Careers

The group CFEL-ATTO is looking for highly motivated and talented persons to join our group. We offer positions at many levels of research careers, from bachelor projects to postdoctoral positions, any spontaneous application is welcome.

Every ATTOier is involved in an exciting and enjoyable scientific environment and encouraged to contribute with new ideas and smart solutions independently on her/his level of career. Our group is a good representer of the high-level, international and transversal environment provided and stimulated by the Centre of Free-Electron Science (CFEL) and, more generally, by the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) and Universität Hamburg.

New Post-Doctoral Position

Attosecond Timing Tool based on angular Streaking for Experiments at the European XFEL (AttoSee)

We are opening a new post-doctoral position in the Attosecond Science Group at the Center for Free Electron Laser (CFEL) Science in Hamburg.

The position is funded within the BMFTR project Attosecond Timing Tool based on angular Streaking for Experiments at the European XFEL (AttoSee) and is a collaboration between groups from DESY, the European XFEL, the University of Hamburg, and the TU Dortmund. The project aims to develop a tool for sub-femtosecond precision arrival time sorting of two attosecond pulses at the SQS instrument of the European XFEL using the angular streaking technique. The researcher will drive the development of an optical setup at DESY to produce synchronised mid-infrared and few-cycle UV sources to produce electrons from a variety of samples and, together with expert collaborators, to test and optimise their angular streaking in a multi-electron spectrometer developed at the University of Hamburg. Following experimental characterisation, the system will be commissioned at the SQS instrument of the European XFEL. This opportunity grants hands-on experience with advanced technologies while working in a team-oriented and collaborative environment.

The application link can be found here.

New CUI Postdoc Position

Research Associate for the Project “Cluster of Excellence‚ CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter - Imaging attosecond electron dynamics in molecules”

We are opening a new post-doctoral position in the Attosecond Science Group at the Center for Free Electron Laser (CFEL) Science in Hamburg.

In the CFEL-ATTO group we develop advanced attosecond technology with the aim of tracking and controlling electron dynamics in matter. More specifically, our technology allows us to follow charge migration occurring on the attosecond and few-femtosecond time scales in bio-chemically relevant molecules. In this context, the Research Associate will closely work with experts in ultrafast crystallography to develop a new experimental approach to directly image charge dynamics with attosecond and Ångstrom resolution. Additionally, electron dynamics will be traced using attosecond time-resolved X-ray spectroscopic approaches. The work will be primarily conducted at attosecond free-electron laser facilities.

More information can be found here.

PhD Positions

• 1.

A new PhD position is currently open in the International Max Planck Research School for Ultrafast Imaging & Structural Dynamics (IMPRS UFAST) in the FS-ATTO Team, led by Francesca Calegari.

The Project title is: Spin-resolved dynamics induced by ultrafast rotating current in chiral molecules.

Abstract:

Photoelectron circular dichroism (PECD) is a powerful method of chiral discrimination, providing asymmetry signals up to two orders of magnitude stronger than in conventional optical techniques. Our team has exploited this approach to experimentally resolve ultrafast electron dynamics in chiral molecules, producing chiral currents [1]. It has recently been predicted that combining such photoinduced currents with a circularly polarised probe pulse enables an enantioselective filter of molecular orientations following photoionisation. Furthermore, recent work has demonstrated that molecular orientation can be directly linked to photoelectron spin [2]. In this project, the candidate will design and commission a spin polarimeter to enable spin-and time-resolved PECD measurements shortly after coherent excitation of electronic dynamics in chiral molecules. These experiments will exploit covariance techniques using our two-sided spectrometer, employing velocity-map imaging (2D) and mass-spectral acquisition (1D), to provide new insights into the interplay between chirality and spin polarisation.

[1] V. Wanie et al., “Capturing electron-driven chiral dynamics in UV-excited molecules” Nature 630, 109–115 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07415-y

[2] P. Caesar et al., “Enantiosensitive locking of photoelectron spin and cation orientation” arXiv:2505.22433v4 (2025).

For more information and to apply, please visit the website. 

• 2.

A new PhD position is currently open in the attosecond science team at the Centre for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL) in Hamburg. The PhD position is in the 'Cluster of Excellence ‚CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter’ –Electron-driven control of the enantioselective reactivity of chiral molecules”, in the FS-ATTO Group led by Prof. Dr. Francesca Calegari.

Further information can be found in the job advertisement.

• 3.

A new PhD position, "Ultrafast imaging of molecules with two-color laser fields" , is currently open, funded under the ERC grant SofMeter and led by Prof. Andrea Trabattoni. The PhD position will focus on the establishment of soft-field laser spectroscopy of molecules.

Further information can be found here.

Bachelor and Master projects

Participation in Experimental Campaigns involving pump-probe experiments (Bachelor & Master):

• We collaborate with different external groups with the goal to ultimately understand the dynamics of the system of interest. You will get familiar with the state-of-art techniques for probing the dynamics of the system as well as unveil the dynamics via data analysis together with our group!
• System of interests are: DNA bases or biorelevant molecules (VMI), metallic complexes in liquid (Transient Absorption), C60 (Attosecond streaking).

References: Nisoli et al., Chem. Rev., 2017, 117, 16, 10760-10825; Auböck et al., Nature Chemistry, 2015, 7, 629-633.

Realtime observation of ultrafast plasmon dynamics in gold nanostructures via Transient Absorption (TA) Spectroscopy (Bachelor):

• Here you will perform TA experiments on plasmonic gold nanostructures with our ultrashort pulses to gain information on the electron-electron interactions of the plasmonic system. A deeper understanding of this dynamical process helps for several new technologies in fields such as energy conversion, photocatalysis or biology.

References: Hartland, Chem. Rev., 2011, 111, 6, 3858-3887.

Simulation of UV and/-or X-ray pulse generation and propagation in chip and/-or capillaries (Bachelor and Master):

• We are building novel setups to generate the shortest UV/soft X-ray radiation possible. In order to realize the experimental setup, simulations of the experimental conditions and parameters are key to ensure the feasibility of the experiment. You will get familiar with simulation programs such as COMSOL and be able to test the conditions in our lab as well.

References: Galli et al., Optics Letters., 2019, 44, 6, 1308-1311; Vozzi et al., Optics Letters., 2007, 32, 20, 2957-2959.

High Harmonic Generation (HHG) in nanostructures (Master):

• Compared to conventional HHG processes using atoms, HHG in solids, provides interesting features such as high repetition rates (for faster data acquisition) or a higher conversion efficiency. In cooperation with a group from the hybrid nanostructures group, you will be generating Attosecond Pulses via High Harmonic Generation with nanostructures.

References: Ghimire et al., Nature Physics, 2019, 15, 10-16; Han et al., Nature Communications, 2019, 10, 3272.

Optical field sampling of near-petahertz fields (Master):

• Optical field sampling is a novel technique for the sampling of arbitrary electric fields. Nowadays, fields up to the Petahertz (PHz) range can be characterized with this technique, meaning that the study of materials applicable for PHz electronics becomes feasible. Here you will design an optical field sampling setup based on the technique called TIPTOE, which will be used to characterized different samples to unveil their ultrafast dynamics.

References: Park et al., Optica, 2018, 5, 4, 402-408; Blöchl et al., Optica, 2022, 9, 7, 755-761.

Pulse compression via novel schemes such as capillaries or multipass cell (Bachelor & Master):

• Pulse compression is essential for our work and new emerging techniques aim for simple and efficient generation of the shortest pulses available. In your work you will be dedicated to simulate and test these schemes with the goal to create compact sources for the efficient generation of ultrashort pulses.

References: Balla et al., Optics Letters, 2020, 45, 9, 2572-2575; Travers et al., Nature Photonics, 2019, 13, 547-554.

Nanosecond pulse compression – a new approach to pico/femtosecond laser pulse production

• Ultrafast laser pulses play a crucial role in modern science, in medicine as well as for a range of industrial applications. By employing a novel concept based on so called pulse post-compression, a method which is widely used for femtosecond laser technology.
• We are targeting the direct compression of nanosecond lasers into the picosecond or even femtosecond regime – an approach which has the potential to open an entirely new route to generate ultrashort laser pulses.

References: Balla et al., Optics Letters, 2020, 45, 9, 2572-2575, L. Silletti, et al., 2022 arXiv:2209.15335.

 

Want to know more about these positions? Do not hesitate to contact: