As part of the ALBA II upgrade, ALBA is establishing a new coherent X-ray imaging programme, the cornerstone of our imaging-across-length-scales program; and we are looking for scientists who want to build and shape it from the ground up!

We are building the program as a team effort. Scientists joining now will take ownership of major parts of the program, shaping instruments and methods, leading their own research directions, and contributing to define how coherent imaging is done at ALBA, and how it is integrated with the other parts of ALBA's user program.

Our aim is not simply to build new beamlines, but to create the scientific and technical capabilities around them: develop new imaging methods, solve challenging experimental problems, build the computational tools needed to turn data into science, and establish research programs that exploit what the new source and the two new instruments make possible:

• CoDI will provide multimodal and operando coherent diffraction imaging in transmission and Bragg geometries, enabling nanoscale studies of structure, chemistry and dynamics in functional, environmental and engineering materials.
• CORUS will provide high-resolution 3D X-ray nanoimaging of biological cells and tissues, combining structural and chemical information under cryogenic and room-temperature conditions.

Build it with us!

We are looking for people who like designing and building innovative solutions to solve difficult problems, always having in mind leadership of the field and scientific ownership. We welcome candidates from imaging, computation, optics, scientific instrumentation or related experimental backgrounds. Previous synchrotron experience is an advantage, not a prerequisite.

The first three Beamline Scientist positions are now open for applications until 19 October 2026.

Watch this space for further positions, including roles in experimental methodology, scientific computing and the wider imaging programme at ALBA.

Join us early and be part of creating the science, methods and instruments from concept to operation!