Your Tasks
- You will design, construct, and commission reactors, sources, and sampling interfaces to investigate chemistry under planetary analogue conditions, with particular emphasis on gas-solid interfaces, plasma chemistry, photochemistry, and sulfur chemistry.
- You will plan and conduct experiments using reactive gas mixtures in contact with inorganic materials relevant to the early Earth and rocky planets, exploring the formation, transformation, and stability of prebiotic molecules.
- You will combine reactor experiments with molecular-beam sampling, mass spectrometry, and advanced photoionization methods, including PEPICO spectroscopy, to identify products and reactive intermediates that reveal reaction mechanisms.
- You will develop and pursue complementary research directions in the Reaction Dynamics (PSI) and Experimental Planetology (ETHZ) groups, coordinating activities across PSI, ETH Zurich, EPFL, and the wider NCCR Genesis network.
- You will analyze and interpret experimental data, publish your findings in peer-reviewed journals, and present your work at international conferences.
Your Profile
- A PhD degree in chemistry, chemical engineering, physics, geochemistry, planetary sciences, or a related discipline.
- Experience in designing, constructing, and operating complex experimental setups.
- Experience in one or more of the following areas: reactor development, vacuum technology, gas handling, plasma or photochemical experiments, high-temperature chemistry, mass spectrometry, or advanced spectroscopy.
- The ability to translate broad scientific questions into robust experiments and to pursue parallel research directions independently.
- An interest in interdisciplinary collaboration and the ability to work constructively across institutions and scientific disciplines.
We Offer
You will join an interdisciplinary research environment that connects the Reaction Dynamics Group at PSI with the Experimental Planetology group at ETH Zurich, while benefiting from close collaboration across the broader NCCR Genesis community. You will help establish new experimental capabilities for investigating how planetary environments, interfaces, and energetic processes generate and transform prebiotic molecules.
This position provides access to PSI's advanced laboratory and large-scale research infrastructure, opportunities to establish collaborations across Switzerland and internationally, and considerable scope to shape new experimental directions in an emerging research field.
Our institution is founded on interdisciplinary, innovative, and dynamic collaboration. You will benefit from a motivating work environment, along with personal development opportunities. We support modern employment conditions and offer on-site infrastructure designed to balance work with family life or other personal interests.
Your employment contract is limited to 2 years.
Contact Information
For further information, please contact:
Apply online using the form below. Only applications matching the job profile will be considered.
Paul Scherrer Institut, Human Resources Management, Mariusz Prus, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland.