Scientist for Beamline P21.2 - Diffraction & Imaging

Limited: 3 years | Starting date: 04.01.2027 | ID: FSMA032/2026 | Deadline: open until the position is filled | Full-time/Part-time | Remote work possible

DESY, with more than 2900 employees at its two locations in Hamburg and Zeuthen, is one of the world's leading research centres. Its research focuses on decoding the structure and function of matter, from the smallest particles of the universe to the building blocks of life. In this way, DESY contributes to solving the major questions and urgent challenges facing science, society and industry. With its ultramodern research infrastructure, its interdisciplinary research platforms and its international networks, DESY offers a highly attractive working environment in the fields of science, technology and administration as well as for the education of highly qualified young scientists.

With the storage ring PETRA III and the Free-Electron-Laser FLASH, DESY offers a unique combination of photon sources to the scientific community. PETRA III, one of the most brilliant hard x-ray facilities worldwide, currently provides 25 undulator beamlines for experiments utilizing the extreme source brilliance. Due to the high energy of the electron beam, PETRA III is an outstanding source of high-energy X-rays which are a powerful tool for the characterization of polycrystalline materials. The P21.2 beamline is dedicated to the characterization of materials in particular with a combination of wide- and small-angle scattering and imaging.

About your role:

Support of user experiments from academia and industry, in particular (but not limited to) those employing small-angle X-ray scattering

Conduct scientific research and publish findings in the fields of materials science or physics, preferably aligned with the experimental capabilities of the P21.2 beamline

Design, develop, and improve scientific instruments and commission and maintain experiments

Create and implement data acquisition and reduction software for materials science and physics applications

Present at conferences, prepare technical documentation, and communicate with service groups and local scientists

Good reasons to join:

Look forward to a unique working environment on our international research campus. Respectful cooperation and the well-being of our DESY employees are particularly important to us. Gender equality is an important aspect for us. To support work life balance we offer flexible working hours, variable part-time, job-sharing models and participation in mobile work (up to 50%). You will benefit from our family-friendly and collegial atmosphere, our established health management and occupational pension provision. As a public funded employer, we offer you a secure workplace and facilitate your individual career with our comprehensive training and development opportunities. Remuneration is according to the regulations of the TV-AVH. DESY offers its employees a financial supplement for a German job ticket (Deutschland-Ticket) at both locations.

Limited: 3 years

About you:

Ph.D. in materials science, physics or related fields or equivalent experience and education

Profound expertise in materials characterization using (preferably high-energy) synchrotron radiation

Experience with small- and/or wide-angle scattering and imaging

Familiarity with at least one higher programming language (preferably Python)

Fluent English written and spoken (C1)

Participation in experiments at synchrotron radiation facilities

Familiarity with workflows at large-scale research infrastructures

Teamwork and communication skills

For further information please contact Ulrich Lienert (ulrich.lienert@desy.de) at +49 40 8998-3165.

Please submit your complete application documents (letter of motivation, CV and relevant certificates).

We look forward to receiving your application via our application portal:

DESY promotes equal opportunities and diversity. The professional development of women is very important to us and therefore we strongly encourage women to apply for the vacant position. Applications from severely disabled persons will be given preference if they are equally qualified (sbv.desy.de).

You can find further information here:

Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY

Personalabteilung

Notkestraße 85

22607 Hamburg

Phone: +49 40 8998-3392

Deadline for applications: 10.08.2026