Research Technician(s) for Spinoff on Robotic Manufacturing of Optical Circuits

at  Universiteit van Amsterdam

Research Technician(s) for Spinoff on Robotic Manufacturing of Optical Circuits
Faculteit/Dienst: Faculteit der Natuurw., Wiskunde & Informatica
Opleidingsniveau: Master
Functie type: Ondersteunend Beheer Personeel
Sluitingsdatum: 31 March 2025
Vacaturenummer: 13283
Are you eager to join a startup creation team that will bring robotic manufacturing of optical circuits to the market? Optical circuits manipulate laser light and are crucial for many quantum computers, sensors, and simulators. Nowadays they are built by hand and must be regularly readjusted, wasting a lot of time. We are developing flexible robotic manufacturing of optical circuits that barely need readjustment. Our vision is to make it as easy for our customers to order and use an optical circuit as it is nowadays to order and use an electronic circuit.
This position is offered within the AQuRA project, in which we develop a robust and transportable optical lattice clock, made mostly by industry. The AQuRA project will end in 2026, but if we are successful, you could join our newly created company thereafter (Firefly Quantum). Our optical circuit development is inspired by research done in our Ultracold Strontium Gases Group, which is headed by Prof. Florian Schreck and is part of the Quantum Gases & Quantum Information (QG&QI) cluster at the Institute of Physics (IoP) of the University of Amsterdam (UvA).

YOUR EXPERIENCE AND PROFILE:

• A master’s degree and ideally several years of relevant professional experience or a PhD in experimental physics or engineering.
• Strong experience across relevant domains including:
• Optical systems including AOMs, EOMs, optical fibers, single frequency tunable laser and frequency conversion systems, optical cavities such as those used in ultracold atom or trapped ion physics;
• Automation and mechatronics such as robotics, python, electronic design including micro controllers, digital and analog circuit design.
• A passion for solving real world industrial problems and developing cost effective creative solutions that meet customer driven requirements.
• Motivation to work within an ambitious and cohesive team in a challenging, but rewarding, cutting edge research field.
• The ambition and drive to join a startup.
• Good command of English

ABOUT US

The University of Amsterdam is the Netherlands’ largest university, offering the widest range of academic programmes. At the UvA, 30,000 students, 6,000 staff members and 3,000 PhD candidates study and work in a diverse range of fields, connected by a culture of curiosity.
The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 8,000, as well as 1,800 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.
The Institute of Physics is situated in new, purpose-built laboratory and teaching space in the building of the Faculty of Science in the Science Park Amsterdam. This location also plays host to numerous national research institutes such as AMOLF (nanophotonics, biomolecular systems, photovoltaics), NIKHEF (Subatomic Physics) and CWI (mathematics and Computer Science), as well as ARCNL (Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography, which combines the leading Dutch tech firm ASML with both Amsterdam universities and AMOLF) and the Quantum Delta NL Ultracold Quantum Sensing Testbed.

Within AQuRA, you will work with our team to:

• develop, build, and benchmark optical circuits and their control electronics;
• improve the stability of our circuits;
• improve our robotic manufacturing technology;
• widen the range of optical circuits we can build;
• create a second generation of the AQuRA optical circuits.

If you join our newly created company after AQuRA ends, your tasks could furthermore include

• developing new optical circuits for customers;
• presenting our products and capabilities to potential customers, for example at conferences;
• listening to the needs of customers and developing ideas for new products;
• explaining the manufacturing and benchmarking process to younger team members;
• ordering and stocking parts for the optical circuits and their control electronics.

The company will grow and you will have the chance to professionally grow with it.