Open Position Instrumentation Engineer – Position in IFAE

About IFAE

The Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE) is a public consortium of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Autonomous Government of Catalonia, and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB, a public university) whose main objective 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 the UAB and its premises are within the campus of the University.

About ATHENA and ARRAKIHS (IFAE)

Our group is actively involved in two major European space and technology initiatives. Within the ATHENA CHIPS JU EU project, we lead the characterisation of novel Very Long-Wave Infrared (VLWIR) detectors, contributing to the development of next-generation sensing technologies. In parallel, as part of the ARRAKIHS ESA mission, we are responsible for the characterisation and calibration of Near-Infrared (NIR) H2RG detector arrays, playing a key role in ensuring the scientific performance and readiness of the mission’s focal plane instrumentation.

Required skills and evaluation criteria

We are looking for engineer with 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, ESO-NGC, H2RG readout System, 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
• System engineering skills to understand the global picture and the details of complex systems, their interfaces, and their performance
• Project management skills
• Experience in characterization of IR detectors for Space Applications
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.

The evaluation criteria and their weighting for the submitted applications will be the following:

What will be your role?

The successful candidate will contribute to the development, design and maintenance of cryogenic and readout setups for the detectors characterization of the H2RG engineering and flight model detectors for the ARRKIHS ESA mission and the VLWIR detectors for the ATHENA EU CHIPS JU project The person might also contribute to the development and commissioning of setups for other projects at IFAE.

Offered contract

• Full-time contract (40 hours/week).
• Position offering teleworking opportunities and a flexible schedule.
• Temporal Contract until 31/08/2027. It features an “actividades científico-técnicas” contract (under Article 23-bis of the Spanish Act 14/2011, Ley de la ciencia, la tecnología y la innovación) linked to the project.
• Six-month trial period.
• The position will correspond to “Engineer” within the professional categories of the IFAE.
• Salary will be proportional to experience and qualifications within the corresponding category range.
• Work with interesting experimental science. Travelling to scientific singular infrastructures. Opportunity to gain experience learning first-hand. Personal growth, innovation, and learning every day.
• The selected candidate is expected to join the IFAE as soon as possible.

Application and Selection process

Applications should be submitted to Cristobal Padilla padilla@ifae.es and rrhh@ifae.es stating the job reference (IFAE2026/24_ATHENA_Engineer) as the subject of the message. The mail should include an up-to-date CV and a motivation letter, and the candidate must arrange for two reference letters to be sent to above address before the deadline.

Deadline for applications: June 30th, 2026

You may contact Cristobal Padilla padilla@ifae.es for any questions related to this job opening.

Sending CVs to the above addresses implies consent to the IFAE’s legal warning on data privacy.

The application must contain a personal identification number (DNI, NIE or passport) in order to proceed to the verification of absence of conflict of interest required by Recovery and Resilience Mechanism of the Spanish Government.

IFAE is committed to equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion. With the aim of promoting a real gender balance in the institution, women will be especially encouraged to submit their candidacy in the calls. Likewise, IFAE reaffirms its commitment to the integration of people with disabilities and underrepresented groups in the scientific field and in accordance with article 59 of the EBEP to reserve seven percent of places so that at least two percent of the total staff are people with disabilities.

A Selection Committee will evaluate the received applications. If more than one candidate seems equally suitable for the position, the Selection Committee will arrange an on-line interview with each one of them as part of the Selection process. In compliance with article 121 of the Spanish Public Sector Legal Regime Act, staff with a pre-existing relationship with the Consortium administration (Generalitat de Catalunya and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) will have priority in the awarding of the position.

Funding Statement