Machine Learning Developer

About us

At CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, physicists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the universe. Using the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments, they study the basic constituents of matter - fundamental particles that are made to collide together at close to the speed of light. The process gives physicists clues about how particles interact, and provides insights into the fundamental laws of nature. 

Job description

Join our team to develop ML algorithms for the CMS Level 1 Trigger system as part of the NextGen Triggers project! NGT is a 5-year collaboration between the LHC experiments and the CERN Research and Computing Departments. The project aims to advance the use and impact of innovative Artificial Intelligence technologies and high-performance computing architectures for the LHC experiments' trigger selection, data processing, and theoretical interpretation.

For the High-Luminosity (HL)-LHC upgrade, the CMS collaboration is designing a novel Level-1 Trigger system that will process collision events in real-time and select the most interesting collisions for further analysis. Within the NGT project, we seek to make best use of Machine Learning (ML) algorithms in this upgrade to exploit the full potential of the upgraded experiment.

Responsibilities

• Develop ML algorithms for the CMS Level 1 Trigger, focusing on the correlator subsystem and interfaces with upstream/downstream components.
• Execute the full development cycle, including dataset preparation, model exploration, training, development of emulators, firmware development and integration, and testing/validation.
• Investigate and implement techniques for Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) relating to putting ML models into production, including continuous monitoring and training.
• Collaborate with colleagues from the EP-CMG-OS section and EP-CMD, as well as other staff, fellows, and students in the section, and the wider CMS L1T team.
• Present work at conferences and workshops at CERN and externally.

Your profile

Skills and/or knowledge

• Knowledge and application of physics reconstruction techniques and algorithms
• Design, implementation, and validation of trigger algorithms, and of FPGA applications
• Knowledge and application of FPGA programming including Hardware Description Languages and High Level Synthesis
• Knowledge and development of Machine Learning algorithms (boosted decision trees, neural networks) including Fast Machine Learning. Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) would be a plus
• Software development platforms (e.g. github, gitlab), and continuous integration

Eligibility criteria:

• You are a national of a CERN Member or Associate Member State. A limited number of positions are also available to candidates from Non-Member States. 
• You have a professional background in Physics or Computer Science (or a related field) and have either:
  • a Master's degree with 2 to 6 years of post-graduation professional experience;
  • or a PhD with no more than 3 years of post-graduation professional experience.
• You have never had a CERN fellow or graduate contract before.

What we offer

• A monthly stipend ranging between 6,194 and 6,808 Swiss Francs per month (net of tax).
• Coverage by CERN's comprehensive health scheme (for yourself, your spouse and children), and membership of the CERN Pension Fund.
• Depending on your individual circumstances: installation grant; family, child and infant allowances; payment of travel expenses at the beginning and end of contract.
• 30 days of paid leave per year.
• On-the-job and formal training at CERN as well as in-house language courses for English and/or French.

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