Your responsibilities

Our Engineering Department (EN) is looking for a Mechanical Design Engineer to join our Handling Engineering Group, specifically in the Project Office section.

The Project Office is composed a group of multicultural mechanical engineers and designers and tackles all handling issues and requests in the CERN accelerator complex. A variety of small and big requests come through every day to support the physicists to move their equipment in the installation place and we support to make it possible: it can be a volume transport study (static or dynamic) only or developing tooling or machines and prepare detailed sequences.

In the years 2027-2028, CERN will totally refurbish the North Area facility. All the equipment composing the beam lines will be removed and the area will be totally reconstructed to allow higher intensity physics and reliability. As a Mechanical Design Engineer, you will supervise the transport and handling aspects to allow such overhauling. Several technical challenges have to be tackled such as underground installations, age of the equipment, radioactivity of the area and activation of the elements together with an exigent planning.

Your responsibilities will include:

• 3D modelling in CATIA of the environment and the handling operations.
• Proposal of tailor-made solutions to a variety of handling and transport problems.
• Definition and the design of handling tooling.
• Follow up of the suppliers during the manufacturing phase.
• Follow up of the project: planning, resources, implementation of the proposed tooling and methods with the handling teams.

Please note that this is an onsite position.

Your profile

Skills:

• Proficient knowledge of a 3D drafting software (CATIA, SolidWorks, Inventor, etc).
• Ability to prepare mechanical calculation notes to be submitted to safety stakeholders.
• Proficient in mechanical calculations with Ansys.
• Spoken and written English or French, with a commitment to learn the other language.
• We also provide language classes to improve your English or French language skills.

Eligibility criteria:

• You are a national of a CERN Member or Associate Member State.
• By the application deadline, you have a maximum of two years of professional experience since graduation in Mechanical Engineering (or a related field) and your highest educational qualification is either a Bachelor's or Master's degree.
• You have never had a CERN fellow or graduate contract before.
• Applicants without University degree are not eligible.
• Applicants with a PhD are not eligible.

Additional Information

Job closing date: 14.09.2025 at 23:59 CEST.

Contract duration: 24 months, with a possible extension up to 36 months maximum.

Target start date: 01-January-2026

This position involves:

• Work in Radiation Areas.
• Interventions in underground installations.
• A valid driving licence.
• Work during nights, Sundays and official holidays, when required by the needs of the Organisation.

Job reference: EN-HE-PO-2025-146-GRAE

Field of work: Mechanical Engineering

What we offer

• A monthly stipend ranging between 5196 and 5716 Swiss Francs (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.

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.