Careers @ MSU

Working/Functional Title

Radio Frequency Engineer

Position Summary

Michigan State University operates FRIB as a user facility for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC), supporting the mission of the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics.

As one of 28 DOE-SC user facilities, FRIB provides researchers with one of the most advanced tools of modern science to study rare isotopes, or short-lived nuclei not normally found on Earth. FRIB hosts what is designed to be the most powerful heavy-ion accelerator, enabling scientists to make discoveries about the properties of rare isotopes, nuclear astrophysics, fundamental interactions, and applications for society, including in medicine, homeland security, and industry.

The establishment of FRIB was funded by the DOE-SC, Michigan State University (MSU), and the State of Michigan, and user facility operation is supported by the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics. Since 2010, MSU’s nuclear physics graduate program is ranked No. 1 in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report’s rankings of graduate programs.

This position affords an exciting opportunity to become part of the world-class FRIB Laboratory that enables unique discovery opportunities in nuclear science.

Purpose: 

The RF Control Engineer will design, document, fabricate, test, install and maintain the FPGA-based electronics for radio frequency control systems.

Major Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Support operations and schedule or perform preventive maintenance, repair and parts management for assigned equipment.
• Design, fabrication, testing and installation of RF systems associated with the FRIB project and future upgrades.
• Continuously strive to improve productivity, quality and uniformity.
• Maintain consistent accurate records of maintenance tasks and results.
• Maintain complete and accurate documentation of designs and processes.
• Performs other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the scope of the duties in this job classification.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 

• Ability to read and interpret schematics to perform repairs and / or modifications
• Basic trouble shooting skills to find issues in circuits, electronics and RF systems
• Experience with basic test equipment (multi-meter, oscilloscopes, signal analyzers, etc.)
• Knowledge in at least one of the following areas: circuit design, digital signal processing, control design, radio frequency system
• Familiar with at least one of the major programming languages (C/C++, Python, Java, etc.)
• Ability to develop firmware and software with revision control
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suites
• Ability to be on-call 24/7 during beam operation

Unit Specific Education/Experience/Skills

The job requires a bachelor’s degree in Systems or Computer Science; or Engineering or Physics, with coursework in Systems or Computer Science; one to three years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in electronics, mechanical and/or electrical drafting and fabrication techniques, or computer programming in one or more languages used by FRIB or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with schematic and layout tools such as Altium
• Good programming skills (C/C++, Python, database)
• Experience with simulation of dynamic systems in MATLAB/SIMULINK
• Experience with firmware development for FPGAs using Verilog or VHDL
• Experience with embedded system design
• Familiar with various communication protocols (RS232, Ethernet, SPI, CAN, etc.)
• Familiar with Linux operating system (commands and tools)

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability or protected veteran status.

Required Application Materials

Please provide a cover letter, resume and three professional references. 

Work Hours

STANDARD 8-5

Website

FRIB.msu.edu

Bidding eligibility ends March 22, 11:55 PM