Postdoctoral Researcher in experimental particle physics - ATLAS - Postdoc at Nikhef

The Nikhef ATLAS group has an opening for a

 

 

Nikhef is the national institute for subatomic physics in The Netherlands. At Nikhef, approximately 175 physicists and 75 technical staff members work together in an open and international scientific environment. Together, they perform theoretical and experimental research in the fields of particle- and astroparticle physics. Among the research collaborations Nikhef participates in are the ATLAS, LHCb and ALICE experiments at CERN, the KM3NeT neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean, the VIRGO interferometer in Pisa, the Xenon1T dark matter experiment in Gran Sasso and the Pierre Auger cosmic rays observatory in Argentina. Nikhef also hosts well staffed theoretical physics and detector R&D groups. Nikhef itself is a collaboration between 5 major Dutch universities and the Dutch Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM).

 

The Nikhef ATLAS group consists of groups in Amsterdam and Nijmegen, for a total of 17 staff, and typically 5 postdocs and 15 PhD students. We have constructed part of the semiconductor tracker (SCT), part of the barrel muon chambers, and elements of muon chamber readout, alignment, slow control, trigger and data acquisition.  Our group has responsibilities in trigger and muon reconstruction software and we have been active in several analyses in Higgs, SUSY, exotic and top physics.

 

We are looking for a candidate to take a leading role in Higgs studies decaying to heavy flavour quarks. The candidate will work as part of a team consisting of one senior scientist (dr Tristan du Pree) and two PhD students  The role of the candidate to focus on the reconstruction of boosted objects in ATLAS (jet substructure) with the aim to probe Higgs production at high pT in a process so far unobserved: Higgs production in the gluon fusion channel decaying to a pair of highly boosted b-jets that recoil against a high-pT initial state radiation jet. The candidate is expected to work closely with a PhD student working on the same physics subject, and to assist in the supervision of a second PhD student that will focus on associated Higgs production decaying to charm quarks. The PhD students of this project are being recruited now (https://inspirehep.net/record/1589492), and are expected to start on the same time scale as the candidate.

 

The position as postdoctoral researcher requires a PhD in Physics, candidates who are close to finishing their PhD thesis are also encouraged to apply. Extensive experience in both data analysis and software development for particle physics experiments is required. Familiarity with ATLAS jet reconstruction and flavour tagging and knowledge of Higgs physics are assets. The candidate is expected to have good communication skills and be able to work in an international team. 

 

The position is for two to three years. The candidate will be employed by the FOM-foundation and will obtain the status of postdoctoral researcher. You will receive a competitive salary, and a long-term stay at CERN is possible. The conditions of employment are excellent and include extra months' salary payment in May and December and good travel facilities. The conditions of employment of the FOM-foundation can be found at www.fom.nl.

 

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply by going to the web page http://www.nikhef.nl/en/vacancies, select the vacancy 'Postdoctoral researcher in experimental particle physics - ATLAS', and click on the 'apply now' button at the bottom of the page, before the end of Friday May 5. Please be prepared to upload curriculum vitae including a brief description of your research interests, and have the email addresses of at least three referents ready, who are willing to send a letter of recommendation on your behalf.

 

Further information on this position can be obtained from dr. Tristan du Pree (tdupree@nikhef.nl) or prof. dr. Wouter Verkerke (verkerke@nikhef.nl).  

 

The opening closes on Friday the 5th of May 2017.