Your career at Fraunhofer IOF

Do you want to conduct research in one of the leading institutes for optics and photonics and face the challenges of tomorrow together with a dedicated team? Meet enthusiastic people and a technologically well-equipped working environment in which you can advance your skills and unfold your potential.

Become part of our highly motivated team and our future-oriented institute.

 

We are looking forward to meeting you!

Our current job offers

We frequently offer jobs for scientists, engineers, technicians, and administrative staff.
For the complete list of all vacancies, please check our offers in German.

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Job offer:

Research Associate 
Laser Technology    

We are looking for a research associate for the group "Laser Technology" in the department "Laser and Fiber Technology". You will be responsible to independently plan and conduct challenging theoretical and experimental research on application-specific laser systems.  Does this appeal to you? Then send us your application:

to the job offer

 

© Fraunhofer IOF

Note:

More vacancies

For the complete view of all open positions please also have a look at the german page:

Open German Job offers

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Unsolicited application:

No suitable job offer? No problem!

We are always on the lookout for committed scientists, engineers, technicians, and young talents, even beyond our current offers.

Your qualifications and skills match our areas of expertise and you would like to work in one of our teams? Send us an unsolicited application via our application portal:

Apply on your own initiative

 

Institute building of the Fraunhofer IOF.
© Fraunhofer IOF

Job offers via e-mail:

Job newsletter

Customized job notifications automatically by e-mail – Set up your personal jobfeed and don't miss any job offers at Fraunhofer IOF that are of interest to you. 

To do this, create an account in our application portal. Under "Options" you will find the settings for "Job notifications". Enter "Jena" as location in the search criteria to receive job offers from Fraunhofer IOF.  

Activate jobfeed

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Job offers:  

Student assistants

Are you looking for practical experience alongside your courses? Then you've come to the right place! We offer you exciting and versatile activities as student assistants. You will gain valuable practical experience at a renowned research institute during your time at university - as well as useful contacts for your future career. Apply now and shape the world of tomorrow together with us!

Current job offers

 

Nothing suitable in the current job postings?

No problem: We are always on the lookout for committed young talents, even beyond our current job postings. Depending on your area of interest, you can apply to different departments.

Our offers for students

 

Start your career at Fraunhofer IOF and apply on your own initiative!

 

You want to get to know us personally or you have open questions?

We regularly participate in career fairs and are happy to answer all your questions about applications, jobs, professional trainings, and career opportunities. You can find upcoming career fairs under the following link. We are looking forward to your visit!

Career fairs with participation of Fraunhofer IOF

You need answers to your questions as soon as possible? Just send us a message:

Open contact form

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Topics for final theses:

Final theses at Fraunhofer IOF

You are looking for a topic for your thesis and want to generate practical benefit? Don't write a thesis for the drawer - come to us!

We offer state-of-the-art technology and exciting thesis topics relevant to current research.

Our offers for students

 

Apply for your desired topic or suitable research field!

Speculative Application

 

Please feel free to contact us with your desired topic or the research field that is appealing to you. Contact directly the contact persons of the respective department or use our contact form for inquiries:

Open contact form

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Internships:

Putting theory into practice

Looking for an internship? Then contact us!

We are always happy to hear from interested young talents and would be happy to give you an exciting insight into the work at a research institute. Depending on your area of interest, you can get a taste of different scientific departments with an internship.

Our offers for students

 

Experience practice in applied research and apply on your own initiative!

 

Just send us a message and experience the everyday working practices in an institute for applied research:

Open contact form

What we would like to see: More women in photonics!

Fraunhofer IOF clearly advocates for more women in photonics and at our institute. As a research institution in a dynamically changing research landscape, diversity is essential for the success of our promising work mission. For this reason, increasing the proportion of women is one of our most important goals in organizational development.

We can proudly look back on many inspiring women and their great work at Fraunhofer IOF. We wish to gain multifaceted perspectives on new, exciting photonic challenges with even more female colleagues in the future.

To achieve this goal, our "Human Resources Development, Organizational Development, and Innovation" team takes a wide variety of approaches. One of them is to get to the bottom of essential questions. These include how to get girls and women interested in research with light at an early stage. They are also exploring new organizational approaches to develop attractive working models for women and establish them at Fraunhofer IOF.

One thing is clear: If you want to inspire more female researchers for optics and physics, you need strong role models that future generations can look to for guidance. We present them to you under the following link:

Female power at Fraunhofer IOF

Career opportunities for young scientists

Stepping stone for young scientists

Current challenges in optics and photonics await you. Work with us to solve these challenges.

You can expect a committed team and excellent research conditions.

 

Career opportunities

Our career flyer offers helpful information for students and graduates on the topics worked on at Fraunhofer IOF.

Professional training
with future

At Fraunhofer IOF, precision opticians, industrial mechanics and physics laboratory assistants will be familiarized with state-of-the-art technologies.

 

Practical experience
for students

Gain practical experience during your studies, most of which are theoretical, and build up valuable contacts in the photonics industry.

 

Scientific theses

Fraunhofer IOF offers students and doctoral candidates the opportunity to work on state-of-the-art technology for their final theses while at the same time addressing research topics of practical relevance.

 

PhD at Fraunhofer IOF

We offer doctoral candidates an inspiring mix of application-oriented research, contract research and continuing education. In the flyer you will find more information about doing a PhD with Fraunhofer.

Master and PhD with the MPSP

The Max Planck School of Photonics (MPSP), led by Fraunhofer IOF, offers a unique doctoral program (incl. Master) for young researchers in the field of photonics.

The Fraunhofer IOF as part of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

Research for the real world is the central task of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

The non-profit research organization founded in 1949 carries out applied research for the benefit of business and society.

In Germany, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft currently runs 76 institutes and research facilities. 30,000 employees, predominantly with a scientific or engineering background, work with an annual research budget of € 2.9 billion.

 

Photonics - the industry of the future

Photonics is supposed to make many things faster - such as computers - and make some things possible in the first place - such as welding aluminium with laser beams for car bodies. This is why photonics is regarded as a technology of the future and is supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research with its own Agenda Photonik 2020.

Solving future issues …

The Fraunhofer IOF carries out applied research in the field of optical system technology on the direct commission of industry and as part of publicly funded joint projects.

The challenge is to develop innovative optical systems to control light, from its generation to its application in the cutting-edge fields of energy and the environment, information and communication, health and medical technology, and safety and mobility.

We welcome dedicated scientists, engineers and technologists at all times and offer an optimum research and working environment with an outstanding technological infrastructure.



Top employer

Latest studies show that not only does Fraunhofer stand for top-level research; it is also one of the most attractive employers in Germany. See yourself and apply!

Versatile promotion at Fraunhofer IOF

Promoting young talent

We offer school classes the opportunity to get to know the institute in general or on a specific topic.

In addition, we bring optics to life! In our experiments and workshops for school children, they can learn the basics of optics in a playful way.

 

Promoting ideas

The Digital Innovation Hub Photonics (DIHP) of the Center of Excellence in Photonics (high-performance center of Fraunhofer IOF and FSU Jena) helps founders to turn their photonics project ideas into start-ups or business models.

Fraunhofer IOF is a start-up ambassador

The GRÜNDERSERVICE (founder service) of FSU Jena offers students, scientists, and alumni comprehensive services of support, ranging from developing their business idea to founding their own company.

More information

Have we aroused your interest?

 

Then apply now.

We look forward to receiving your application for the open positions or your unsolicited application.

Questions & hints for applications

 

We are pleased that you are interested in a career at Fraunhofer IOF! Here we have collected frequently asked questions with hints around the application:

Something is unclear?

 

We will be happy to help.

Please ask your questions to the contact person indicated on this page or use our contact form .