Senior Software Developer in Zeuthen

For our location in Zeuthen we are seeking:

Senior Software Developer

Remuneration Group 13 | Limited: 2 years with the option to extend | Starting date: 01.12.2026 | ID: APMA007/2026 | Deadline: 11.10.2026 | Full-time/Part-time | Remote work possible

DESY, with more than 2900 employees at its two locations in Hamburg and Zeuthen, is one of the world's leading research centres. Its research focuses on decoding the structure and function of matter, from the smallest particles of the universe to the building blocks of life. In this way, DESY contributes to solving the major questions and urgent challenges facing science, society and industry. With its ultramodern research infrastructure, its interdisciplinary research platforms and its international networks, DESY offers a highly attractive working environment in the fields of science, technology and administration as well as for the education of highly qualified young scientists.
The Photo Injector Test Facility PITZ in Zeuthen (near Berlin) is one of the leading international groups for developing modern photo injectors and their applications. Current R&D goals of PITZ include improving the electron source brightness beyond state of the art for X-ray Free Electron Lasers as well as applications of high brightness beams, e.g. for most modern cancer radiation therapies like FLASH-RT and SFRT (FLASHlab@PITZ). The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) is the next-generation, ground-based facility for very-high-energy gamma-ray astronomy. It will feature two massive telescope arrays deployed across both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Operations and scientific data acquisition within the observatory are managed by the Array Control and Data Acquisition (ACADA) system. Within ACADA, the Resource Manager (RM) handles infrastructure administration and system supervision, while the Central Control (CC) orchestrates the execution of astronomical observation workflows.
As software developer, you will work for PITZ to develop server software for the accelerator control system, as well as for the ACADA system's RM and CC subsystems.

About your role:

• Development of server software for the control of different devices at PITZ using the DOOCS API
• Integration of applications into the accelerator control system
• Design and implement core operational subsystems as distributed, container-based software based on structural and behavioural design models.
• Develop the orchestration logic to manage dynamic hardware groupings and automate workflows, alongside hierarchical, fault-tolerant architectures for system lifecycles and automated recovery

Good reasons to join:

• An international research campus enables you to think outside the box
• Basic, materials and applied research broaden your horizons
• Collaborate with exceptional colleagues and researchers
• Our own particle accelerator

Good reasons to join:

• An international research campus enables you to think outside the box
• Basic, materials and applied research broaden your horizons
• Collaborate with exceptional colleagues and researchers
• Our own particle accelerator

Look forward to a unique working environment on our international research campus. Respectful cooperation and the well-being of our DESY employees are particularly important to us. Gender equality is an important aspect for us. To support work life balance we offer flexible working hours, variable part-time, job-sharing models and participation in mobile work (up to 50%). You will benefit from our family-friendly and collegial atmosphere, our established health management and occupational pension provision. As a public funded employer, we offer you a secure workplace and facilitate your individual career with our comprehensive training and development opportunities. Remuneration is according to the regulations of the TV-AVH. DESY offers its employees a financial supplement for a German job ticket (Deutschland-Ticket) at both locations.

About you:

• University degree in computer science, physics, mathematics, engineering or related subject, or comparable qualification
• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience
• Strong professional experience in C++ and Java; proficiency in Python is advantageous
• Deep knowledge of OOP, functional programming, data structures, and concurrency/multithreading
• Familiarity with state-machine design patterns and distributed consensus mechanisms.
• Proven background in control systems, real-time programming, process automation, or SCADA architectures
• Experience developing communication protocols for hardware and device interfacing
• Strong proficiency in Linux environments and modern DevOps practices (TDD, CI/CD, build automation, Git)
• Strong English communication skills for collaborating in an international, multi-disciplinary team
• Good German communication skills is preferable

For further information please contact Kai Leffhalm at +49 33762 7-7159 (kai.leffhalm@desy.de).

Please submit your complete application documents (letter of motivation, CV and relevant certificates).

Please kindly submit your complete application documents including your salary expectations.
We look forward to receiving your application via our application portal:
DESY promotes equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion . We therefore welcome applications from people of all dimensions of diversity. The professional development of women is very important to us and therefore we strongly encourage women to apply for the vacant position. Applications from severely disabled persons and those with equivalent status will be given preference if they are equally qualified (sbv.desy.de) .
You can find further information here:
https://www.desy.de/career/apprenticeship/
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY
Personalabteilung
Notkestraße 85
22607 Hamburg
Phone: +49 40 8998-3392

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