Research assistant (praedoc) (f/m/d)

Department: Department of Physics contract duration: limited untill 31.10.2029 Salary / pay grade: E 13 TV-L FU Working hours: 75 % Requisition ID: 945 Application deadline: 30.11.2026 Salary calculator TV-L Salary Student assistant TV Stud III **Who We Are** -------------- Can we build a quantum simulator from excitons in atomically thin semiconductors? Join us to develop the experimental building blocks: electrically tunable traps for individual excitons and arrays in which light mediates their coupling. You will be based in the Bolotin group in Berlin, working with the groups of Prof. Ronen Rapaport and Prof. Hadar Steinberg at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI) in the project “*Plasmon-Coupled Excitonic Arrays for Quantum Simulation*”. You will help develop an experiment that combines nanoscale positioning, electrical control, and optical readout. The Bolotin group brings expertise in strong electric fields and local manipulation of 2D materials; our HUJI partners contribute complementary strengths in dipolar excitons, plasmonics, and device fabrication. The collaboration includes joint scientific exchange and planned research visits to partner laboratories. You will gain hands-on experience in nanofabrication, cryogenic microscopy, and optical spectroscopy, with access to the group’s experimental infrastructure and room to develop your own ideas in Berlin’s international research environment. **What You Can Expect in Your New Role** ---------------------------------------- You will help develop an experiment that combines nanoscale positioning, electrical control, and optical readout. The Bolotin group brings expertise in strong electric fields and local manipulation of 2D materials; our HUJI partners contribute complementary strengths in dipolar excitons, plasmonics, and device fabrication. The collaboration includes joint scientific exchange and planned research visits to partner laboratories. You will gain hands-on experience in nanofabrication, cryogenic microscopy, and optical spectroscopy, with access to the group’s experimental infrastructure and room to develop your own ideas in Berlin’s international research environment. * Fabricate gated van der Waals heterostructures and combine them with a cryogenic scanning-gate microscope. * Use optical spectroscopy to search for discrete confined states and investigate exciton transport, interactions, and the influence of defects and moiré potentials. * Connect single-trap experiments to the joint effort on exciton–plasmon coupling and coherent excitonic arrays. **Key Requirements** -------------------- You hold a Master’s degree in physics or a related field. **Desirable** ------------- * You enjoy understanding how experiments work and building new things. * Hands-on experience with 2D materials and nanofabrication or microscopy is expected. * Experience with optical spectroscopy, transport, building experimental setups, numerical modelling, or programming in Pyth