This vacancy is now closed
Job Title Mechanical Beamline Technician / Senior Beamline Technician
Job Reference 0035/16/TH
Post Type Full time / permanent
Division Physical Science
Salary information Circa £27k and circa £33k for appointment at the senior level + benefits
Application deadline 22/05/2016


Job Description

Diamond Light Source is the UK’s national synchrotron science facility. Located at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, we enable world-leading research across a wide range of scientific disciplines and industrial applications.

Beamline I05 is a facility for high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). It consists of a common branch, two branch beamlines with two fully equipped complex surface science instruments as end stations operating in good ultrahigh vacuum condition. These include sample growth and preparation stations beside the ARPES instruments with cryogenic sample manipulators allowing micron and sub-micron positioning capabilities combined with large rotation ranges. The beamline operates an international user program with guest users from Europe, Asia and the USA as well as the UK.

The main duty of the Mechanical Beamline Technician/Senior Mechanical Beamline Technician is to support the scientists and technical support groups associated with the beamline during beamline maintenance, commissioning and operations. The technician will help maintain the equipment already existing on the beamline, and will work with the beamline scientists and engineers in designing and installing new beamline equipment as part of upgrades. He/she will also help users to carry out experiments on both branches of the beamline, machining small pieces of equipment such as sample holders, and integrating ancillary equipment into the experimental areas. He/she will need to ensure that all beamline work is carried out in a safe manner, and that the equipment is appropriately integrated and installed. Due to the operational needs of the beamline for investigating atomically clean surfaces in ultrahigh vacuum, the successful candidate will be required to maintain a clean and tidy working environment.

Accountabilities include: 

  • Maintenance, development and upgrading existing beamline components such as monochromators, mirrors, slits and experimental hutch equipment;
  • Assisting in installation and commissioning of further specialist beamline equipment;
  • Assisting users in carrying out experiments.
  • Integrating ancillary equipment into the experimental area.
  • Ensuring that all beamline work is carried out safely and using the correct processes such as ATW, PTW; carrying out regular safety inspections. When required, appropriate PPE equipment required.
  • Using the peripheral laboratory equipment/workshop for preparation of user experiments
  • General laboratory work including some electrical cabling, design and build of simple mechanical devices.
  • Provide advice and occasional installation support to fellow technicians in the Surface and Interface Science village
  • Maintenance of a clean and tidy working environment.


In addition for the senior level:

  • Design and build of new equipment/developments and technical assistance for subsystems of the science equipment such as sample environments that provide high/low temperature and other environments;
  • Supervise and coordinate the installation and commissioning of further specialist beamline equipment;
  • Train users in the mechanical operation of the ultrahigh vacuum, in particular ultra-high vacuum sample transfers and review their feed-back for continued improvements of the systems.
     

Qualification & Experience - Essential

  • ONC or GNVQ level 2 (Applicants with equivalent work experience will also be considered);
  • Proven technical experience;
  • Significant relevant work experience;
  • Proven work experience in ultra high vacuum;
  • You should have proven experience in at least one of the following areas: ultra high vacuum, cryogenics, high temperatures, and/or high pressures, specialist gases, cooling water; (significant experience for appointment at senior level)
  • Ability to understand and interpret mechanical drawings;
  • Ability to carry out a variety of light mechanical and electrical assembly tasks;
  • Ability and initiative to get to the heart of the problem and take it effectively through to completion;
  • Good planning and organising skills;
  • Good communication skills, verbal and written;
  • Ability to interact with people at all levels;
  • Effective team player;
  • Candidates must be available to work flexibly when there will be periods of intense activity to meet deadlines.
     

Qualification & Experience - Desirable

  • Able to produce simple engineering drawings;
  • Experience with chilled water, compressed air, domestic water;
  • Experiences of using cranes and slings etc. for heavy lifting;
  • Familiarity with using quality assurance procedures, work planning and safe systems of work (essential for appointment at senior level);
  • Good IT skills - standard MS Office software;
  • Some travel may be required, usually within the UK and with occasional overnight stays.
  • Experience of Technical Support in a synchrotron or equivalent facility (essential for appointment at senior level).

For appointment at the senior level: Desirable

  • Experience in line-management.

Further Information

  • Candidates must be available to work flexibly during commissioning and later operations when there will be periods of intense activity to meet deadlines;
  • Some travel may be required, usually within the UK and with occasional overnight stays.

Applying for employment

For further details on applying for employment at Diamond, please visit our 'Application Form' page.

Appointments will be made depending on the skills and experience of the candidate. Electronic Diamond application forms in MS-Word are preferred. These should be emailed to recruitment@diamond.ac.uk



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