M/F Postdoctoral Researcher in High Energy-Density Plasma Physics (primary focus: experiments; computation and theory also welcome)

About the position

M/F Postdoctoral Researcher in High Energy-Density Plasma Physics (primary focus: experiments; computation and theory also welcome)

Institution: CNRS

Research Field: Physics

Researcher Profile: Recognised Researcher (R2)

Application Deadline: 20 Oct 2026 - 00:00 (UTC)

Job Status: Full-time

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?: Not funded by a EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?: No

Controlled nuclear fusion, inspired by the fusion processes that power stars, offers the prospect of a clean and virtually inexhaustible energy source on Earth.

Although this is a critical milestone, target gains >100 are expected to be required to harness Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) for power generation.

The postdoctoral researcher will contribute to the design, execution, and data analysis of the next series of experiments:

• At OMEGA and European facilities (such as LULI 2000, PHELIX, and others) to advance our understanding of magnetic field effects in implosion physics, laser plasma instabilities, and heat transport.

The project includes dedicated funding to acquire new equipment to generate (coils) and diagnose (spectroscopy and other diagnostics) magnetized HED plasmas at intermediate scale laser user facilities.

• At OMEGA EP and European facilities (such as ELI Beamlines, Eu XFEL, Apollon, and others) to increase the energy flux of laser driven particle sources for fast ignition of plasmas, by tailoring the laser pulse (e.g. orbital angular momentum), the interaction (micro structured targets, such as [M.

PRE 2020]), or the transport (cone focusing, log-pile targets, etc.).

The postdoctoral researcher will work closely with one PhD student at CELIA and one postdoctoral researcher at UC San Diego (USA).

In addition to the core experimental work, simulations and theory form a significant part of the team's activity, and the postdoctoral researcher can contribute to:

• LPSE (Laser Plasma Simulation Environment) kinetic simulations of laser plasma instabilities, electromagnetic wave propagation, and cross beam energy transfer, particularly in the presence of background magnetic fields, performed in collaboration with the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE, Rochester, USA).

CELIA is at the forefront of this research, co coordinating international (EUROFusion, NLUF, LBS, NIF Discovery Science, Association Laser Plasma) and French (ANR) projects on laser driven HED plasma studies under strong magnetic fields and fast particle heating of dense plasmas.

Years of Research Experience: 1 - 4

A strong background in plasma physics and relevant experimental experience are highly desirable.

Website for additional job details: https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/UMR5107-SOPHEU0-087/Default.aspx

What you’ll bring

• Eligibility criteria
• Research Field: Physics
• Education Level: PhD or equivalent
• Languages: FRENCH
• Level: Basic
• Years of Research Experience: 1 - 4

At a glance

Position type

Postdoc

Institution

CNRS

Department

Centre lasers intenses et applications

Research group

Not stated

Location

TALENCE, France, FR

Supervisor / contact person

Prof. João Santos

Funding

Funding not stated
Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?: Not funded by a EU programme
The project includes dedicated funding to acquire new equipment to generate (coils) and diagnose (spectroscopy and other diagnostics) magnetized HED plasmas at intermediate scale laser user facilities.

Duration

Not stated

Expected start

Not stated

Vacancy reference

EURAXESS-462571

Research focus

Discipline

Physics

Research area

Not stated

Methods

Spectroscopy

Software

Not stated

Dates to know

Listed on FOSS Positions

28 Sep 2026

Original advertisement date

Not stated in the source

Application deadline

20 Oct 2026 · 00:00 UTC

Priority review date

Not stated

Last checked

28 Sep 2026

Last updated

28 Sep 2026

2026-10-20T00:00:00+00:00

How to apply

Application Deadline: 20 Oct 2026 - 00:00 (UTC)
Where to apply
Apply now

https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/UMR5107-SOPHEU0-087/Default.aspx

Original sources

https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/462571 ↗

https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/UMR5107-SOPHEU0-087/Default.aspx ↗