Company Description

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.

Job Description

Introduction

Are you interested in joining a dynamic multi-national team of radiation protection specialists? Take responsibility for radiation protection of installations and projects of the world’s largest particle accelerator complex and its experimental facilities at CERN. Take part!

You will join the Occupational Health and Safety and Environmental Protection (HSE) Unit, which acts in matters of safety and the protection of personnel and environment. The Radiation Protection (RP) Group protects workers and public against the risks of exposure to ionising radiation, ensuring that exposure is kept as low as reasonably achievable. The duties of CERN’s RP Group include the assessment of radiation hazards of CERN’s activities, encompassing accelerators and experiments, the definition of protective measures, the legally required monitoring of the exposure of radiation workers to ionising radiation as well as the R&D in the development and benchmarking of models and tools for radiological assessments.

Functions

As a Radiation Protection Physicist in the RP Accelerators and Sites (RP-AS) Section, you will assess, monitor and enforce compliance of CERN’s activities with Radiation Protection regulations. It entails projects, studies and services aimed at protecting people and the environment from ionising radiation, specifically in the context of the Future Circular Collider (FCC).

In particular, you will:

• Perform radiation protection studies by Monte Carlo simulations and contribute to design optimisations in collaboration with other groups for the FCC Project.
• Contribute to operational RP activities related to CERN’s accelerators, experiments and their upgrades by taking responsibility for RP risk assessments and for the definition of protective measures.
• Provide expertise to CERN’s departments and management on radiation protection aspects of the design, operation and maintenance of future accelerators and experiments.
• Lead or participate in RP research and development, particularly the development, use and maintenance of models, computer codes, state-of-the-art tools and methods for radiological risk assessments for the FCC Project.
• Produce, contribute to, or edit legal, technical and scientific documentation, including rules, specifications, reports, notes, international publications and presentations for internal and external use.
• Present RP assessments to host state authorities in the framework of the Tripartite agreement.
• Supervise or coordinate the work of technical personnel, postdocs and students.

Qualifications

Master’s degree or PhD or equivalent relevant experience in the field of physics or nuclear engineering with a specialization in radiation protection or a related field.

Experience:

• Proven experience in the use of Monte Carlo radiation transport codes, such as FLUKA.
• Demonstrated experience in radiation protection in the design of high-energy accelerators and experiments.
• Proven experience in writing technical and scientific documentation, including rules, reports and international publications.
• Demonstrated experience in operational radiation protection at high-energy accelerators and experiments.

Technical competencies:

• Study of radiation protection design: i.e. expertise in radiation physics and radiation protection as needed for design studies.
• Simulation of radiation environments: i.e. calculation of doses from prompt radiation and induced radioactivity around high-energy accelerators.
• Knowledge of regulatory framework and best practice in radiation protection: i.e. operational radiation protection and knowledge of national radiation protection legislation and/or relevant European regulations.
• Knowledge and application of instrumentation and measurement techniques: i.e. knowledge of measurement techniques for ionising radiation.

Behavioural competencies:

• Working in Teams: working well in groups and readily fitting into a team and participating fully and taking an active role in team activities.
• Achieving Results: delivering prompt and efficient service taking into account customer needs, having a structured and organised approach towards work and being able to set priorities and plan tasks with results in mind.
• Communicating Effectively: ensuring that information, procedures and decisions are appropriately documented, providing others with timely information, and selecting the appropriate medium and forum to communicate.
• Learning and Sharing Knowledge: keeping up-to-date with developments in own field of expertise and readily absorbing new information, sharing knowledge and expertise freely and willingly with others, coaching others to ensure knowledge transfer, and proposing ways to improve or streamline existing procedures, processes and methodologies.

Language skills:

Spoken and written English: ability to draw-up technical specifications and/or scientific reports and to make oral presentations in English. Ability to understand and speak French in professional contexts would be an advantage. If not, the willingness to acquire this skill is expected.

Additional Information

Eligibility and closing date:

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.

This vacancy will be filled as soon as possible, and applications should normally reach us no later than 12.01.2025 at 23:59 CET.

Employment Conditions

Contract type: Limited duration contract (5 years). Subject to certain conditions, holders of limited-duration contracts may apply for an indefinite position.

Working Hours: 40 hours per week

This position involves:

• Work in Radiation Areas.
• Interventions in underground installations.

Job grade: 6-7

Job reference: HSE-RP-AS-2024-161-LD

Benchmark Job Title: Radiation Protection Physicist