About this job

The European Gravitational Observatory (EGO) is a French-Italian consortium founded by INFN and CNRS to foster European collaboration in gravitational wave research. EGO is located in Cascina, near Pisa, Italy and hosts the Virgo gravitational wave detector.

The Virgo project involves the collaboration of about 20 laboratories with more than 250 scientists, engineers and technicians from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary and Spain.The vacuum system of Virgo consists of two 3 km long straight tubes, 1.2 m in diameter, and 10 vertical cylinders, called ‘towers’ (2 m in diameter and up to 11 m high) containing optical elements suspended to anti-seismic attenuators.

Vacuum is needed to isolate the sensitive parts of the experiment from several disturbances directly affecting the performance of Virgo; the system has been designed and tested to reach a base pressure of 10-9 mbar after bake-out.

Responsibilities

• To run and maintain the vacuum system (operating valves, pumps, sensors, leak detectors…);
• To qualify components and materials to be installed inside the vacuum enclosure;
• To assemble and test, both in the laboratory and on the interferometer, new or repaired components;
• To study and design the vacuum system improvements needed to upgrade system performances, as required for the next generation detectors.
• This position may require to work outside normal working hours (including nights, weekends and public holidays), foresees shift work and the participation in a regular on-call service.

Profile

• Master’s Engineering degree or equivalent in one of these fields: Physics, Mechanical, Aero-spatial, Chemical or a comparable technical field.
• A few years of work experience related to UHV technology or cryogenics would be a significant asset.
• Good command of English; basic knowledge of Italian or French.

Personal skills

• Ability to work in a team within an international and multidisciplinary environment, strong sense of team spirit.

General requirements

• European citizenship
• No criminal convictions
• Driving license