The CLF is expanding! Vulcan 20-20, HiLUX and EPAC mean we are currently hiring for a range of exciting new roles.
Are you a fresh graduate dreaming about an exciting STEM career, or an experienced professional who is looking for the next challenge at the cutting-edge of science, technology and engineering?
Join our vibrant, multicultural and multi-disciplinary team of scientists and engineers, who use lasers to work on anything from cleaner energy, to improved healthcare, to understanding the elusive events happening in outer space.
Scientists working in our Gemini Laser lab
We have an exciting opportunity for you at the Central Laser Facility (CLF) at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire.
The CLF is the UK's national centre for laser science, comprising of five laser facilities that enable cutting-edge research in a plethora of fields ranging from biomedical sciences to material science and plasma physics. Our work helps to inspire solutions to everyday problems as well as better understand our Universe: from developing future energy sources and novel cancer diagnostic capabilities to simulating astrophysical events in the early universe in the laboratory. We are currently expanding our facility to house 2 major upgrades, Vulcan 20-20 and HiLUX, and are building a brand new laser facility, EPAC.
The CLF is a dynamic, innovation-rich, world-leading laboratory with over 150 staff from over 10 different countries, providing scientists from around the world with a wide range of state-of-the-art laser technology.
The CLF is aiming to build the most powerful laser in the world through a major upgrade to the existing Vulcan laser facility.
This ambitious £82M upgrade project will last six years. The name ‘Vulcan 20-20’ was born from the exciting technical specifications of the new laser - the facility will house a single 20 Petawatt beam together with additional laser beams (up to 8 beams) with a total energy output of up to 20 Kilojoules.
Vulcan 20-20 will be able to study a range of subjects in brand new detail, for example:
- Learning about astrophysical phenomena by using lasers as tools to replicate interstellar conditions.
- Aiding in research towards a potential new frontier for clean energy, laser fusion.
- The ground-breaking power of Vulcan 20-20 may mean we will be able to conduct physics experiments that step into brand new unknowns and explore beyond the present Standard Model.
With the significant expansion of the CLF’s flagship laser facility, we are creating new roles to fill in science and engineering. The project will require a wide range of expertise from for post-docs, PhDs, graduate trainees to technician and apprentices. Find details of the current posts available here!
