Muon Beamline Engineer (Hybrid)

Join an innovative deep-tech pioneer dedicated to developing safe, rapid, and precise active muon imaging systems for high-stakes industrial quality assessment, security, customs inspection, and advanced medical diagnostics. Our platform merges advanced laser-plasma-accelerator-driven muon sources, next-generation particle detectors, and sophisticated AI to deliver high-resolution 3D imaging with automated decision-making.

Operating out of major research hubs in Germany and Estonia, our work directly empowers quality and safety assessments for critical metallic and ceramic components—ranging from aerospace hardware like rocket engines and gas turbines to large-scale nuclear and industrial installations. In this role, you will take total ownership of how the muon beam travels from the converter to the scanned object, steering the complete lifecycle of capture, transport, and shielding design.

Key Responsibilities & Core Tasks

• End-to-End Beam Transport Ownership: Own the complete pathway of the muon beam from converter to target, managing capture efficiency, transport dynamics, and comprehensive radiation shielding.
• Beamline & Geometry Evolution: Design efficient muon capture and controllable transport systems, building upon current operational setups (such as the 35° tunnel bend) while scaling and extending designs toward future laser-plasma-accelerator (LPA) based muon sources.
• Holistic Shielding & Background Optimization: Construct integrated models for beamline shielding, treating the critical trade-off between background noise reduction and muon signal preservation as the core design constraint, while leveraging fast-model approximations to bypass full simulation runs on every iteration.
• Fast Simulation Development: Build and benchmark agile simulation tools for rapid beamline optimization, applying them seamlessly across current experimental beamlines and next-generation architectures.
• Optics & Magnet Engineering: Optimize collection and transport optics for polychromatic beams. Evaluate permanent magnets versus electromagnets based on achievable field strength, demagnetization risks (such as neutron-induced effects), cost, supply chain reliability, and tunability—and directly lead the subsequent procurement process.
• Infrastructure Resilience: Ensure long-term radiation resilience across all beamline components and magnetic infrastructure.

Requirements & Candidate Profile

• Educational Background: A Doctorate (PhD / Dr.) in accelerator physics, particle physics, nuclear engineering, or a closely related technical field is strictly required.
• Professional Experience: Minimum post-doctoral experience required, with a strong preference for candidates bringing several years of dedicated post-doctoral research background.
• Technical Must-Haves:
  • Complete fluency in GEANT4 with proven particle transport simulation and validation experience.
  • Deep expertise in shielding and background physics (accounting for gammas, positrons/electrons, and neutrons).
  • Hands-on beam optics experience tailored for polychromatic beams and constrained spatial geometries.
  • Demonstrated skill in developing fast simulation models.
  • Sound understanding of radiation-aware magnet engineering and mitigation of magnetic degradation.
• Language Proficiency: At least full professional proficiency in English; ability in German or Estonian is considered a valuable plus.
• Logistics & Availability:
  • Available to start in January 2027 or, at the latest, February 2027.
  • Open to occasional international travel to visit and collaborate at global research facilities and partner installations.
  • Position is structured as a hybrid role based out of our primary research headquarters (approx. 1 day/week home office; fully remote is not available).

Personality & Working Culture

• Proactive & Analytical: You comfortably challenge design assumptions, push back on constraints when physics demands it, and build models validated against realistic beam conditions.
• Ownership Mindset: You treat hardware procurement and supply-chain realities as natural extensions of the engineering design process.
• Fast-Paced Adaptability: You thrive in an agile "build to learn" environment, favoring rapid prototyping, hands-on experimentation, and tight iteration loops over slow, overly polished processes.

Compensation & Benefits Package

• Equity Program: A substantial start-up employee equity package providing a meaningful stake in the company's long-term success.
• Benefits & Relocation: Attractive supplementary benefits alongside a comprehensive international relocation package and visa support.