Diagnostics Scientist/Engineer

You will:

• Under minimal supervision for routine work and general direction in new assignments, contribute to the development of state-of-the-art diagnostic, electronic instrumentation, and data acquisition systems for particle accelerators.
• Work on problems of moderate scope where analysis of situations or data requires a review of a variety of factors.
• Exercise judgment within defined procedures and practices to determine appropriate action.
• Apply accelerator physics and electrical system design principles, practices, standards, and research techniques toward the solution of challenging technical problems in accelerator diagnostics and instrumentation.
• Work collaboratively and communicate effectively with a broad range of engineers, scientists, graduate students and postdocs, technicians, operators, and administrative staff.
• Work directly with Accelerator Physics to set priorities and long term goals to support current and future operational requirements and capabilities.
• Work with Accelerator Controls to integrate and support production diagnostic and instrumentation systems into the ALS Control System.
• Participate in the core activities of the ALS Accelerator Physics Group while serving as a technical bridge to the Accelerator Diagnostics and Instrumentation Group.
• Perform a variety of physics and engineering tasks such as developmental work, characterization measurements and machine studies, specify and develop diagnostic and feedback systems.
• Diagnostic system architecture and cabling design and simulation.
• Sensor/actuator specification, design, and simulation.
• Software programming to support test & measurement equipment, simulation, data acquisition, and data analysis.
• Plan and carry out complex accelerator measurements using diagnostic instrumentation.
• Develop techniques to measure beam parameters, along with the instrumentation and diagnostic systems that enable those measurements.
• Perform work for various project phases, which may include design, implementation, review, integration, test, commissioning, and operational support.
• Contribute to developing documentation, baseline data, and operating and maintenance procedures.
• Support preparation of new proposals; from the development of technical concepts to the preparation of budgets and schedules.
• Document ongoing and completed work and present it at conferences and workshops.
• Publish in relevant journals.

We are looking for:

• Masters degree in physics, electrical engineering, software development, computer systems, or equivalent experience.
• At least 4 years of relevant professional experience beyond a Master’s degree.
• Demonstrated ability to independently carry out creative research within an established framework.
• Ability to apply advanced physics, general engineering, and electrical principles, theories, and concepts.
• Ability to learn new principles and concepts and apply them to solve complex diagnostics and instrumentation problems.
• Experience in developing software applications for data acquisition and simulation of diagnostics and/or feedback systems.
• Experience with programming languages and platforms commonly used in particle accelerators and light source storage rings, like python and Matlab.
• Experience in developing and implementing accelerator beam diagnostics and instrumentation systems.
• Demonstrated ability to tackle complex problems through data analysis and thorough evaluation.
• Ability to independently select relevant and appropriate methods and processes to complete tasks.
• Knowledge of project engineering, requirements, specifications and design.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to interact effectively with experts in multiple disciplines, including electronics engineering and technical support, mechanical engineering, accelerator physics, and operations, external partners, and senior ALS management.
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment.

Desired skills/knowledge:

• PhD degree in physics or electrical engineering.
• At least 4 years of experience in beam diagnostics and instrumentation.
• Understanding of advanced feedback and control theory, including design principles.
• Knowledge of storage ring beam dynamics and accelerator physics.
• Knowledge of accelerator control systems, particularly with a focus on EPICS.
• Demonstrated experience supervising technical support staff.
• Familiarity with analog, RF, and digital FPGA-based electronic designs.
• Experience with Altium PCB Design Software.
• Experience with Keysight ADS, Ansys HFSS system simulation software.
• Experience with Embedded Processor or System-On-Chip FPGA systems.
• Experience with commercial network analyzers, data acquisition systems, frequency synthesizers, oscilloscopes.