Head of Department - CBM (all genders)

Overview

The GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt operates one of the leading particle accelerators for science. The new FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research) project is under construction through international cooperation. GSI and FAIR offer the opportunity to work in an international environment with a team committed to world-class science. The CBM (Compressed Baryonic Matter) experiment is a core FAIR project aiming to explore the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter at high net baryon densities with unprecedented precision. The experiment is in the final construction phase with installation and commissioning underway. A large international collaboration with 400 scientists and engineers contributes to a complex suite of detectors. The CBM department at GSI hosts the collaboration and presently comprises about 20 scientists, engineers and technicians, with involvement across detector development and operation, software, electronics, data acquisition and infrastructure.

• Silicon Tracking System (STS), a key detector of the CBM experiment
• Software for experiment control, event reconstruction and detector simulation
• Front-end electronics for the Time-Of-Flight (TOF) detector
• Data acquisition system
• Cave and detector infrastructure

GSI is seeking an internationally renowned scientist in the field of relativistic heavy-ion and hadron physics with leadership skills, experience in large instrumentation or software projects, and expertise in experiment data analysis. The successful candidate will shape and advance the technological and scientific program of the CBM department in close collaboration with the international CBM collaboration including universities and research institutes in Germany and worldwide.

Your responsibilities

• Provide scientific and strategic leadership for the CBM department
• Coordinate host lab activities directed towards CBM in close collaboration with the CBM collaboration management
• Coordinate cooperation between CBM and technical research departments and other groups to realise and operate CBM
• Represent the CBM department in internal committees, scientific reviews and funding discussions
• Manage and develop the department team, including scientists, engineers and technicians, and ensure compliance with safety, legal and administrative regulations

Your Profile

• PhD in experimental physics, preferably with a specialization in nuclear or particle physics
• Strong scientific background in the physics of strongly interacting matter and experience in large-scale experiments
• Project management experience in complex, international research environments
• Acquainted with detector technologies, data acquisition and/or software development
• Proven leadership and team coordination skills
• Successful track record in acquiring third-party funding is expected
• Experience in academic teaching and supervising Bachelor, Master, and PhD students is highly desirable

We offer

• A leadership role at a major European research facility
• Opportunities for professional development and international collaboration
• Prospect of a joint professorship in cooperation with a partner university in the region

The position is permanent. The salary and benefits are based on the Collective Agreement for the German Public Service (TVöD-Bund) effective at GSI.

GSI promotes the professional development of women and expressly welcomes applications from women. Handicapped persons will be preferentially considered when equally qualified.

Further information about FAIR and GSI is available on the websites of the institutions. If you are interested, please submit your application, including a cover letter, CV, list of publications, research statement, and contact details for references and the posting ID 25.87-5112 by 30 September 2025 via the online portal on our job site.

Online-Bewerbungsportal

GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH
ABTEILUNG PERSONAL
PLANCKSTRASSE 1
64291 DARMSTADT