Laser Diagnostician

As a Laser Aided Plasma diagnostician you will be designing and building some of the most important diagnostics on the Alpha stellarator. This role provides a unique opportunity to work alongside other diagnostic experts, software engineers, fusion scientists, and fusion engineers, making a tangible impact on the future of clean energy. The role will require the management of the full product lifecycle of this important diagnostic form conception, through design, review, testing, installation, calibration, operation and maintenance on the Alpha stellarator.

Responsibilities

Lead the design and build of the Thomson Scattering (TS) diagnostic to be deployed on the Alpha stellarator to measure spatial profiles of electron density and temperature; Lead the design and build of the plasma density diagnostic to be deployed on the Alpha stellarator to measure the line integrated electron density using a laser based two colour or dispersion interferometer; Develop a detailed diagnostic specification able deliver the measurement performance required; Work with the engineering team on Alpha to establish a robust implementation of the TS and plasma density diagnostics; Prepare and execute plans for all the steps required to implement the diagnostic and bring it into operations: design, procure, build, test, install, commission, calibrate, operate and maintain; Oversee and undertake/delegate/subcontract packages of work as part of the plan to ensure successful completion of the laser based diagnostics

Requirements

Master's degree or higher in physics, engineering, or equivalent experience; Experience using class IV lasers: a high energy (Joule level) pulsed lasers and/or high power CW infra-red single longitudinal mode lasers; Worked on at least one laser based diagnostic instrument on a large infrastructure machine (accelerator, telescope, laser or fusion device); Strong knowledge of geometric optics and light propagation in optical systems; Working knowledge of Python software development and modern tool chains (uv, git etc.)

Nice to have

Experience of designing and building a Thomson scattering system and or an interferometer for a plasma device would be an advantage; Experience using optical design software for ray-tracing would be an advantage