Founding LPA Engineer (m/f/d)

Courage: they always make the call. A mistake isn't a failure: it's proof they're improving. Either way, the own the outcome. Honesty and transparency: they share what's really happening, good or bad. That lets everyone make the right call. They stay open. They stay honest.

Tasks & Responsibilities

• Assemble and lead the Muon Source team, covering LPA, converter, and optics; start hands-on, hire and structure the team as the work grows
• Oversee the development of working points and a density-tailored plasma source that survives the thermal load of a 100 Hz, 100 TW focus—millions of consistent shots, not one good shot
• Lead the development of the plasma source and execute experiments at user facilities to iterate the design toward powering the transportable muon source
• Isolate the laser specs that matter most—pulse energy, duration, pointing and energy stability, beam quality—and ensure they get delivered
• Own the vacuum system and the laser transport line, including vacuum chambers, differential pumping, vibration management and thermal management, turning the LPA into a machine that fits inside a shipping container and runs 24/7
• Define the requirements for the control system, the machine protection system, and the diagnostics suite that let the machine run unattended
• Manage the budget and make technical decisions within your area of responsibility
• Participate in hiring processes to expand the Muon Source team as the scope grows

Requirements

• Team leadership. You've built and led a technical team before. You're ready to be hands-on again before this one exists
• Hands-on LPA experience. You've built and operated a laser-plasma accelerator. Not just modeled one. Injection, dephasing, depletion, and guiding physics you've tuned on real hardware
• Experimental leadership at user facilities. You've planned and run a multi-year experimental campaign before. You know how to iterate a design from real beamtime data
• High-power laser system literacy. You can write a spec a laser manufacturer can build to: pulse energy, duration, pointing and energy stability, beam quality. You hold vendors to it
• Vacuum and opto-mechanical engineering judgment. You know what vacuum chamber design, differential pumping, vibration isolation, and thermal management require to keep the LPA running under continuous, high-average-power use
• Controls and diagnostics systems thinking. You can translate "runs unattended, 24/7" into concrete requirements for a control system, a machine protection system, and a diagnostics suite, even where another team builds them
• Minimum 3 to 5 years postdoc experience
• Doctorate (PhD / Dr.) required
• At least full professional proficiency in English; German or Estonian is a plus
• Willingness to work primarily on-site in Hamburg (no full remote; approximately one home-office day per week)
• Occasional travel required to visit and work at different research facilities across the world
• Ability to start in January 2027 or latest February 2027

Core Benefits

• Key Role with Direct Impact: Without your LPA, our core product – the transportable muon source – cannot operate
• Founding Role with High Autonomy: Build both the accelerator team and the machine from the ground up, taking full ownership of technical and budget decisions
• Unique Deep-Tech Challenge: Hands-on work with laser-plasma accelerators at 100 Hz / 100 TW and active muon imaging technology that is revolutionizing industrial inspection
• Access to World-Class Infrastructure: On-demand beamtime at multi-GeV facilities such as DESY PRIMA, plus collaborations with ELI Beamlines, EPAC, and ATLAS
• Strong Network & Visibility: Collaborate with leading partners such as DESY, DLR, Siemens Energy, Marvel Fusion, and other high-tech organizations
• Attractive Compensation Package plus a substantial employee equity program and relocation support, including for non-EU candidates
• Culture of Ownership & Speed: A skunkworks approach, flat hierarchies, bold decision-making, and full transparency create an environment for personal growth

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Source: Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis), table; dl-de/by-2-0; StarIn's calculation