Embedded Systems Engineer (TE-MPE-EP-2025-58-GRAP)

Job Description

About the team:

As an Embedded Systems Engineer, you will join the Electronics for Protection (EP) Section of the Machine Protection and Electrical Integrity (MPE) Group within the Technology (TE) Department.

The MPE Group supports the operation of CERN's accelerator complex by developing, maintaining and operating state-of-the art hardware and software technologies for magnet circuit protection and interlock systems for the present and future accelerators, magnets test facilities and several CERN hosted experiments. The Electronics for Protection (EP) Section is responsible for the development, commissioning and operation of quench detection electronics and data acquisition systems used for the protection of superconducting equipment in CERN's accelerator complex and test facilities.

About the project:

As part of the maintenance and upgrades of the LHC, the group is developing a new quench detector for the magnets that are part of the infrastructure. While the project has already started, further design of test methods, firmware verifications, and radiation testing is required. Additionally, there is also a focus on improving the existing test framework (firmware/gateware and hardware).

Your responsibilities

• Design a radiation test setup and conduct radiation testing of a quench detector prototype at CERN's CHARM facility.
• Enhance and optimize the CI pipeline for FPGA gateware, ensuring high-quality and efficient development.
• Develop and improve hardware-in-the-loop verification systems for FPGA gateware.
• Design and implement a production and qualification tester for the next-generation LHC base-layer quench detector.
• Provide operational support for the quench detection system in CERN's IT STRING facility.

Your profile

Skills

• Experience with VHDL and Python
• Experience with hardware testing, debugging, and validation
• Knowledge of electronics, measurement techniques, and signal processing
• Familiarity with FPGA development workflows and verification
• Familiarity with CI/CD automation
• Spoken and written English, with a commitment to learn the basics of French

Eligibility criteria:

• You are a national of a CERN Member or Associate Member State.
• You have a professional background in Electronics Engineering (or a related field) and have either:
  • a Master's degree with 2 to 6 years of post-graduation professional experience;
  • or a PhD with no more than 3 years of post-graduation professional experience.
• You have never had a CERN fellow or graduate contract before.

Additional Information

• Job closing date: 30th of April at 23:59 (midnight) CET.
• Contract duration: 24 months, with a possible extension up to 36 months maximum.
• Working hours: 40 hours per week
• Target start date: 01-July-2025
• This position involves:
• Work in Radiation Areas.
• Interventions in underground installations.

Job reference: TE-MPE-EP-2025-58-GRAP

Field of work: Electrical or Electronics Engineering

What we offer

• A monthly stipend ranging between 6287 and 6911 Swiss Francs per month (net of tax).
• Coverage by CERN's comprehensive health scheme (for yourself, your spouse and children), and membership of the CERN Pension Fund.
• Depending on your individual circumstances: installation grant; family, child and infant allowances; payment of travel expenses at the beginning and end of contract.
• 30 days of paid leave per year.
• On-the-job and formal training at CERN as well as in-house language courses for English and/or French.

About us

At CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, physicists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the universe. Using the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments, they study the basic constituents of matter - fundamental particles that are made to collide together at close to the speed of light. The process gives physicists clues about how particles interact, and provides insights into the fundamental laws of nature. Find out more on http://home.cern.

We are on a Quest. A Journey into discovery like no other. Bring your expertise to our unique work and develop your knowledge and skills at pace. Join world-class subject matter experts on unique projects, in a Quest for greater knowledge and deeper understanding.

Begin your CERN Quest. Take Part!

Diversity has been an integral part of CERN's mission since its foundation and is an established value of the Organization. Employing a diverse workforce is central to our success.