Experimental Physicist

Overview

This role exists to extract truth from real hardware fast.

As an Experimental Physicist at Zero Point Motion, you will build new lab systems from scratch, run high-iteration experiments, and turn messy data into physical insight that informs what we build next. You do not need to have majored in photonics, but you must have used lasers and precision measurement in serious work, and you must be excited to transition your domain expertise into semiconductors and integrated photonic MEMS.

This is a builder role. You will spend around 70% of your time in the lab, moving from 0 to 1 quickly, with scope to hand over repeatable and automatable systems to others.

The Role

You will take ownership of experimental setups that involve some mix of:

• lasers and optical measurement
• vacuum, vibration isolation, precision alignment, or high sensitivity readout
• electronics, detectors, and instrumentation
• automated measurement and data pipelines
• semiconductor devices and packaging realities

Your job is to make progress at speed while maintaining high safety standards and rigorous thinking.

What You’ll Do

Experimental ownership (0 to 1 systems)

• Design and build experimental setups where most of the rig does not exist yet.
• Integrate lasers, detectors, optics, and instrumentation into stable measurement systems.
• Move fast through build-test-debug cycles, with steady hands and strong practical judgment.
• Develop procedures that make results repeatable, not dependent on heroics.
• Work longer hours when the experiment demands it, then eliminate that need through better design, automation, and handover.

Measurement, data, and physical insight

• Run structured experiments to isolate mechanisms, not just collect plots.
• Characterise noise, drift, stability, sensitivity, and cross-coupling.
• Analyse large datasets with statistical discipline and clear reporting.
• Write real Python for experiment control, automation, data processing, and model validation.
• Build lightweight models to connect observation to physics and guide next experiments.

Builder mindset across disciplines

• Electronics to measure and debug readout chains and sensor interfaces.
• Mechanical design to create fixtures, alignment tooling, mounts, enclosures, and practical assemblies.
• Use the right software for the job (CAD, lab control, scripting, version control) without needing to be a specialist in all of it.

Semiconductor curiosity and transition

• Develop a deep interest in semiconductor devices, fabrication constraints, packaging, and production reality.
• Bring state-of-the-art thinking from your domain (quantum, spectroscopy, cavity optomechanics, HEP, precision metrology) into a new hardware platform.
• Collaborate with photonics, MEMS, electronics, FPGA, and systems engineers so experiments drive design choices.

Required Background

You must have:

• A deeply technical PhD (or equivalent) where you built most of your experimental setup yourself (not inherited a mature rig).
• Significant hands-on laser use in your research (alignment, stability, measurement, safety discipline).
• Proven ability to design experiments, debug hardware, and extract physical insight from non-ideal behaviour.
• Practical competence in Python beyond trivial scripts (automation, analysis, instrument control, reproducibility).
• Comfort working with lab electronics and instrumentation (oscilloscopes, signal generators, DAQs, lock-in style measurements, etc.).
• High safety standards and mature lab habits (laser safety, HV, vacuum, cryo, chemicals as applicable).
• High learning slope and curiosity, especially when transitioning into unfamiliar technical ground.

Strong plus if you have experience with any of:

• cavity optomechanics, precision interferometry, spectroscopy, quantum hardware, particle/HEP instrumentation
• noise budgeting, Allan deviation, drift analysis, stability characterisation
• control loops, locking, servo design, timing and synchronisation
• vacuum systems, vibration isolation, thermal control, long-duration experiments
• semiconductor device testing, packaging, probe stations, wafer-level measurement

Who This Role Is For

This role is for:

• experimentalists who are builders first and theorists second
• people who can move from blank bench to working system quickly
• those who enjoy debugging reality: noise, drift, cross-coupling, alignment sensitivity
• engineers who automate and document so others can scale what they created
• people with strong internal standards, integrity, and a bias to action

What This Role Is Not

This is not:

• a role for someone who only runs established procedures on mature equipment
• a simulation-first position
• a narrow optics-only job or narrow electronics-only job
• a “slow science” lab where iteration speed does not matter

What Success Looks Like

After 6–12 months:

• You have built 3 or more new experimental rigs that repeatedly produce trusted data.
• Key noise sources, drift mechanisms, and failure modes are identified and quantified.
• Test cycles are fast, with clear procedures and partial automation in place.
• Experiments directly drive engineering decisions across photonics, MEMS, electronics, and packaging.
• The lab becomes a competitive advantage: faster learning per week than peers.