Ph.D. Student for dosimetry at FLASHlab@PITZ

Organisation/Company Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY Research Field Physics Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Country Germany Application Deadline 15 Jan 2026 – 23:00 (UTC) Type of Contract To be defined Job Status Other Offer Starting Date 26 Nov 2025 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by the EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Area of research:

PHD Thesis

26.11.2025

The Photo injector Test Facility PITZ in Zeuthen (near Berlin) is one of the leading international groups in developments on modern photo injectors and their applications. Current R&D goals of PITZ include improving 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 FLASH radiation therapy R&D (FLASHlab@PITZ). FLASH radiation therapy (FLASH RT) involves treatments delivered at ultra‑high dose rates, and is a new and exciting opportunity for cancer treatment. The PITZ accelerator is the perfect test facility for this new technique as it is extremely flexible in the timing of the irradiation bunches and the corresponding dose rates and can deliver full treatment doses within a 1 ms bunch train. The detectors and methods established for dosimetry of conventional radiotherapy are not suitable for FLASH RT. The student will develop suitable detection and dosimetry methods at ultra‑high dose rates, making use of the detector expertise developed for particle, astroparticle and accelerator physics applications at DESY Zeuthen in cooperation with national and international partners.

About your role:

• Simulate beam interactions using software packages such as GEANT
• Prototype and test several sensors for dosimetry
• Implement the sensors and readout at FLASHlab@PITZ and test them with the unique beam properties available
• Optimize beam dynamics and test with phantoms to optimise the delivered dose
• Analyze experimental data and compare with simulation results
• Participate in shift operation for R&D at PITZ

About you:

• Excellent university degree in experimental physics, with very good knowledge in detector physics and corresponding simulations or equivalent qualification
• Strong background in numerical and statistical methods
• Good knowledge in experimental characterization of particle beams; good programming skills are of advantage
• Knowledge in beam dynamics simulations / radiation physics / dosimetry is of advantage
• Very good command of English is required and knowledge of German is of advantage
• Excellent teamwork abilities in an international environment

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.

We look forward to receiving your application via our application portal:

Applynow

DESY promotes the professional development of women and therefore strongly encourages women to apply for the position to be filled. In addition, severely handicapped persons with equal aptitude are given preferential consideration. The advertised positions are basically suitable for part‑time employment.

You can find further information here: www.desy.de/career/

Deutsches Elektronen‑Synchrotron DESY Personalabteilung | Notkestraße 85 | 22607 Hamburg Phone: +49 40 8998‑3392

This research center is part of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers. With more than 42,000 employees and an annual budget of over € 5 billion, the Helmholtz Association is Germany\’s largest scientific organisation.