Postdoctoral Researchers in Particle Physics and Quantum Computing

INSPIRE Posting Link

Located at Northwestern University, to join the group of Professor Enectali Figueroa-Feliciano. Three positions are available. The successful applicant will play a leading role in one or more of our projects, which include: including the SuperCDMS dark matter experiment, the Ricochet CEvNS neutrino experiment, the CUPID 0vBB neutrino experiment, or the CosmiQ quantum sensing and computing initiative with Fermilab.

The Figueroa Group is currently involved in several projects involving cryogenic detectors:

  • Ricochet is an experiment to study neutrinos through the Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering process. Ricochet will place a cryogenic array of detectors 8.8 meters from the 58 MW ILL nuclear reactor core in Grenoble, France. Northwestern is leading the development of Transition-Edge-Sensors (TES) for the Q-Array, a US contribution to the Ricochet payload using superconducting targets and a new TES sensor architecture.
  • CUPID is an experiment that will be deployed in Gran Sasso, Italy. It will use scintillating bolometers to look for neutrinoless double-beta decay. We will be testing CUPID towers in the NEXUS facility (see below) and are developing TES-based detectors for a future CUPID 1-Ton experiment.
  • The SuperCDMS (cryogenic dark matter search) experiment is building a second-generation experiment to search for dark matter particles with masses below 5 GeV. SuperCDMS SNOLAB will use new germanium and silicon detectors with unprecedented sensitivity to low-mass dark matter. Our group is focused on new detector development, the calibration of Si and Ge detectors using neutron beams, understanding detector behavior and backgrounds, and in commissioning and operating the cryogenic systems for the experiment.
  • CosmiQ is an R&D effort to develop qubits and related technologies for both particle sensing and quantum computing. Led by Fermilab and part of the Quantum Science Center, Northwestern is an active partner working on qubit measurement, modeling, and fabrication. We are focusing on the interplay between radiation and qubits, understanding how to maximize/minimize qubit sensitivity for sensing/computing.
  • R&D at Fermilab: Our group, in collaboration with Fermilab, operates the Northwestern EXperimental Underground Site (NEXUS) 100 meters underground in Fermilab’s MINOS tunnel. We are pursuing a variety of new R&D directions at this facility, including next-generation single-electron-hole-pair searches for dark matter, TES designs for the Ricochet and CUPID neutrino experiments, active veto designs for rare event searches, and qubit-based sensing and charge response experiments. We are also very involved in the CosmiQ QUIET and LOUD facilities, two dilution fridges dedicated to qubit measurements, one next to NEXUS underground and the other at a surface lab.

REQUIREMENTS: A Ph.D. in physics. Candidates' background must be in experimental nuclear or particle physics, superconducting qubits and quantum computing, or experimental condensed matter physics. Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Please submit a letter of interest and curriculum vitae, and have at least two letters of recommendation sent to: postdoc@figueroagroup.nu

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