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 http://home.cern.

Introduction

Are you a skilled digital and mixed-signal ASIC designer with experience in optical communication circuits? We are actively looking to expand our digital ASIC design team engineering high-speed communication circuits tailored to the challenging operational conditions of the HL-LHC experiments. Join us in this exciting endeavor!

Functions

You will become a member of the Electronic Systems for Experiments Group (ESE), within the Experimental Physics Department (EP) at CERN, specializing in the creation of electronic systems for High Energy Physics (HEP) experiments. Working within the Microelectronics section (ME), you will be involved in the development of analog, digital, and mixed-mode Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) for the readout and control of CERN's particle detector systems.

Your primary responsibilities in this role will include designing and characterizing high-speed communication ASICs in advanced 28nm CMOS processes, specifically crafted to endure the challenging radiation conditions present in High Energy Physics experiments.

Beyond the design aspect, you will play a key role in delivering comprehensive supporting documentation and offering technical assistance to the wide community of users of our electronic systems. Additionally, you will take on the responsibility of coaching and supervising less experienced designers, contributing to enhancing the team expertise. As an electronics engineer in the Microelectronics section of the ESE group, you will:

• Develop high-speed low-power communication ASICs for HEP experiments. This includes: multi-GHz low-jitter phase lock loops and clock and data recovery circuits, high-speed serializers and deserializers, delay locked loops, control state machines, line receivers and trans-impedance amplifiers;
• Participate in test system development as well as ASIC characterization and radiation qualification;
• Use state-of-the-art design and collaboration tools and methodologies.

Master's degree or PhD or equivalent relevant experience in the field of Electronics, Computer Science or a related field.

Experience:

The experience required for this post is:

• Experience in the design of digital communication ASICs in CMOS technologies, including applications in optoelectronic systems;
• Experience in the use of design methodologies for the mitigation of radiation effects (SEE and TID) in digital CMOS circuits;
• Experience in the development of synthesizable Verilog RTL code, design implementation (RTL to GDS), physical and functional verification of mixed-signal ASICs;
• Experience with the use of CAD tools for mixed-mode microelectronics design: analog simulation, layout, parasitics extraction, mixed-mode simulation, and cell characterization;
• Experience in microelectronics testing: pCB design, FPGA development, local communication interfaces, laboratory equipment, automated testing.

Experience in the following fields will be an asset:

• Experience in the use of low-power design techniques in modern CMOS processes (28 nm and below);
• Experience with electromagnetic simulations (ASIC and/or PCB level);
• Experience with Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) aspects and ASIC packaging technologies; 
• Experience with modern programming (e.g. python) and scripting languages commonly used in EDA tools (e.g. tcl, skill);
• Experience with industry-standard version management tools (e.g. git, sos) and quality assurance methodologies (e.g. continuous integration).
• Initial experience in supervising others (students etc.) and coordinating activities in a distributed collaboration.

Technical competencies:

• Design and simulation of digital microelectronic circuits.
• Generation, processing, distribution and recovery of clock and timing signals.
• Knowledge and application of high-level description languages and tools.
• Knowledge of radiation effects on electronics and mitigation techniques.
• Testing and measurement of digital microelectronic circuits.

Behavioural competencies:

• Working in teams: understanding when teamwork is required to achieve the best results; including others accordingly and sharing information.
• Achieving results: having a structured and organised approach towards work; being able to set priorities and plan tasks with results in mind.
• Demonstrating flexibility: adapting quickly and resourcefully to shifting priorities and requirements.
• Communicating effectively: checking to ensure that the message has been well understood; ensuring that information, procedures and decisions are appropriately documented.
• Learning and sharing knowledge: keeping up-to-date with developments in own field of expertise and readily absorbing new information; sharing knowledge and expertise freely and willingly with others; coaching others to ensure knowledge transfer.

Language skills:

• English: spoken and written with the ability to draw up technical texts (C1);
• The ability to understand and speak French in professional contexts would be an advantage.

Eligibility and closing date:

Diversity has been an integral part of CERN's mission since its foundation and is an established value of the Organization. Employing a diverse workforce is central to our success. We welcome applications from all Member States and Associate Member States.

This vacancy will be filled as soon as possible, and applications should normally reach us no later than 09.05.2024

Employment Conditions

Contract type: Limited duration contract (5 years). Subject to certain conditions, holders of limited-duration contracts may apply for an indefinite position.

These functions require:

• Work in Radiation Areas.

Job grade: 6-7

Job reference: EP-ESE-ME-2024-40-LD

Benchmark Job Title: Electronics Engineer