Applied Physicist on DAQ Software

Salary: CHF 90'000 - 120'000 per year

Requirements:

• Solid background in silicon detectors for high-energy physics experiments.
• Experience in developing or contributing to test protocols and data acquisition routines.
• Hands-on experience with detector readout chains, including front-end and back-end electronics, optical links, and DAQ systems, is considered beneficial.
• Experience with data analysis tools, detector qualification, or commissioning is considered an asset.
• Proven expert-level knowledge of C++.
• Experience with version control systems (Git/GitLab), continuous integration, and collaborative software development practices.
• Familiarity with firmware development (VHDL) is considered an advantage.
• Experience with databases, web/UI development, or online monitoring tools is considered an asset.
• Spoken and written English, with a commitment to learn French.
• You are a national of a CERN Member or Associate Member State.
• You have a professional background in Electronics Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related field and have either a Masters 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.

Responsibilities:

• Develop online software within the ShepHERD ecosystem for configuration, control, monitoring, and automated calibration of the back-end electronics for the Outer Tracker and Inner Tracker.
• Participate in hardware integration and commissioning activities at CERN, including back-end integration tests at the Tracker Integration Facility (TIF) and slice tests.
• Contribute to the development of checkout and calibration procedures, including associated test protocols.
• Help scope and implement tools across the integration → checkout → commissioning → calibration workflow, with a focus on online and offline software, database interfaces, and web/UI tooling.
• Follow the firmware development of back-end boards and possibly contribute to it.
• This role includes team supervision responsibilities.

Technologies:

• CMS
• Firmware
• Git
• GitLab
• Hardware
• Support
• VHDL
• Web
• UX UI Design
• C++

More:

We are the CERN CMS Tracker team, working on software and diagnostic tools for the integration, checkout, commissioning, and calibration chain of the Tracker detector for the High-Luminosity LHC. In this role, you will contribute to online and offline software, databases, and user interfaces that support reception testing of detector substructures, validation of large detector sections, and commissioning and calibration of the final detector once installed at Point 5. The position is hybrid, with a 24-month contract and a possible extension up to 36 months, a target start date of 01-September-2026, and work that may involve radiation areas, nights, Sundays, and official holidays when required. We offer a monthly stipend, 30 days of paid leave plus 2 weeks annual closure, CERN health insurance and pension membership, family and child allowances, a relocation package, and on-the-job and formal training including language classes.

last updated 27 week of 2026