Applied Physicist – Collective Effects with Muons (BE-ABP-CEI-2025-38-GRAP)

Job Description

Your responsibilities

Are you eager to work at the forefront of high-energy physics and tackle the key challenges of future muon colliders? Join the Accelerator and Beam Physics group and become a part of the International Muon Collider Collaboration (IMCC). Contribute to the research on collective effects during ionisation cooling and rapid acceleration—two crucial phases in delivering high-brightness muon beams.

As an Applied Physicist in this exciting field, you will:

• Analyse beam loading effects and their impact on the design of the ionisation cooling cell.
• Investigate collective instabilities that could limit beam quality during cooling and acceleration.
• Study the low-energy acceleration phase (0.2–60 GeV) in pre-accelerators and Recirculating Linear Accelerators (RLAs).
• Perform start-to-end simulations, connecting the cooling phase to beam collisions.
• Identify performance limitations arising from collective effects and propose mitigation strategies.
• Collaborate with international experts in the IMCC to advance muon collider technology.

Your profile

Skills

• Knowledge of Beam dynamics.
• Knowledge of collective effects.
• Knowledge of beam tracking in rings.
• Fluent in English, the ability to work in French would be an advantage.

Eligibility criteria:

• You are a national of a CERN Member or Associate Member State.
• You have a professional background in Accelerator physics, muon colliders (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: 04.05.2025 at 23:59h (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-June-2025

Job reference: BE-ABP-CEI-2025-38-GRAP

Field of work: Applied Physics

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.