Open position for: Research associate (“logisticien.ne de Recherche”) (Gravitational waves instrumentation) University of Liège for a permanent contract (full time) starting ideally start on the 1st of September 2026. Application deadline: May 30th, 2026.
Context and missions
The Einstein Telescope (ET) will be Europe’s most advanced observatory for gravitational waves. It will allow researchers to hear black holes mergers and learn about the early universe.
The department of aerospace and mechanical engineering of University of Liège hosts the ET-CRISTAL facilities. ET-CRISTAL is an R&D facility for demonstrating crucial aspects of ET-Low Frequency. It uses innovative approaches for seismic isolation, i.e. an inverted pendulum stage on top of active seismic isolation platform and contact-free radiative cryogenic cooling of a large-scale cryogenic mirror. ET-CRISTAL is a Center of Excellence for the sub-system comprising the mirror, its suspension system, the vibration Isolation system, and cryogenic cooling of the mirror.
The Precision Mechatronics Laboratory within the Department of Aerospace and Mechanics (A&M) and from the School of Engineering at the University of Liège invites applications for an open position as a research associate in gravitational wave instrumentation at ET-CRISTAL. The facilities are installed at the Space Center (CSL) of the University of Liège and the main research offices of the Precision Mechatronics Laboratory are located within the Department.
As a Research Associate, you will have as missions to:
- Lead the management of ET-CRISTAL facilities together with the Scientific Director (Prof. C. Collette), including research logistics, participation and tutoring of Master and PhD students as well as fellow researchers.
- Develop and support research activities in fields relevant to ET-CRISTAL
- Contribute to securing new funding and develop new collaborations
Application requirements
- To hold a PhD in engineering, or an equivalent experience.
- To have proven experience in one or several of these fields:
- cryogenic inertial sensors
- low frequency seismic isolation
- radiative cooling
- thermal noise modeling
- Newtonian noise
You must also have strong project management skills, as well as excellent written and oral communication skills in English and, if possible, in French. You should be able to take the initiative and be skilled in negotiation and consensus-building.
We offer
- A pleasant and dynamic work environment with a wide variety of assignments
- Significant freedom in how you organize your work and a degree of autonomy in decision-making
- Salary based on established pay scales and pre-determined pay Progression plans
- The opportunity to support fundamental and applied research related to a Major Big Science instrument in an international Environment
Additional information
Prof. Dr. Ir. christophe.collette(at)uliege.be
ET-CRISTAL: https://www.etest-emr.eu
Precision Mechatronics Laboratory: https://www.pml.uliege.be
Liège Space Center: https://www.csl.uliege.be/cms/c_10241774/en/csl?id=c_10241774
University of Liège: https://www.uliege.be/cms/c_8699436/en/uliege
Application modalities
Applications should include a complete curriculum vitae, a personal motivation letter, and the name of three references in a single PDF file which should be sent by email to Prof. Christophe Collette (christophe.collette(at)uliege.be ) by the 30th of May 2026.
Please find here full details.