LPA Design Engineer (m/f/d) in Hamburg

MuRay Tech is a deeptech spinout from DESY, Hamburg. We're hiring an LPA Design Engineer to own the working point design of our high-energy, high-charge laser-plasma accelerator. You'll optimise plasma density profiles through PIC simulation, build a physics-informed surrogate model as a digital twin of the accelerator, and run the tolerance studies that make the design hold up in real hardware. Direct ownership of the beam that powers our Active Muon Imaging system.

The role

• Design density profiles that maximise high energy and minimise low energy charge. Real hardware sets the limits.
• Extend the simulation chain from reduced-dimensionality models to full 3D. This captures effects a symmetric model misses.
• Build an efficient optimisation loop that respects the cost of each simulation. Map the Pareto front between muon yield and radiation dose.
• Develop a surrogate model as a digital twin of the LPA. Implement physics-informed architectures.
• Run tolerance and jitter studies to test robustness of the chosen working point against real-world variation.

What you'll bring

• Physics background: deep understanding of laser-plasma acceleration, injection, dephasing, depletion, external and self-guiding physics.
• PIC simulation expertise: hands-on with FBPIC, WarpX, or a comparable code.
• Optimisation track record: applied use of Bayesian optimisation or similar methods for multi-objective search.
• Machine learning skills: building surrogate models from simulation data. Physics-informed AI that encodes known physics into the network architecture.
• Statistical judgment: for tolerance work, you characterise a robust basin, not just find a peak.
• Software and HPC fluency: Python, reproducible simulation pipelines, cluster-scale sweeps.

How we work

• Skunkworks approach: We work in small teams with full ownership. We keep it simple, stupid.
• Move fast: a shiny prototype means we spent too long on it. We build to learn. We polish later.
• Disagree together, commit together: we debate and challenge, regardless of title. Then we deliver the decision as one team. We win as a team. We pivot as a team.
• Courage: we always make the call. A mistake isn't a failure: it's proof we're improving. Either way, we own the outcome.
• Honesty and transparency: we share what's really happening, good or bad. That lets everyone make the right call. We stay open. We stay honest.

What we offer

• Impact: your working point isn't a paper result. It becomes the beam that powers the first Active Muon Imaging system, scanning rocket engines, turbine components, and shipping containers.
• Pace: rapid real-life validation of your plasma profile designs. Within a few years, your working point is running real scans.
• Infrastructure: you have access to LUMI. You also have access to an H200 GPU cluster in Hamburg.
• Network: research collaborators include DESY, DLR, CERN, and Imperial College London. Commercial partners include Siemens Energy, Airbus, Caelora, and ZAL.
• Ownership: an equity plan gives you a meaningful stake in the company.
• Compensation: a salary that reflects your contribution to MuRay's growth.
• Relocation: we support your move. If you're relocating from outside the EU, we help with the paperwork.

About MuRay Tech

MuRay builds compact laser-plasma accelerators that generate a controlled muon beam. Muon scans today are passive and take days. Active Muon Imaging produces the same scan in seconds, at higher resolution. We work with partners in aerospace, defence, and energy today. Next: security, customs, and medical imaging.

MuRay Tech develops safe, rapid and accurate active muon imaging solutions for industrial quality assessment, security and customs inspection and medical diagnostics. Our platform combines laser-plasma-accelerator-driven muon sources, next-generation particle detectors and AI to enable high-resolution 3D imaging with automated decision-making.

The company operates at DESY in Hamburg, Germany, and Tehnopol in Tallinn, Estonia. Our main development partners span the energy, defence, aerospace and security industries. Our initial technology and business focus is on the quality and safety assessment of critical metallic and ceramic components, such as rocket engines, gas turbines, jet engines, and large-scale nuclear or industrial systems.