The recruited person will be responsible for the management, development and operation of all equipment and diagnostics used for experimental activities on the UHI100 facility, in collaboration with the experimental team of the PHI group.

They will support the activities of the PHI group during the experimental campaigns carried out on the facility, whether on subjects related to "high contrast laser-matter interaction on a plasma mirror" , or on "laser particle acceleration" . They will also be involved in the operation, maintenance and R&D activities of the laser itself, by supporting the SLIC group's laser specialists up to a maximum of 50% of their time.

As part of this mission, they will also act as an interface between PHI group experimentalists and SLIC group laser specialists in charge of UHI100 laser operation. Finally, as UHI100 is a platform opened to external users via national and European programs, the person selected for the position will also be responsible for the assistance of these external users.

The tasks entrusted to the candidate will be:

• Operate the UHI100 platform.
• Manage and optimize experimental room equipment/diagnostics (optical diagnostics, particle diagnostics (electrons/ions), radiation diagnostics (XUV in particular) and develop new ones in collaboration with the experimental team of the PHI group.
• Contribute to the operation, management and R&D activities of the UHI100 laser in close collaboration with the laser operation team (SLIC group),.
• Contribute to the development of new diagnostics to improve the capabilities of the laser facility.
• Help prepare experiments and welcome external users/collaborators on the different experimental lines.
• Contribute to the research activities carried out on the UHI100 platform by the PHI group (conception of experiments, interpretation of the results...)

The ideal candidate should have carried out experimental activities on one or more laser facilities, preferably femtosecond laser facilities with a peak power of 100TW class or higher.

They should master the physics of laser-matter interaction at high intensity, and they should to be able to propose experimental solutions (e.g., diagnostics) relevant for this regime.

They must be able to develop data analysis/processing methods to achieve a detailed understanding of the physics involved in the experiments. They will be committed to developing the facility, working in close collaboration with PHI group scientists.

Knowledge of laser optics and diagnostics, and in particular of methodologies to control the temporal contrast of the laser with plasma mirrors , will be considered as a an asset.

Having a PhD thesis related to laser-driven particle acceleration or high-intensity laser-matter interaction would be a plus.

Fluency in English (spoken and written) is essential.
The candidate must be autonomous, able to adapt to different technical/scientific contexts, and capable to integrate and work in a team, and to assist new users.
Creativity is also required in terms of design, technology and experiments.

Application/selection procedure :

Selection is based on an open international competition.

You must apply via the CEA website (https://www.emploi.cea.fr/offre-de-emploi/liste-offres.aspx) and also by sending a complete application file tojobs.lidyl@cea.fr.

The application file will contain :

• A CV ;
• A comprehensive record of professional achievements (publications, fellowship, etc….) including a short description of the main personal accomplishments (conceptual, technical, ……) ;
• A cover letter highlighting the motivations for applying to this position;
• Contact data for 3 professional references that could be contacted

Applications will be evaluated on the basis of the submitted files, and only
shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview.