Doctoral students for Next Generation Trigger Project 2025

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 home.cern.

Diversity has been an integral part of CERN's mission since its foundation and is an established value of the Organization.

Job Description

Take part in CERN’s Doctoral Student Programme! 

This is a chance to work on your thesis while spending up to 36 months at the forefront of science. Whether you’ve already chosen a subject or are still making your decision, if your specialism is Applied Physics, Electronics Engineering or Computing, this is an invitation to further your knowledge in a truly unique organisation. In fact, it’s an invitation to get involved in world-famous experiments of unprecedented scale and scope. An invitation to join an environment like nowhere else on Earth.

As part of the Next Generations Triggers project, CMS is exploring the potential of a Level-1 Data Scouting system for Phase-2 to allow physics analysis to be performed on all HL-LHC collisions using events reconstructed by the Level-1 Trigger. The student will develop algorithms in software and/or firmware for the data acquisition and real-time analysis, assess the physics sensitivity that can be achieved and the associated requirements on the system, and demonstrate the feasibility of the approach in the lab. The specifics of the algorithms and physics topics will be defined together with the university supervisor. 

Qualifications

In order to qualify for a place on the programme you will need to meet the following requirements:

• This call is open to nationals of a CERN Member or Associate Member State and nationals of Non-Member States from Institutes in the LHC experiments collaborations.
• You have started or are about to start a doctoral programme in a university.
• Your work envisaged at CERN is all or part of the thesis work required to obtain your PhD. The award of the degree remains the responsibility of your university. Academic arrangements will be discussed between your university thesis supervisor and your CERN supervisor.
• You have a good knowledge of English OR French.

Additional Information

During your studies, CERN will provide you with:

• A contract of association for 12 months initially, renewable up to 3 years.
• The total period (up to 36 months) may be spread over a maximum duration of four consecutive years to allow you to spend time at your university (for periods of up to 12 months, granted as unpaid special leave).
• An allowance of 3891 Swiss Francs per month (net of tax).
• A travel allowance.
• Depending on your personal circumstances, a supplement if you are married and/or have children.
• Coverage by CERN’s comprehensive Health Insurance scheme (the contribution will be automatically deducted from your allowance).
• 2,5 days of paid leave per month.

Please note that the 3-year maximum contract duration shouldn’t be interpreted as an imposition of the time limit in which students are expected to complete their PhD.

Please also note that CERN cannot contribute to any cost related to your University nor will CERN reimburse tuition fees.

This is how you can apply:

Required documentation:

You will need a CV in English or in French in PDF format to complete your application (other supplementary documents, such as academic transcripts or reference letters are recommended).

Check out our dedicated pages for more information. 

"Your application should reach us no later than August 11th 2025 (at 23:59 CET).

Please note that your application may also be shared with a panel of CERN experts for evaluation purposes during the process. During this period, you may be contacted for a phone or video interview or to provide additional information. The start date is flexible with a possible range from October 2025 to January 2026.

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