Not published: Working with TE-EPC & the Medium Power Converters Section
This page aims to give you an idea of CERN and more specifically the Power Converters Group as a work environment. Whether you are looking for work or have recently accepted a position with the Medium Power Converters Section you should find here more information to prepare you for your next step.
Our office and some laboratories are located in the Prevessin Campus in France about 6 km from the main Campus (Meyrin, Switzerland)1. Most poeple will however occasionally move across the border from one campus to the other for meetings or to intervene in one of the installations of the Laboratory.
Do not forget to also take a look at our newcomers guide with material regarding our methods and tools of work.
The functions of each person vary according to their role in the team.
Engineers and Technicians have under their responsibility different converters or systems and a big part of their daily work is to coordinate or perform actions related to the good operation of their systems. Each Section has smaller teams that work on projects such as the development of new power converters or the renovation of existing equipment.
Engineers will spend time discussing requirements with physicists and operators2 and will write engineering or technical specifications, they will research for new solutions (if required), they will tender for the new systems and will commission them for operation. Visiting suppliers all across the member-states3 is an important part of the job and an engineer may need to travel many days in the year.
Technicians are active in the field (different buildings with “farms”of power converter) while they also respond to calls from the Cern Control Centre regarding the operation of power converters under their responsibility. When in the office Technicians will assist with the purchasing of electromechanical components or they work on projects e.g. doing the design of schematic diagrams or mechanical assemblies.
Most employed people in the Group participate in the stand-by duty for nearly 6 weeks per year. During this time they must be available for consultation or to go on-site at any time of the day.
Engineer Fellows or Technician Fellows participate in all of the above activities as team members. In EPC, Fellows are asked to contribute to projects and operation and are often assigned to some important tasks with the exception of stand-by duty.
Associated personnel4 (Project Associates, VIA, special CERN programmes) are typically incorporated to work on specific project needs with a specified time duration.
The Laboratory has the reputation of a good employer and offers a great environment for work. You are welcome apply for one of our positions and take part in our mission to provide power and stable operation to some of the most illuminating experiments on earth.
About the Group
The Power Converters Group employes more than 70 people to work on the design, procurement, installation and maintenance of more than 5000 power converters around the CERN campuses. There are 8 Sections with different missions, some of them involved in the power electronics, some working on the Cern-specific control system for converters and one that deals with the maintenance and operations.
About CERN
CERN the European Laboratory for Particle Physics started its operations in 1953 and has been home to some of the greatest discoveries in the field of high energy physics. The laboratory is operating 4 circular accelerators that are operated in a sequence to accelerate particle beams and deliver them to more than 20 experiments that are run by international collaborations of Physicists. As a particle factory it aims to produce precise, stable and reproducible beams and for this reason it employs and hosts more than 2000 engineers, scientists and administrative personnel.
1.Since movement across border is free some colleagues choose to leave on in France, while others live in Switzerland.
2. People that work in the CERN Control Centre and coordinate the production of particle beams for the physics experiments.
3. The member states can be found in this location
4. The associated members of personel are typically employed by a collaborating institute and receive a subsistence allowence to while in their placement at CERN