Accelerator Physicist

About You

This is a role supporting the development of our particle accelerator, working alongside senior physicists and engineers on beam dynamics for a high-power FFA ring and its accelerator front end (IS, LEBT, RFQ and MEBT).

About StandardX

There is infrastructure that defines eras. The steam engine made the industrial world possible. The internet created an economy. StandardX is building the next one.

Some of the most essential materials on Earth are also the rarest. Isotopes are the invisible backbone of modern life – curing cancer, keeping industrial systems resilient and fuelling the fusion reactors that will power the next century. Yet the infrastructure that produces them is ageing, fragmented and increasingly unable to keep up with demand.

We're a world-class team of nuclear engineers, deep tech operators and doctoral-level scientists building the UK's first isotope refinery: a single proprietary platform, deployable anywhere, producing the full portfolio of critical isotopes at scale – turning chronic scarcity into abundance.

Exceptional team. Massive problem. If you want to work on something that matters, really matters, this is it.

What You'll Do

• Support the development of the accelerator front end (IS, LEBT, RFQ and MEBT).
• Support the design and development of a high-power FFA ring.
• Perform beam dynamics simulations (space charge, nonlinear effects, tune behaviour, halo formation) appropriate to a non-scaling FFA lattice.
• Perform error studies to define tolerances, error budgets, and beam quality requirements.
• Collaborate with magnet engineers, RF specialists, and mechanical engineers to ensure coherent system design.
• Participate in accelerator commissioning, including beam measurements, analysis, and comparison with simulations.
• Help identify and solve beam-related challenges during commissioning and operation.
• Contribute ideas to push performance, safety, and innovation further.
• Support machine learning projects aimed at improving and facilitating beam operation.

Requirements

1️⃣ Must-haves

• PhD in Accelerator Physics or a closely related field.
• Experience in accelerator physics modelling, accelerator design, simulation, commissioning, or operation. A solid grounding in at least one is expected.
• Demonstrated experience simulating transverse and longitudinal beam dynamics.
• Solid theoretical understanding of transverse and longitudinal beam dynamics, lattice design, and accelerator physics more broadly.
• A problem-solving mindset: proactive, rigorous, and hands-on when needed.
• Clear communication of technical concepts, particularly focused on engineering simulation and modelling.

2️⃣ Good to Have

• Exposure to FFA or strong-focusing ring dynamics.
• Experience with Zgoubi and/or OPAL.
• Experience with other beam dynamics simulation codes (MAD-X, TraceWin, Parmteq, RFQGen, or similar).
• Exposure to front-end systems (ion sources, LEBT, RFQ, MEBT).
• Practical experience with accelerator operation or commissioning.
• Experience in Python programming and git.

3️⃣ Nice to Have

• Experience with diagnostic tools and AI-based data analysis for beam performance.

We know great candidates rarely match every point on a list like this. If most of the above resonates and you're excited about the mission, please apply.

Benefits

• Private Health Cover, with the option to add dependants.
• ️ Life Assurance (Death in Service) at 4x salary.
• Salary sacrifice pension, with 4% employer contribution.
• Cycle to Work Scheme.
• EMI Share Options.