Job Description

Your responsibilities

As an electronic engineer, you will join the EP-ADE section and work on developing and testing FPGA firmware for the ATLAS Liquid Argon Calorimeter trigger processor. This system processes data from over 30.000 calorimeter channels at 40 MHz routed via ~5000 optical fibers from the experiment cavern to the ATLAS computing room. The “intelligence” of the system uses 120 large high-end FPGAs.

In this position, you will:

• Design low-latency digital circuits using VHDL and High-Level Synthesis (HLS) abstractions targeting programmable logic devices;
• Simulate and debug digital circuits using functional simulation tools, find code errors, and propose appropriate solutions;
• Conceive new architectures and compare different implementation options to meet specification requirements;
• Present your work in external and internal conferences and contribute to documentation;
• Run laboratory tests and measure performance using digital oscilloscopes and embedded logic analyzers;
• Develop low-level software required for system testing and operation;
• Support the development of Continuous Integration (CI) routines for running automated firmware bitstream generation, simulation, and hardware tests.

Your profile

Skills

Required

• Experience in electronics design and development;
• Experience with VHDL and HLS;
• Experience with digital circuit simulation;
• Knowledge of Python and C++ programming language.

Additional useful skills

• Digital circuits, using CAD tools (e.g. Siemens Catapult HLS and Intel Quartus Prime);
• Design and implementation of FPGA based electronics using the Intel toolchain or equivalent;
• Digital circuit simulation using Siemens Questa Advanced Simulator and SCVerify or equivalent;
• Code versioning systems (e.g. GIT);
• Continuous integration (e.g. GITLAB);
• Commission/operation of electronic systems.
• Fluent in English

Eligibility criteria:

• You are a national of a CERN Member or Associate Member State.
• You have a professional background in Engineering (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: 19.11.2024 at 23:59 hrs

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

Target start date: 01-January-2025

This position involves:

• Participation in a regular stand-by duty, including nights, Sundays and official holidays.
• Work in Radiation Areas.
• Interventions in underground installations.
• Work during nights, Sundays and official holidays, when required by the needs of the Organization.

Job reference: EP-ADE-CA-2024-181-GRAP

Field of work: Electrical or Electronics Engineering

What we offer

• A monthly stipend ranging between 6212 and 6828 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.