GEANT4
• Model radioactive source and decay characteristics
• Simulate scatter distributions and provide input into the design of anti-scatter correction hardware and algorithms for instrumentation
• Support the optimisation of CT system geometry, source parameters and detector design
• Develop and validate detector response models to support instrumentation design optimisation
• Provide simulation-based analysis for new and ongoing investigations through detector concept evaluation, geometry optimization and shielding assessment

Detector Signal Physics

• Characterise and design signal chains from initial interaction through to digital output
• Liaise with electronics engineers to translate detector physics requirements into signal processing specifications
• Support detector design and array development by providing an understanding of the signal chain
• Develop physics-informed correction algorithms for detector imperfections including scintillator afterglow, gain non-uniformity and pixel crosstalk
• Work closely with CT reconstruction development team to optimise the signal chain with reconstruction requirements and limitations in mind
• Develop an understanding of industrial inspection requirements
• Contribute to the translation of customer inspection requirements into system performance specifications

General

• Work within cross-disciplinary teams to progress radiation instrumentation development and address customer requirements
• Create high quality technical reports and presentations
• Communicate technical results to technical and non-technical stakeholders, customers and business leaders
• Contribute to IP development

Qualifications

• Degree in Physics or a closely related discipline (MSc/MPhys or PhD preferred)

Simulation and Radiation Physics

• Solid foundation in radiation physics including photon interactions, shielding, scatter and attenuation
• Hands‑on experience with Monte Carlo radiation transport simulation (GEANT4, GATE, MCNP or equivalent)
• Experience working with existing simulation models and developing them to tackle new problems
• Ability to validate simulation outputs against experimental measurement

Detector Signal Processing

• Experience in signal processing for radiation detector systems
• Knowledge of detector signal formation flow from charge generation to readout and understanding of associated noise sources
• Experience characterising detector performance and developing correction algorithms for detector imperfections
• Ability to work in conjunction with electronics engineers by specifying requirements and interpreting test measurements in terms of underlying physics

General

• Strong scientific programming skills e.g. Python, MATLAB or C++
• Ability to work collaboratively in cross-disciplinary teams
• Comfortable working to defined project deliverables and timelines
• Clear and effective scientific communication (written and verbal) for technical and non-technical audiences
• Experience working with scintillator‑based gamma detector systems
• Background in industrial CT, medical CT, or X‑ray imaging
• Knowledge of iterative image reconstruction methods and image quality metrics
• Familiarity with FPGA‑based digital signal processing
• Experience with GPU‑accelerated computing and application to algorithm development