Job Description

Your responsibilities

The Radiation Protection Group is tasked with safeguarding individuals from the effects of ionising radiation associated with CERN’s activities. As part of its mission, the Group is also responsible for the management and handling of radioactive sources. Specifically, the disposal of unused radioactive sources necessitates their radiological characterisation and the establishment of safe and effective elimination procedures.

You will join the Characterisation Team, a subdivision of the Radiation Protection Group. This team is dedicated to developing innovative methodologies for characterisation through advanced research and state-of-the-art technologies. You will also collaborate closely with the Radioactive Source Service and the Radioactive Waste Management section.

In particular, your responsibilities will include:

• Managing a project for the elimination of radioactive sources, from identifying candidate sources to organising their disposal;
• Developing measurement protocols for the characterisation of radioactive sources, such as through gamma spectrometry;
• Applying machine learning and data analysis to the source database, for example, to establish predictive models for the replacement of ageing sources or to identify groups of sources using unsupervised learning;
• Contributing to scientific studies on the characterisation of radioactive materials, such as defining decision thresholds for the clearance of accelerator components.

This role offers a unique opportunity to:

• Apply your expertise to tangible, challenging physical problems;
• Develop new skills by collaborating with CERN physicists and engineers;
• Take advantage of a comprehensive package of online training covering project management, radiation measurements, and data analysis;
• Present your work at seminars or in scientific publications.

Your profile

Desired Skills:

• Techniques of radiation measurements
• Radiation protection
• Machine learning and data analysis
• Project management
• Fluency in English

Eligibility criteria:

• You are a national of a CERN Member or Associate Member State.
• You have a professional background in Physics, 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: 28.01.2025 at 23:59 (midnight) CET.

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

Working hours: 40 hours per week

Target start date: 01-March-2025

This position involves:

• Work in Radiation Areas.

Job reference: HSE-RP-CS-2024-218-GRAP

Field of work: Health, Safety and Environment

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.