PhD student or Postdoc: Fiber Optics

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For our location in Hamburg we are seeking:

PhD student or Postdoc: Fiber Optics

Limited: 2 + 1 years | Starting date: earliest possible | ID: FSDO004/2024 | Deadline: open | Full-time/Part-time

DESY, with more than 2900 employees at its two locations in Hamburg and Zeuthen, is one of the world's leading research centres. Its research focuses on decoding the structure and function of matter, from the smallest particles of the universe to the building blocks of life. In this way, DESY contributes to solving the major questions and urgent challenges facing science, society and industry. With its ultramodern research infrastructure, its interdisciplinary research platforms and its international networks, DESY offers a highly attractive working environment in the fields of science, technology and administration as well as for the education of highly qualified young scientists.

Ultrafast lasers represent a key enabling technology for research efforts at DESY. They are used to generate and manipulate electron beams at the free electron laser facilities FLASH and XFEL, enable pump-probe experiments at those facilities and will drive future compact accelerators at DESY.

For many of these applications, mJ-level ultrafast laser pulses need to be efficiently transported to application targets. Within a compact laser-accelerator project, we want to explore guided wave technology, such as hollow-core fibers for laser transport. In particular, routes to scale those concepts to extreme bandwidths and peak powers approaching the TW-regime will be targeted. The project will cover aspects reaching from numerical pulse propagation simulations to experimentally testing those concepts with a main focus on the experimental side. We are seeking a self-driven, highly motivated laser scientist or PhD student with background in fiber optics.

About your role:

  • Investigate novel high pulse energy laser transport concepts using guided wave technology
  • Work closely together with laser engineers and scientists developing fiber-optical methods, few-cycle-laser sources and plasma-based accelerators

Good reasons to join:

Look forward to a unique working environment on our international research campus. Respectful cooperation and the well-being of our DESY employees are particularly important to us. Gender equality is an important aspect for us. To support work life balance we offer flexible working hours, variable part-time, job-sharing models and participation in mobile work (up to 50%). You will benefit from our family-friendly and collegial atmosphere, our established health management and occupational pension provision. As a public funded employer, we offer you a secure workplace and facilitate your individual career with our comprehensive training and development opportunities. Remuneration is according to the regulations of the TV-AVH. DESY offers its employees a financial supplement for a German job ticket at both locations.

Limited: 2 + 1 years

About you:

  • Master degree in physics, electrical engineering or equivalent qualification
  • Ph.D. completed within the last 5 years after your doctorate for the Postdoc position
  • Excellent knowledge of ultrafast laser technology and nonlinear optics
  • Proven scientific track record in ultrafast optics
  • Experience with fibre technology and/or nonlinear pulse propagation in optical fibers/capillaries

For further information please contact Dr. Christoph Heyl at +49 40 8998-6085 (christoph.heyl@desy.de).

DESY in Hamburg does not grant doctoral degrees directly but collaborates with the University of Hamburg. Candidates for thesis research will have to satisfy the terms of admission for doctoral theses of the University of Hamburg. PhD students receive a monthly salary of 67% of the payment of the remuneration group 13 TVöD (Federal Government).

Please submit your complete application documents (letter of motivation, CV, relevant certificates and two letters of references) via our application portal. Please use our online tool for the submission of the letters of reference:Additional application documents

We look forward to receiving your application via our application portal:

Apply now

DESY promotes equal opportunities and diversity. The professional development of women is very important to us and therefore we strongly encourage women to apply for the vacant position. Applications from severely disabled persons will be given preference if they are equally qualified (sbv.desy.de).

You can find further information here:
https://www.desy.de/career/

Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY
Personalabteilung
Notkestraße 85
22607 Hamburg
Phone: +49 40 8998-3392

Deadline for applications: 31.12.2025