Physicist

The Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Göttingen is one of the world's leading research institutions in the fields of solar physics and planetary research, with approximately 300 employees. The interdisciplinary research focus lies in the investigation of the development, diversity, and dynamics of planets, moons, small bodies, the sun, and solar-like stars. MPS develops and operates scientific instruments for current and future space missions (e.g., ESA, NASA) and conducts cosmochemical laboratory investigations of meteorites as well as numerical modeling on state-of-the-art supercomputers.

For the development of the Photospheric Magnetic field Imager PMI (https://www.mps.mpg.de/pmi) for the ESA’s Vigil mission (https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Vigil), the institute is looking for a

AIT Engineer (f/m/d)

Your Tasks

As AIT engineer you will work as part of the engineering and AIT teams on the preparation, coordination and conduction of the assembly, integration and test campaigns of the PMI/Vigil instrument. You will work in close collaboration with the project team and external partners and support sub-system-level and instrument level tests.

Your Qualification

• University degree (Master) in the area of physics, engineering, or equivalent
• Substantial working experience in AIT
• Familiar with the application of ECSS standards
• Experienced user of MS Office and MS Project
• Experience with working in clean room environments
• Good communication skills
• Fluency in English is mandatory

Advantageous would be:

• Experience in the area of system engineering • Background in the development of space instruments (e.g. mechanical design) • Experience with environmental testing of space instruments (e.g. TVac) • Knowledge of LabView • Basic knowledge in operating space instruments • Good knowledge of German

Our Offer

• Comprehensive onboarding, professional development and further training opportunities
• Diverse and varied tasks in an international work environment
• Remuneration according to TVöDBund, based on qualifications and experience, annual bonus and additional pension scheme (VBL)
• 30 days of vacation plus 4 additional days off
• Full-time and part-time employment; flexible working time and possibility of mobile work
• Collaboration with local bilingual Montessori child care center
• Good public transport connection
• Corporate health management

Additional Information

• The advertised position is initially limited to 2 years and should be filled as soon as possible.
• The position is rated in acccordance to public service act (TVöD-Bund) as EG 13.
• The social benefits correspond to the regulations for the public service (federal government).
• We offer you a varied and interesting range of tasks in an international scientific working environment, as well as opportunities for professional development. In addition, we offer you opportunities to reconcile work and family life as well as health promotion programmes.
• Application deadline is June 05, 2026.

We look forward to receiving your informative application documents (cover letter, resume, diploma, and, if available, employment reference letters). Please submit these via the digital application portal (https://www.mps.mpg.de/career/jobs). If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact J. Staub (staub@mps.mpg.de, +49 551 384 979-436).

The Max Planck Society endeavours to achieve gender equality and diversity. Furthermore, the Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women in those areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply. The Max Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals.

Our job advertisements are always directed at all people capable of working, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation, disability, religion and ideology, etc. Applicants are exclusively selected based on their qualifications. Errors in the given information and spelling reserved.