Dresden-Rossendorf
Full time or part time (at least 19 h/week)

Hire date:

Dr. Thomas Kluge Tel.: +49 351 260 2618

Job-Id: 2026/13 (2186)

At HZDR, we promote and value diversity among our employees. We welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds regardless of gender, ethnic and social origin, belief, disability, age, and sexual orientation. Severely disabled persons are given preference in the event of equal suitability.

Helmholtz-Zentrum

Postdoc (f/m/d) Development of a radiation transport module in the particle-in-cell simulation PIConGPU

With cutting-edge research in the fields of ENERGY, HEALTH and MATTER, around 1,500 employees from more than 70 nations at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) are committed to mastering the great challenges facing society today.

The Institute of Radiation Physics conducts research for states of matter under extreme conditions and in very small dimensions.

The Department of Laser Particle Acceleration is looking for a Postdoc (f/m/d) Development of a radiation transport module in the particle-in-cell simulation PIConGPU.

Your tasks

• The goal of this work is to develop a fully functional radiation transport module in our plasma simulation code PIConGPU, based on a pilot implementation of an atomic rate solver for electron excitations and ionization.
• All relevant processes, including photonic excitations and ionization, recombination, Auger-cascades and transport shall be implemented and individually tested against analytic, numeric and experimental test cases.
• A significant part of the work will be testing and validation. Our group performs experiments at XFELs to study the heating, ionization and recombination processes in both high-intensity and high-energy laser-solid interactions. You will conceive and participate in experiments, as well as study existing data, to validate specific aspects of the simulation.

Your profile

• Completed PhD in the field of Physics or comparable Natural Sciences
• Experience in Plasma Physics
• Knowledge in simulations of many-body systems or plasmas
• Atomic physics and the interaction of radiation with atoms and ions are part of your area of expertise
• Working in an interdisciplinary team
• Management of connection to several external collaborators
• Ability to set individual goals, self-structure and fulfill milestones
• Parallel programming, ideally in C++ and with GPUs
• Knowledge with Python
• Excellent command of English (spoken and written)

Our offer

• A vibrant research community in an open, diverse and international work environment
• Scientific excellence and extensive professional networking opportunities
• Salary and social benefits in accordance with the collective agreement for the public sector ( TVöD-B und) including 30 days of paid holiday leave, company pension scheme (VBL)
• We support a good work-life balance with the possibility of part-time employment, mobile working and flexible working hours
• Numerous company health management offerings
• Employee discounts with well-known providers via the platform Corporate Benefits
• An employer subsidy for the "Deutschland-Ticket Jobticket"

We look forward to receiving your application documents (including cover letter, CV, diplomas/transcripts, etc.), which you can submit via our online-application-system.