Senior Physicist / Development Engineer

Anonymous; York and North Yorkshire; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Anonymous in York is seeking a Senior Physicist / Development Engineer to join its specialised engineering and development team. You will work across experimental physics, development engineering and technical field support on advanced scientific instrumentation.

The role emphasises practical hands-on work with vacuum systems, troubleshooting, experimental planning and close collaboration with multidisciplinary teams to deliver robust product performance in demanding environments.

Qualifications

• Strong background in Physics, Applied Physics, Materials Science, Engineering or related field.
• Experience with vacuum, high-vacuum or ultra-high vacuum systems.
• Experience with scientific instrumentation, experimental equipment or complex engineering systems.
• Hands-on practical and problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to troubleshoot equipment from first principles.
• Experience planning experiments, analysing data and drawing conclusions.
• Ability to work with mechanical, electrical and scientific hardware.
• Good communication and teamwork skills.
• Willingness to travel occasionally.

Responsibilities

• Build, test and develop complex scientific equipment and experimental systems.
• Work hands-on with vacuum and ultra-high vacuum systems.
• Troubleshoot mechanical, electrical and scientific instrumentation issues.
• Plan and conduct experiments to investigate system and product performance.
• Analyse experimental results and understand system behaviour from first principles.
• Support development and improvement of new and existing products.
• Diagnose faults and identify practical engineering solutions.
• Collaborate with physicists, engineers, manufacturing and technical colleagues.
• Produce technical documentation and communicate experimental findings.
• Support installation, commissioning and technical activities when required.
• Occasional travel to customer or partner sites.

Skills

Physics

Hands-on skills

Problem solving

Experiment planning

Data analysis

Technical communication

Team collaboration

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor/Master/PhD in Physics or related

Tools

Vacuum systems

Job description

Senior Physicist / Development Engineer

Location: York

Salary: Competitive, dependent on experience

An established UK scientific technology company is looking for a Senior Physicist / Development Engineer to join its specialist engineering and development team.

The company designs and manufactures advanced scientific instrumentation and technology used within demanding research and industrial environments. Its products combine physics, ultra‑high vacuum technology, precision engineering, electronics and complex scientific instrumentation.

This is a highly practical position sitting between experimental physics, development engineering and technical field support. It would suit a physicist, scientist or engineer who enjoys working directly with sophisticated equipment and solving complex technical problems from first principles.

The Role

You will work on the development, testing, optimisation and support of advanced scientific instrumentation, with responsibilities include:

• Building, testing and developing complex scientific equipment and experimental systems
• Working hands‑on with vacuum and ultra‑high vacuum systems
• Troubleshooting mechanical, electrical and scientific instrumentation issues
• Planning and conducting experiments to investigate system and product performance
• Analysing experimental results and using fundamental physics to understand system behaviour
• Supporting the development and improvement of new and existing products
• Diagnosing faults and identifying practical engineering solutions
• Working closely with physicists, engineers, manufacturing and technical colleagues
• Producing technical documentation and communicating experimental findings
• Supporting installation, commissioning and technical activities when required
• Occasional travel to customer or partner sites

About You

We are interested in candidates with a strong background in Physics, Applied Physics, Materials Science, Engineering or a closely related discipline.

You should ideally have:

• A degree, Master's or PhD in Physics, Engineering, Materials Science or a related subject
• Practical experience working with vacuum, high‑vacuum or ultra‑high vacuum systems
• Experience with scientific instrumentation, experimental equipment or complex engineering systems
• Strong hands‑on practical and problem‑solving skills
• The ability to troubleshoot equipment systematically and understand results from first principles
• Experience planning experiments, analysing data and drawing meaningful technical conclusions
• The confidence to work directly with mechanical, electrical and scientific hardware
• Good communication skills and the ability to work effectively within a multidisciplinary team
• Willingness to undertake occasional travel

Experience in any of the following would be particularly advantageous:

UHV / XHV systems, vacuum technology, electron microscopy, electron optics, surface science, thin‑film deposition, PVD, PECVD, materials characterisation, high‑voltage systems, charged‑particle instrumentation, semiconductor equipment or advanced scientific instrumentation.

You do not necessarily need experience in every area. Of particular interest are candidates who combine a strong scientific understanding with genuine hands‑on experience of complex equipment.

The Opportunity

This is an excellent opportunity to join a highly specialised scientific engineering business working on technically challenging instrumentation.

The position offers considerably more than purely theoretical or desk‑based research. You will have the opportunity to work directly with advanced technology, contribute to product development and solve challenging scientific and engineering problems in a practical R&D environment