Your responsibilities

Are you a highly motivated Mechanical, Aerospace or Nuclear Engineer ready to join the team in charge of the upgrade of the beam dumps for HL-LHC (WP14) and participate in the detailed design of these cutting-edge devices?

About Us:

The TCD (Targets, Collimators and Dumps) Section within the STI (Sources, Targets, and Interactions) group is responsible for all primary Beam-Intercepting Devices (BIDs) at CERN. Our involvement spans the entire life cycle of the devices, from their conceptual design to their production, installation, operation, and decommissioning.

About the Project:

The Target Dump Externals (TDE) absorb the beams extracted from the LHC whenever needed. The current design of the TDE consists of a large duplex-stainless-steel vessel filled with graphitic materials that can absorb beams of up to 540 MJ of stored beam energy in only 86 µs.

With the HiLumi (HL) upgrade, the dump core will need to absorb beams of up to 710 MJ stored energy. These beams which will cause temperature increases of up to 3200°C in accidental scenarios in the carbon-based materials of the core and will expose the vessel to extremely strong thermomechanical loads that the current duplex-stainless-steel vessel cannot cope with.

Consequently, substantial R&D work has been undertaken in the past three years to develop and prototype a new design for the dumps that is able to withstand these extreme conditions. The project is currently in the detailed design phase, and the orders for the long-lead time raw materials are being launched.

In this role, you will:

• Coordinate the reception of the raw materials, maintain a thorough follow-up with suppliers, document non-conformities and, if necessary, establish corrective actions
• Supervise the production and assembly of the dump cores: establish a pFMEA framework to identify risks and possible errors during the assembly phases and suggest mitigations. Coordinate logistics between production sites, supervise the assembly and document the results.
• Devise and implement test plans to validate the assemblies prior to their installation.
• Coordinate the removal of the Run 3 operational dumps and the installation of the HL dumps.
• Perform finite-element simulations for the detailed design of the beam dumps in all operational conditions and document the results in the detailed design report for the devices.

More information here: https://cerncourier.com/a/intercepting-the-beams

Your profile

Skills:

• Knowledge of systems engineering principles.
• Strong technical understanding of mechanical engineering principles, with expertise in mechanics of materials, heat transfer, and material science.
• Experience in the redaction of technical documents (engineering reports, scientific publications, and procurement specifications).
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills to facilitate collaboration.
• Proactive problem-solving mindset with the ability to defend ideas using technical arguments.
• Experience in relevant FEA software tools, such as Ansys (or equivalent). Knowledge of LS-DYNA is considered a strong plus.
• Autonomy in handling specific technical tasks within a team context.
• Strong organizational skills to manage own and other people's work.
• Hands-on approach and readiness to support technical activities.
• Spoken and written English, with a commitment to learn French.

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, Aerospace, Nuclear Engineer (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: 24.09.2025 at 23:59 CEST.

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

Working hours: 40 hours per week

Target start date: 01-January-2026

This position involves:

• Work in Radiation Areas.
• Interventions in underground installations.
• A valid driving licence.
• Exposure to ionizing radiation and classified as category A.

Given the occupational health risks associated with this position, the selected candidate must obtain medical clearance before a contract offer is confirmed.

Job reference: SY-STI-TCD-2025-168-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.