PhD student position in LISA Phasemeter Testing at the University of Hamburg
11.08.2026
PhD student position in LISA Phasemeter Testing at the University of Hamburg
The position is part of the proposed project “LISA ground-support equipment: Support for the usage of a Phasemeter simulator and optical testing”. Specifically, the candidate will participate in the optical testing of an electrical ground-support equipment version of the LISA phase readout system (phasemeter), based on the MicroTCA.4 standard. The candidate will also use the multi-channel readout provided by the ground-support equipment phasemeter to study noise sources in a dedicated in-house optical experiment, investigating also use of machine learning techniques for noise reduction. Finally, the candidate will support the usage of ground-support equipment phasemeters for the verification and testing of LISA engineering models and flight hardware in laboratories of national and international partners. The phasemeter development is conducted in close collaboration with the local partner, DESY MSK, and in collaboration and coordination with the LISA Consortium and national and international partners that make use of the ground-support equipment to assembly, integrate, verify and test the LISA instrument.
The research group for gravitational wave detection at the University of Hamburg studies metrology and develops instrumentation for ground and space-based detectors like the Einstein Telescope, LIGO, the Lunar Gravitational Wave Antenna (LGWA) and the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) with a focus on laser interferometry, inertial sensing, seismic isolation and digital readout and control.
The successful candidate for this position can pursue a doctoral degree in Physics at the University of Hamburg, and they can become members of the Quantum Universe Research School (QURS), which provides academic and soft skills training, as well as career planning support. They will join the LISA consortium and attend international conferences.