Careers at LIGO Laboratory
Current Vacancies
At this time, LIGO has a number of exciting open positions in support of current LIGO operations and R&D, especially in engineering or computing roles. Included in the listings below are two vacuum engineering positions at LIGO Hanford, both of which present a great opportunity for two individuals to join the LIGO family at an important crossroads between current and future gravitational-wave observatories. LIGO Livingston is also looking for two Detector Engineers.
A brief description of each job is provided below. Clicking on a link for any job will redirect you to its posting with full description and instructions for applying. All jobs are located on-site, unless otherwise indicated.
For more information about Postdoctoral opportunities at LIGO Laboratory, visit the Postdoctoral Positions page.
LIGO Hanford Observatory
Creating and maintaining pristine vacuum systems is essential to not only current gravitational wave observatories like LIGO but also as we look to future GW observatories like Cosmic Explorer. In support of this effort, LIGO Laboratory has two open positions for individuals with vacuum experience and related skills. Both of these positions are in-person roles located in Hanford, Washington.
Note: Candidates who believe themselves eligible are encouraged to apply for both positions.
Vacuum Lead: LIGO Laboratory seeks a highly motivated and skilled LHO Vacuum Equipment Group Leader to join its team. In this role, you will:
- Maintain the Observatory vacuum system and support facilities; initiate, plan and execute changes to this system; monitor system performance.
- Collaborate with research scientists and engineers to optimize UHV performance of in-vacuo scientific apparatus and to minimize risks of contamination.
LIGO Vacuum Engineer - CEBEX: LIGO Laboratory seeks a highly motivated, skilled and experienced vacuum engineer with a strong background in both chemistry and solid state physics as they apply to UHV systems. In this role you will:
- Be a key member of the team who designs the planned 120m demonstration tube.
- Develop systems requirements / specifications and statements of work for procurement of necessary materials.
Also at LIGO Hanford Observatory:
Electrical Engineering Lead: The Electrical Engineering (EE) Lead is responsible for coordinating a small team of engineers and technicians in the design, testing, installation, and maintenance of low noise analog/digital electronics. You'll collaborate with a diverse, international community of scientists and engineers, and have the opportunity to contribute to research that pushes the boundaries of what's possible. This is a leadership role valuing both technical skills and team-building abilities.
System and Network Administrator: This system administrator works in concert with other local and remote system administrators, helping to deploy, maintain, and extend critical computing infrastructure such as DNS, DHCP, LDAP, Containers, virtual machines, Kubernetes, high-throughput batch job systems, and clustered storage systems. The position affords opportunities to work on diverse challenges, including the public network and its supporting services and infrastructure, as well as a local scientific data analysis compute cluster.
LIGO Livingston Observatory
Detector Engineer: (NOTE: Two positions are available). DEs collaborate closely with the operations team and commissioning scientists across LIGO Laboratory (LLO, LHO, MIT, Caltech), applying their skills to the operation, design, development, installation, and commissioning of technologies that increase the LIGO detector sensitivity and robustness. This is a highly multidisciplinary activity affording opportunities to learn about and contribute to many different parts and aspects of the LIGO detectors, as expertise and experience grow.
LIGO Caltech
No open LIGO Laboratory positions at this time
LIGO MIT
No open LIGO Laboratory positions at this time
Caltech Notices of Intent can be found here.
If you are interested in working for LIGO at other collaborating universities, check your preferred partner-institution's job postings. For a list of collaborating institutions, see LSC Member Institutions.
