Open Position Engineer Position for the Technical Division within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan – Funded by the European Union – Next Generation

About IFAE

The Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE) is a public consortium of Generalitat de Catalunya, the Autonomous Government of Catalonia, and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB, a public university) whose main goal is to carry out research and to contribute to the development of high energy physics from a theoretical, experimental and technological point of view. IFAE has the status of a “University Institute" attached to UAB and its premises are within the campus of the university.

About IFAE’s Technical Division

The Technical Division of IFAE is constituted by a multidisciplinary team with the mission to make the scientist’s projects a reality. We oversee the design and development of the mechanics, electronics, and software for the instrumentation required for each project. IFAE-BIST is the Institute for High Energy Physics (Institut de Física d’Altes Energies) inside the Barcelona Institute for Science and Technology. At IFAE we conduct experimental and theoretical research at the frontiers of fundamental physics, namely in Particle Physics, Astrophysics, Cosmology, and Applied medical Physics. We are involved in the ATLAS project at the LHC at CERN, the T2K neutrino experiment in Japan, the MAGIC and the CTA - LST telescopes in La Palma, the Dark Energy Survey project in Chile, the ESA Euclid satellite, and the VIRGO Gravitational Waves experiment, among others. We also work at the cutting edge of detector technology developing pixel detectors for High Energy Physics, telescope cameras, and detectors for medical imaging and other scientific and industrial fields.

Requirements

The hired person must have the following minimum requirements: Knowledge: Bachelor or Engineering degree in Instrumentation or similar. Experience in:

• Assembly, integration, and verification of astronomical or scientific optical instrumentation
• Optical and opto-mechanical design, simulation, alignment, integration, and analysis
• Readout electronics standard systems (ARC, MONSOON, ESO-NGC, etc)
• Design, simulation, and integration of mechanisms in cryo-vacuum conditions
• Vacuum and cryogenics systems
• Digital imaging processing algorithms, image noise, and statistics
• Design, simulation, and implementation of control systems

Skills:

• System engineering skills to understand the global picture and the details of complex systems, their interfaces, and their performance
• Project management skills

The candidate should be organized and creative so she/he can find ways to propose solutions to the problems of the design, be flexible to accommodate changes, willing to learn new skills when needed, have hands-on attitude, and able to work in an international environment.

###What will be your role You will be a member of the Technical Division of IFAE, coordinating the instrumentation group and contributing to the design, assembly, and commissioning of the instruments that IFAE is developing. You will work in a semi-autonomous way under the supervision and guidance of a senior engineer and the head of the department. You will concentrate your work in the lines on “Development of astrophysics instrumentation for ICTS, ESFRI projects in astronomy and special missions” and “Gravitational Waves experiments and multi-messenger studies for astronomy”.

Offered contract:

A Full-time (40h/week) position with an “actividades científico-técnicas” contract (article 23-bis of the Spanish Act 14/2011, Ley de la ciencia, la tecnología y la innovacion). There will be a trial period of 6 months. Flexible schedule. Work with interesting science experimental projects (scientific instrumentation, detectors, satellite systems, telescope systems, small experiments). Traveling to scientific singular infrastructures. Opportunity to gain experience learning first-hand. Personal growth, innovation, and learning every day.

Gross salary will be within the range of 35.000 € and can be commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Application and Selection process:

Applications should be submitted to jobs@ifae.es stating the job reference (IFA2023/19_INS) as the Subject of the message. The mail should include a cover letter and an updated CV. Sending CVs to the above address implies consent to the legal warning at the bottom of IFAE’s Home Page.

IFAE is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity in the workplace and social integration of people with a disability. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates. People from groups that are typically underrepresented in the labour market in general and in Science and Engineering in particular, such as women, minorities, or people with a disability, are particularly encouraged to apply.

You may contact jobs@ifae.es for any questions related to this job opening. Deadline: October, 11, 2023.

Funding Statement

This position is part of the project Advanced technologies for the exploration of the Universe and its components, of the area of Astrophysics and High Energy Physics, within the frame of the R&D&I Complementary Plans of the Spanish Government that are part component 17 of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism. This contract is funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU (MICINN/PRTR funds) and by Generalitat de Catalunya.