Permanent position as cleanroom engineer at the Department of Physics

About the position

A permanent position as cleanroom engineer (Head Engineer or Senior Engineer, depending on candidate's qualifications) within the field of Semiconductor physics/technology is available at Centre for Materials Science and Nanotechnology at the Department of Physics, University of Oslo.

Starting date as soon as possible. 

Place of work is Centre for Materials Science and Nanotechnology - Department of Physics at Blindern, UiO.

Job/ project description 

The Solid-State Physics and Quantum Technology section, under the Department of Physics/Centre for Materials Science and Nanotechnology is responsible for the operation of the UiO Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory (UiO-MiNaLab). UiO MiNaLab is an advanced research infrastructure and is among the largest single experimental facilities at the university. UiO-MiNaLab is operated in partnership with SINTEF and is a partner in the national infrastructure open access infrastructure Norwegian Micro- and Nanofabrication Facility (NorFab), partly funded by the Research Council of Norway.

Research and education at UiO-MiNaLab combines materials science, micro-, nano-, and quantum technology for applications in electronics, energy and life sciences. These activities are carried out both by the solid-state physics and quantum technology section and by external academic and industrial users of the laboratory. To conduct the activity, UiO-MiNaLab is equipped with more than 40 advanced instruments, with an investment cost in the range of 190 MNOK. These include characterisation techniques such as ARPES, XRD, SEM, SIMS, Hall effect, SPM and deposition/modification systems such as E-beam evaporation, Magnetron sputtering, PLD, ALD and ion implantation. See UiO MiNaLab - NorFab (https://norfab.no/labs/uio-minalab/) for more details. Currently, the UiO-MiNaLab staff comprises a full-time laboratory manager, a research infrastructure coordinator, 2 full-time engineers, and 25% of a full-time administrator.

To support laboratory users, running and maintaining of the cleanroom infrastructure and nearby characterization laboratories, we seek a cleanroom engineer for a permanent position. The engineer will report to the UiO-MiNaLab Lab Manager.

Your main tasks will be

• Maintenance of advanced scientific instrumentation, including vacuum systems
• User training, both on processes/equipment, and on lab safety
• Assisting users/researchers in process/equipment related troubleshooting
• Support users to perform processing and characterization
• Take part in the procurement of new equipment - testing, specification and qualification
• Administrative tasks connected to MiNaLab-operation

The position will be an integral part in the ongoing research and education through support of the infrastructure users together with a team of two senior engineers and scientific staff. There will be daily contact with both students and researchers; therefore, the personal suitability to cooperate and communicate, especially with students, is essential. The accumulated knowledge obtained in this position will be shared with colleagues, cleanroom users and our international network, e.g., as part of the Nordic Nanolab Expert Network. This network also provides a very good opportunity to interact and learn from other highly experienced cleanroom engineers working within the Nordic countries.

What skills are important in this role?

Required qualifications:

• The Head engineer title requires minimum a bachelor's degree in physics, chemistry, materials science, nanotechnology, electrical or chemical engineering, or similar. Relevant work experience can compensate for formal qualifications.
• The Senior engineer title requires minimum a master's degree in physics, chemistry, materials science, nanotechnology, electrical or chemical engineering, or similar. Relevant work experience can compensate for formal qualifications.
• Training in/documented background from maintenance of advanced instrumentation
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written, in English. Fluent knowledge of one of the Scandinavian languages can be an advantage due to close interaction with students at both bachelor and master level.

Desired qualifications:

The following qualifications are considered strongly desirable and will be used in the ranking of the candidates:

• Background from an internationally leading cleanroom infrastructure
• Experience with design of vacuum or characterisation systems in the direction of quantum technologies 
• Experience in processing/characterization of materials with advanced instrumentation, such as those mentioned in the job description
• Programming skills, e.g., by LabView, Arduino, Python, Origin or Igor pro

All candidates and projects will have to undergo a check versus national export, sanctions and security regulations. Candidates may be excluded based on these checks. Primary checkpoints are the Export Control regulation, the Sanctions regulation, and the national security regulation.

Personal skills

• Be outgoing and service minded
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
• Ability to work precisely in a structured and solution-oriented manner and swiftly adapts to new tasks
• Good communication and collaboration skills
• Positive attitude and the ability to handle hectic periods
• Have a safety-oriented attitude 

Weight will be put on personal suitability, including curiosity to learn new things.

Interviews will be used as part of the hiring process.

We can offer you

• A pleasant and stimulating work environment
• Good welfare schemes (https://www.uio.no/english/for-employees/employment/welfare/index.html).
• Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise during working hours (https://www.uio.no/english/for-employees/employment/welfare/exercise/).  
• A workplace with good development and career opportunities.
• Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse (https://www.spk.no/en/), which is one of Norway's best pension schemes with beneficial mortgages and good insurance schemes.
• Oslo's family-friendly surroundings with their rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities
• Salary in position as Head Engineer, position code 1087 in salary range NOK 575 000 - 675 000, depending on competence and experience. Salary in position as Senior Engineer, position code 1181 in salary range NOK 625 000 - 775 000, depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2% is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund

We need different perspectives in our work 

UiO is an open and internationally oriented comprehensive university that strives to be an inclusive and diverse workplace and academic environment. You can read more about UiO's work on equality, inclusion, and diversity at uio.no (https://www.uio.no/english/about/strategy/gender-equality/index.html).

We fulfill our mission most effectively when we draw upon our variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. We are looking for great colleagues—could you be the next one?

We will do our best to accommodate your needs. Relevant adjustments may include modifications to working hours, task adaptations, digital, technical, or physical adjustments, or other practical measures.

We especially encourage women to apply.

If you have an immigrant background, a disability, or CV gaps (https://lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/2017-06-21-838/%C2%A74#%C2%A74), we encourage you to indicate this in the job application portal. We always invite at least one qualified candidate from each group for an interview. In this context, disability is defined as an applicant who identifies as having a disability that requires workplace or employment-related accommodations. For more details about the requirements, please refer to the Employer portal (https://arbeidsgiver.dfo.no/strategisk-hr/inkluderingsarbeid/bli-bedre-pa-rekruttering/hvordan-skrive-stillingsannonser-som-inkluderer/positiv-saerbehandling-nar-man-soker-jobb-i-staten) (Norwegian). More information about gender equality initiatives at UiO can be found here (https://www.uio.no/english/for-employees/competence/gender-equality/index.html).

The selections made in the job application portal are used for anonymized statistics that all state employers include in their annual reports.

We hope you will apply for the position with us. 

How to apply

The application must include:

• Cover letter
• CV (complete overview of education and work experience)
• Copies of educational certificates, transcript of records and letters for recommendation
• Names and contact details of 2-3 references (names, relation to candidate and telephone number

Application with attachments must be submitted via our recruitment system Jobbnorge, click "Apply for this job". Foreign applicants should attach an official explanation of their University's grading system.

When applying for the position, we ask you to retrieve your education results from Vitnemålsportalen.no (https://www.vitnemalsportalen.no/english/). If your education results are not available through Vitnemålsportalen, we ask you to upload copies of your transcripts or grades. Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language.

General information

Applicants may be called in for an interview.

Applicant lists can be published in accordance with Norwegian Freedom of Information Act (https://lovdata.no/dokument/NLE/lov/2006-05-19-16) § 25. When you apply for a position with us, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we can't, you will hear from us.

The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest rated institution of research and education with 26 500 students and 7 200 employees. Its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally esteemed research communities make UiO an important contributor to society. 

The research at the Department of Physics covers a broad range of subfields within physics and technology: From space research to medical physics. A good proportion of the research is interdisciplinary, and conducted in close cooperation with collaborators in Norway and abroad. Education and teaching are other essential activities. We offer a broad range of courses, and the Department is involved in several study programmes at bachelor’s and master’s level. Some of the best lecturers in Norway are amongst our employees, and we are proud of our prizewinning teaching and learning environment. The Department has 200 employees, of which 50 are permanent scientific positions. On a yearly basis 20 students complete their Ph.D. and 50 finish their M.Sc. degree.