Digital IC Design & Validation Engineer (EP-ESE-ME-2025-244-GRAP)

Job Description

Join CERN as a Digital IC Design & Validation Engineer, and help shape the future of Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors for particle detectors. In this role, you will contribute to the design, verification, and lab-based validation of complex digital circuits, working alongside a multidisciplinary team of analog, verification, and instrumentation specialists.

Ideal candidates will have experience of digital design of ASICs or FPGAs, lab-based validation, and enthusiasm for pushing the boundaries of speed, efficiency, and reliability in state-of-the-art detector systems.

Your responsibilities

• Design architectures and digital circuits for monolithic pixel sensors and readout ASICs.
• Develop synthesizable RTL (Verilog/VHDL) and contribute to system-level architecture.
• Perform simulation, verification, and validation of digital designs.
• Support post-silicon testing, including FPGA-based emulation, lab characterisation, and integration with detector systems.
• Collaborate closely with analog/mixed-signal designers, detector physicists, and system engineers.
• Contribute to documentation, design reviews, and project planning.

Your profile

Experience:

• Background in electronics and instrumentation.
• 1-3 years of experience in digital IC design (academic or industrial).
• Experience of RTL design (Verilog/SystemVerilog or VHDL).
• Experience of lab testing, post-silicon validation, FPGA prototyping.
• Knowledge of digital simulation and verification tools.
• Familiarity with synthesis, timing analysis, and physical IC design flows.
• Knowledge of radiation-tolerant designs is a plus.

Skills:

• RTL design using hardware description languages (Verilog/SystemVerilog, VHDL);
• Digital electronics, instrumentation, sensing;
• Development or utilisation of lab testing set-ups and equipment;
• Lab measurements and data analysis;
• Scripting languages (Python, TCL, Shell);
• Ability to work in a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment;
• Strong analytical mindset and attention to detail;
• Spoken and written English, with a commitment to learn French.

Eligibility criteria:

• You have a professional background in Electronics engineering (or a related field) and have either:
  • a Master's degree with 2 to 6 years of post-graduation professional experience;
  • or a PhD with no more than 3 years of post-graduation professional experience.
• You have never had a CERN fellow or graduate contract before.

Additional Information

Job closing date: 28.01.2026 at 23:59 CET.

Contract duration: 24 months, with a possible extension up to 36 months maximum.

Job flexibility: Hybrid

Target start date: 01-March-2026

This position involves:

• Work during nights, Sundays and official holidays, when required by the needs of the Organisation.

Job reference: EP-ESE-ME-2025-244-GRAP

Field of work: Electrical or Electronics Engineering

Benchmark job: 200050 - Electronics Engineer

Global Benefits

• A monthly stipend between 6287-6911 Swiss Francs per month (tax free) depending on your degree.
• 30 days of paid leave per year plus 2 weeks annual closure.
• Coverage by CERN’s comprehensive health insurance scheme (for yourself, your spouse and children), and membership of the CERN Pension Fund.
• Family, child and infant monthly allowances depending on your individual circumstances.
• A relocation package (installation grant and travel expenses) depending on your individual circumstances.
• Possibility to extend your contract up to 36 months.
• On-the-job and formal training including language classes.

Overview of CERN - Discover a world where the impossible is made possible!

At CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, we are pushing the frontiers of science and technology. Our groundbreaking work brings together not only physicists but also a diverse range of professionals from engineering, technical, scientific, and administrative fields. Together, we foster an environment where innovation and collaboration thrive.

Every day, we face exciting new challenges and opportunities to contribute to cutting-edge research that shapes our understanding of the universe. We meet these challenges through the diverse perspectives within our teams, ensuring every contribution is valued and driving our shared sense of inclusion and purpose. Diversity is a core value of CERN since its foundation, and it remains central to our mission and continued success.

If you are ready to be part of a dynamic, inclusive community pushing the boundaries of knowledge, CERN is the place where your curiosity and skills can thrive. Be part of our mission to uncover what lies at the heart of the universe! TAKE PART!

More information about us, here: careers.cern