Control Room Operations Group Leader

The European Spallation Source is one of the largest science and technology infrastructure projects being built today. The project includes the most powerful linear proton accelerator ever built, a five-tonne, helium-cooled tungsten target wheel, 15 state-of-the-art neutron instruments, a suite of laboratories, and a supercomputing data management and software development centre. In the context of its history and future as a scientific organisation, however, it is more than the sum of its parts. It is a brand new Big Science organisation and we are building it from the ground up.

Whilst others have built telescopes that allow us to look into the furthest regions of space, now we will build a device so powerful it will allow us to the study the smallest objects in the finest detail.

Come and build the future of Science with us!

About this opportunity:

ESS is at an exciting turning point. It is in transition from being a construction site, to being an world-class, operating neutron research facility. As we continue to restructure our organisation in the lead up to first science in 2025, we are looking to recruit a Control Room Operations Group Leader to join our newly formed Operations & Infrastructure Directorate.

As Control Room Operations Group Leader at ESS, you will have a real and genuine opportunity to be an integral part of establishing the procedures, culture and working environment of our Control Room operations team. You will be responsible for all aspects of the work relating to the ESS Main Control Room operators and shift leaders and for handling the daily interactions that shape the structure and culture of the MCR.

The role-specific tasks are therefore centred around managing and leading the operations team, and will include such things as: Performance and Development (P&D) talks; recruitment of operators and shift leaders; producing and implementing training materials; creating shift schedules; being on-duty in the MCR when needed; developing detailed principles for shift planning/scheduling, coordinating with union reps, safety delegates, HR and other ESS business functions and - crucially - ensuring that MCR rules, procedures and guidelines are documented and updated as appropriate so that ESS operates at all times in compliance with all safety and regulatory protocols.

The Control Room Group Leader serves as the primary point of contact for control room operations to all internal and external stakeholders and is responsible for providing necessary documentation for licensing purposes to the relevant regulatory agencies. 

About you:

This Group Leader role at ESS is a management level position. As such, we are seeking a well-qualified, highly motivated person who is truly excited by the chance to establish our control room operations, and who is unafraid of the challenges that will inevitably also accompany a high-profile position such as this.

First and foremost, we need someone who is suitably qualified and experienced. This role is highly specialised and technical in nature, so you need to have appropriate technical qualifications and significant (over 5 years) relevant experience at an accelerator facility - or other similar "big science" project. We imagine that the successful candidate would have a minimum of a Master's degree in a relevant technical area, such as particle physics, physics or engineering. We also need someone who can bring significant, demonstrable experience of leading - and building - cohesive, highly functioning teams. Please do not apply for this position if you do not have multiple years of experience from working in a control room operations setting.

We are building ESS from scratch, so we need someone who is comfortable not only following procedures, but also creating and improving them. We attach great importance to personality and attitude, so we're looking for a real team player: Someone who is sociable, has excellent communication skills, who likes to collaborate with different people and who is committed to helping this amazing project to realise its full potential. We want a hands-on self-starter who is able to work in a structured, orderly, responsible and – most importantly – safe way.

The working language of ESS is English and we need someone who can start as soon as practically possible.

What can we offer?

Aside from the chance to work at truly unique big science project, you can also expect:


• An opportunity to contribute to the future discoveries within neutron science.
• A stunning, brand new workplace filled with innovative minds and brilliant people from across the globe.
• A challenging, innovative and stimulating work environment.
• Market competitive compensation that is individual and differentiated according to role, responsibilities, individual skills, abilities and achievements.
• 30 days of annual leave, as well as more than 10 days of public holiday and company days off or days with limited working hours.
• Monthly pension contributions on top of your salary.
• Flexible working arrangements and a real work-life balance.

If you see yourself in what we’re looking for, please provide your CV and motivation letter in English by clicking on “apply” and following the instructions. Please be aware that we can only accept direct applications made via the ESS website.

Certain roles at ESS require health and safety checks, which may be required in the final stages of the recruitment process.

We review applications continuously, so don’t miss out! Submit your application as soon as you can and quote the job reference number ESD-27384 in your application.

For more information regarding the ESS recruitment process, please follow this link https://europeanspallationsource.se/ess-recruitment-process or contact Daniel Nordin Baker – Recruitment partner – at daniel.nordin@ess.eu.

For trade union information, please contact Unionen representative Conny Wendt at conny.wendt@ess.eu or SACO/Swedish Association of Graduate Engineers representative Yngve Levinsen at yngve.levinsen@ess.eu.

We look forward to receiving your application soon!