Psiche Beamline manager | French national synchrotron facility

Sep 08 2022

SOLEIL is the French synchrotron radiation centre, located on the Saclay plateau near Paris. SOLEIL is a multidisciplinary instrument and research laboratory, whose mission is to conduct research programmes using synchrotron radiation, to develop state-of-the-art instrumentation on the beamlines and to make them available to the scientific community. The SOLEIL synchrotron, a unique tool for both academic research and industrial applications, opened in 2008. It is used annually by several thousand French and foreign researchers, across a wide range of disciplines such as physics, biology, chemistry, astrophysics, environmental and Earth sciences, etc. SOLEIL relies on a source of radiation that is remarkable both in terms of brightness and stability. This Very Large Research Infrastructure, partner of the University of Paris-Saclay, is a “civil” company jointly founded by the CNRS and the CEA.

This position is assigned to the Experiments division, for the PSICHÉ beamline.

The PSICHÉ – standing in French for Pressure, Structure and High Energy Contrast Imaging – beamline is dedicated to X-ray diffraction under extreme conditions (pressure-temperature) and to high-energy tomography, under ambient and extreme conditions. The source is a vacuum wiggler which is used to produce a wide range of beam modes, from a broad parallel white/pink beam to a monochromatic microbeam. The beamline has two experimental cabins, one dedicated to the white/pink beam (energy range: 15-100 keV) and another for the monochromatic beam (20-50 keV). Extreme pressure and temperature conditions can be generated using different apparatus: a 1200-ton multi anvil press, Paris-Edinburgh presses (one of which is dedicated to tomography under extreme conditions), and diamond anvil cells (with laser heating).

The PSICHÉ beamline serves a wide variety of communities covering a widespread range of disciplines, from biology to palaeontology and materials sciences, to high pressure physics and geophysics.

The current team, under the responsibility of the beamline manager, consists of four permanent staff, three scientists and one technician, as well as a post-doc.

I. Mission

The beamline manager promotes the beamline, leads and manages his/her team, and welcomes external users while conducting his own research.

II. Responsibilities and tasks

1. Manage the preparation and reception of external users:

– Plan the beam time and the reception of users by the line staff in an equitable way (local contact)

– Upstream, prepare the users’ experiences in accordance with SOLEIL’s specific procedures

– Ensure the reception of users in accordance with SOLEIL’s specific procedures (accompany the experiment and possibly help with the analysis of the data and their publication).

2. To maintain the quality and performance of the instruments at their highest level:

– Coordinate the maintenance activities of the line and the necessary developments

– Participate in the installation and validation of new equipment

– Interact with SOLEIL support groups and external companies

– Organise and monitor the work of the line’s assistant engineers.

3.To conduct research activity in line with the line’s themes and taking advantage of the instruments set up on the line, in consultation with the entire line’s scientific team:

4. Promote the line to the French and international scientific community in order to make the most of the facility’s potential:

– Participate in and organise workshops, conferences, or other scientific events

– Ensure the publication of results and participate in scientific dissemination

– Participate (and encourage other beamline scientists to participate) in national and international scientific committees

– Participate (and encourage other beamline scientists to participate) in calls for proposals for research funding

– (Co)supervise the research activities of students (post-doctoral, doctoral, master, bachelor).

– Conducting annual evaluation and professional interviews

– Plan and coordinate training, holidays, travel, etc.

– Ensure compliance with agreements on working hours

– Recruiting or participating in the recruitment of beamline staff.

– Leading cross-functional discussions in ad-hoc working groups.

III Training and experience

This job is aimed at an experienced scientist with a PhD (or equivalent) in physics/chemistry/material sciences or earth sciences and at least 10-year experience in synchrotron radiation techniques. He/she should have good knowledge and well-established know-how in the field of high-pressure experimentation using large volume presses, either in the laboratory or preferably at the synchrotron, and good knowledge of the basics of condensed matter physics.