We are offering a position in the Physics Software Engineering section of the Computing for Experiments group in the CERN IT department (IT-CE-PSE) on Performance Software Engineering in the realm of high energy physics data simulation.
The work on this post will be carried out in the context of the NextGen project, a collaboration between the LHC experiments and the CERN Research and Computing Departments. NextGen explores the use and impact of high-performance computing architectures in data simulation and data processing for the LHC experiments with a focus on the upcoming High Luminosity (HL-LHC) data taking phase at the CERN Large Hadron Collider.
The simulation of particle collisions is one of the main consumers of computing resources for LHC experiments. Given the expected increase in the required statistics, accuracy and complexity for future simulation, and to stay within the forecasted computing budget, the throughput of simulation software packages needs to increase substantially.
The successful candidate will join a team of software engineers and physicists that addresses this challenge. Together, you will speed up software packages for Monte Carlo (MC) event generation with a focus on the Madgraph event generator suite. Current and future tasks tackled by the team are at the intersection of theoretical/computational physics and computer science. In order to profit from the latest computing hardware, adaptations or re-engineering of software in aspects such as data structures, parallelisation of the workflow or task scheduling are needed. This work is guided by the requirements of experimental analyses and takes into account the latest developments in theoretical predictions.
In case of interest, training on data science, programming languages, software engineering concepts and computing architectures is available and can be provided via various training programs.
Your responsibilities:
- Analyse and profile existing simulation code bases and develop strategies for improving their throughput.
- Implement latest software engineering concepts, leveraging on compute accelerators such as GPUs, modern CPU architectures and heterogeneous compute platforms.
- Interact and collaborate with experts in the theory, experimental physics and software engineering communities at CERN and world-wide.
- Supervise students on software development tasks and projects.
Your profile:
- Preferably a PhD in Theoretical or Particle Physics or Master's Degree with equivalent work experience with a strong background in numerical simulation.
- Proficiency in working with computing hardware accelerators and modern computing architectures, including heterogeneous compute platforms.
- A proven track record in performance software engineering for simulation applications in C++ and GPU programming languages such as CUDA or HIP.
- Knowledge of state of the art profiling tools for heterogeneous computing architectures.
- Experience with the Madgraph event generator software as a developer or user is highly valued.
Skills:
- Proficiency in modern C++ (up to C++23), GPU programming with CUDA and HIP, and Python for scripting, analysis and tooling is essential.
- Knowledge of hard scattering processes and the perturbative order of their matrix element calculations in Monte Carlo event generators is strongly desirable.
- Familiarity with Fortran is an advantage.
- Fluent in English.
- Spoken and written English or French, with a commitment to learn the basics of the other language.
Eligibility criteria:
- You have a professional background in Theoretical or Particle Physics (or a related field) and have either:
- a Master's Degree with 2 to 6 years of post-graduation professional experience;
- or a PhD with no more than 3 years of post-graduation professional experience.
- You have never had a CERN fellow or graduate contract before.
Job closing date: 13.11.2026 at 23:59 CET.
Contract duration: 24 months, with a possible extension up to 36 months maximum.
Working hours: 40 hours per week
Job flexibility: Hybrid
Target start date: 01-January-2027
This position involves:
- Stand-by duty, when required by the needs of the Organization.
- Work during nights, Sundays and official holidays, when required by the needs of the Organization.
Job reference: IT-CE-PSE-2026-167-GRAP
Field of work: Information Technologies
Benchmark job: 200020 - Computing Engineer
Global Benefits
- A monthly net stipend of either 6372 or 7004 Swiss Francs per month depending on your degree.
- 30 days of paid leave per year plus 2 weeks annual closure.
- Coverage by CERN’s comprehensive health insurance scheme (for yourself, your spouse and children), and membership of the CERN Pension Fund.
- Family, child and infant monthly allowances depending on your individual circumstances.
- A relocation package (installation grant and travel expenses) depending on your individual circumstances.
- Possibility to extend your contract up to 36 months.
- On-the-job and formal training including language classes.
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Skills Required
- Master’s degree with 2 to 6 years of post-graduation professional experience, or PhD with no more than 3 years of post-graduation experience
- Professional background in theoretical or particle physics or a related field
- Strong background in numerical simulation
- Proficiency with computing hardware accelerators and modern or heterogeneous computing architectures
- Performance software engineering experience for simulation applications using modern C++
- GPU programming experience with CUDA or HIP
- Knowledge of profiling tools for heterogeneous computing architectures
- Proficiency in Python for scripting, analysis, and tooling
- Knowledge of hard-scattering processes and perturbative orders of matrix-element calculations in Monte Carlo event generators
- Experience with the MadGraph event generator as a developer or user
- Familiarity with Fortran
- Fluency in English and English or French communication skills with commitment to learn the other language
- No previous CERN fellow or graduate contract
CERN Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about CERN and has not been reviewed or approved by CERN.
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Healthcare Strength — Health insurance is comprehensive, covering medical consultations, hospitalisation, surgery, accident care, maternity, and certain disability or dependency risks for eligible personnel and families. Coverage is provided through CERN’s dedicated health-insurance scheme.
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Retirement Support — A defined-benefit pension delivers retirement, disability, and survivors’ benefits based on remuneration and years of service. This structure offers predictable long‑term security for eligible staff.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid leave totals about six weeks per year and is supplemented by a two‑week year‑end closure. Family‑related leave and flexible scheduling are also available where eligibility criteria are met.
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