Python Job: Controls Engineer

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Job Skills

Company

EPFL

Location

Lausanne - Switzerland

Job type

Full-Time

Python Job Details

EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, is one of the most dynamic university campuses in Europe and ranks among the top 20 universities worldwide. The EPFL employs more than 6,000 people supporting the three main missions of the institutions: education, research and innovation. The EPFL campus offers an exceptional working environment at the heart of a community of more than 16,000 people, including over 12,000 students and 4,000 researchers from more than 120 different countries.

The Swiss Plasma Center (SPC) is one of the world’s leading fusion and plasma research laboratories. Through a wide range of research programs, all connected to education and training at different levels, the Center works to advance understanding of the physics of plasmas and to develop fusion as an energy source. SPC operates a number of world-renowned experimental facilities, the foremost being the TCV tokamak, a uniquely flexible fusion research device built to explore tokamak plasmas in a variety of plasma shaping and heating conditions.

Control systems / software engineer

Your mission :
As control systems engineer you will use your expertise to develop and maintain the cutting-edge real-time control system of the TCV tokamak experimental facility, as well as other real-time systems on facilities of the Swiss Plasma Center (SPC). You will collaborate with a team of scientists and engineers to develop new algorithms, to integrate new sensors and actuators, and to enhance the control capabilities for physics experiments. Ultimately, your work will contribute to advancing plasma science and towards developing nuclear fusion as a sustainable energy source.

Main duties and responsibilities include :
  • Develop and maintain the real-time control system of the TCV tokamak, which is essential for creating, stabilizing, and heating the fusion-grade plasma to temperatures of millions of degrees
  • Develop software aspects of the control system, including real-time algorithm programming, communications across field buses and real-time networks, data storage, data retrieval, and interfaces with simulation codes
  • Operate and monitor the control system during experiments, troubleshooting and interaction with scientists to translate experimental needs into control solutions
Your profile :
An engineer/scientist (MSc level or equivalent) in a field related to real-time control systems, software engineering, embedded systems, control engineering, electronics, or similar
  • Familiar with the issues surrounding high-performance real-time control systems in the kHz range
  • Passionate about coding practices: terms like clean code, versioning, code reviewing, test driven development, CI/CD, DevOps are second nature to you
  • Able to work both independently and as part of an interdisciplinary high-level team of physicists and engineers
Optionally, you also have:
  • At least 3-5 years of experience in the field, optionally acquired as part of a PhD degree.
  • Experience of implementing control algorithms in CPU (PC processors and/or embedded microcontrollers) and/or FPGA platforms
  • Experience modeling and simulating control systems in Simulink
  • Experience programming in low-level languages such as C/C++
  • Experience programming in high-level coding languages such as Matlab and/or Python
  • Experience with fieldbuses such as Ethercat, communication protocols such as OPCUA, and high-performance ethernet stacks
  • Knowledge of basic control theory and control systems design principles
  • Familiarity with, or interest in, magnetic confinement fusion
We offer :
  • A variety of cutting-edge plasma / fusion research facilities to work on: the TCV tokamak, the TORPEX basic plasma device, the FALCON gyrotron test stand, and more
  • The option to work on other world-renowned fusion research facilities as part of international collaborations.
  • The possibility of publishing your work, participating in international conferences and supervising students, profiting from the academic environment of EPFL.
  • A diverse and international team of engineers, and scientists as your colleagues.
  • Excellent working conditions at the heart of the EPFL campus in Lausanne, Switzerland

Start date :
As soon as possible, to be agreed

Term of employment :
Fixed-term (CDD)

Work rate :
100%

Duration :
One year renewable contract with long term perspective

Contact :
Please contact Federico Felici if you have any questions regarding this position

Remark :
Only candidates who applied through EPFL website or our partner Jobup’s website will be considered. Files sent by agencies without a mandate will not be taken into account.

Reference :
Job Nb 2431

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