Diamond Light Source is the UK’s national synchrotron science facility. Located on the Harwell Science & Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire a 20 minute drive south of Oxford in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Diamond Light Source conducts world-class research in virtually all fields of science and offers rewarding career opportunities covering both technical and scientific disciplines.

Beamline I06 operates a leading polarised soft x-ray beamline for research exploiting x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) and resonant soft x-ray diffraction. The beamline houses a PhotoEmission Electron Microscope (PEEM), a high-field low-temperature supercoducting magnet and a soft x-ray diffractometer. The beamline also operates two femtosecond lasers for ultrafast science. We are looking for an enthusiastic and dedicated new member of the team with experience in at least one of the disciplines described. Research interests should be clearly presented in the application. Candidates with interests in magnetism, magnetisation dynamics or highly-correlated systems studied using ultrafast optical or x-ray techniques are encouraged to apply.

Support Scientist - Scientific support to I06 beamline and the user operation programme.

• Local contact support to users by setting up and providing advice and guidance on the best approach to experiments, data analysis and research techniques;
• Assist in the installation, assembly, and maintenance of a range of equipment and systems on the beamline and support laboratories, including testing and commissioning;
• Support of in-house research activities;
• Test samples sent to Diamond by users; including data reduction and basic reports;
• Maintenance of the beamline during operations;
• Undertake problem solving and fault diagnosis of the beamline;
• Produce reports and documentation (e.g. manuals, web-pages) to support the beamline. 

Senior Support Scientist - Scientific support to I06 beamline and the user operation programme.

• Local contact support to users by setting up and providing advice and guidance on the best approach to experiments, data analysis and research techniques;
• Assist in the installation, assembly, and maintenance of a range of equipment and systems on the beamline and support laboratories, including testing and commissioning;
• Support of in-house research activities;
• Test samples sent to Diamond by users; including data reduction and basic reports;
• Maintenance of the beamline during operations;
• Undertake problem solving and fault diagnosis of the beamline;
• Produce reports and documentation (e.g. manuals, web-pages) to support the beamline;
• Develop and maintain expertise in a scientific field and apply it to user support;
• Collaborate with users and in house scientists within area of expertise;
• Develop new instrumentation and software in collaboration with support teams to upgrade the performance of the beamline, in a self-responsible way;
• Contribute to scientific publications as part of in-house research or external research. 

• Appropriate Science Degree;
• Appropriate PhD and three years relevant experience;
• Experience in the use of scientific instrumentation;
• Experience in scientific data collection;
• Knowledge of synchrotron radiation techniques;
• Good interpersonal, communication and presentational skills;
• Ability to interact with staff and facility users at all levels;
• Ability and initiative to get to the heart of the problem and take it effectively through to completion;
• Ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team;
• Good organisational and planning skills;
• Self motivation;
• Ability to work flexibly with occasional weekend and out-of hours working;
• Must be available to travel occasionally within the UK and abroad, including overnight absences.

For appointment at the higher level, additional requirements:

• Experience in supporting Scientists in the conduct of research in a synchrotron or equivalent facility;
• Good background in X-ray optics or X-ray instrumentation, including X-ray detectors;
• Capability of providing full data analysis to the users.

• Experience with Windows/Linux/Unix;
• Experience in synchrotron radiation based research;
• Expertise in at least one of the following techniques: polarised x-ray spectroscopy (XMCD,XMLD), soft x-ray diffraction, ultrafast lasers;
• Good knowledge of writing scripts in Python or equivalent language.

• Ability to work flexibly with occasional weekend and out-of hours working;
• Must be available to travel occasionally within the UK and abroad, including overnight absences.