Chaires de professeur junior (CPJ) 2026 à CNRS Physique

The application deadlines are provisional and will be specified when the job postings are officially published.

Upon joining the CNRS, this contract provides a dedicated financial framework and includes teaching activities at a higher education institution. CPS positions are offered under a fixed-term contract (CDD) governed by public law, with a duration of 3 to 6 years. Following an evaluation of scientific merit and professional aptitude by a tenure committee, this position will lead to tenure-track employment within the CNRS Research Director corps.

Summaries of scientific projects and host laboratories for CPJ positions

It is strongly recommended that you contact the prospective host laboratory as soon as the call for applications is published.

Physics and Instrumentation under Extreme Conditions (EPIC)

The CNRS opens the EPIC Junior Professor Chair to recruit in one of the four possible host laboratories: The Néel Institute (NEEL) in Grenoble, the National Laboratory for Intense Magnetic Fields (LNCMI) in Grenoble and Toulouse, the Laboratory of Solid State Physics (LPS) in Orsay, and the Institute of Mineralogy, Materials Physics, and Cosmo-chemistry (IMPMC) in Paris. Although open to a wide range of topics, the candidates must propose a research project in line with the priorities of one of the four host laboratories. The research project must demonstrate its originality and ability to address the challenges of physics under extreme conditions by proposing new methodological and instrumental approaches. It is strongly recommended to contact your prospective host laboratory as soon as the call for applications is published.

Physics and Engineering of Epitaxial Materials and Heterostructures: From Synthesis to Applications (EPIMAT)

The CNRS opens the EPIMAT Junior Professor Chair to recruit in one of the three possible host laboratories: The Center for Research on Heteroepitaxy and its Applications (CRHEA) in Valbonne, the Center for Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies (C2N) in Palaiseau, and the Institute of Electronics, Microelectronics, and Nanotechnology (IEMN) in Lille. The research project must demonstrate its originality and ability to advance the state of the art in the epitaxial synthesis of semiconductor and/or topological materials of different dimensionalities, and contribute to the emergence of new application concepts in microelectronics, photonics, and quantum technologies. It is strongly recommended to contact your prospective host laboratory as soon as the call for applications is published.

Innovative Experiments on New Pulsed Neutron Sources (InnovSON)

The CNRS opens the InnovSON Junior Professor Chair to recruit in one of the two possible host laboratories: the Laboratoire Léon Brillouin (LLB) in Saclay and the Laboratoire de Physique des Solides (LPS) in Orsay. The selected candidate will lead research that bridges fundamental science and innovation, exploiting the unique capabilities of neutron scattering. The project will explore materials and/or molecular architectures that dynamically interact with their environment in response to physical, chemical, or biological stimuli. Their functionalities may arise from electronic, quantum, magnetic, optical, thermal, or biological properties. The work will also address major European challenges—such as digital transformation, climate, energy, and health—or leverage future European neutron sources. Teaching will focus on large-scale instruments at Université Paris-Saclay.

Advanced modelling and simulation of molecular or hybrid quantum systems (QSAM)

The CNRS offers the QSAM Junior Professor Chair to attract high-level research talent, to be hosted in one of the following three laboratories: the Orsay Institute of Molecular Sciences (ISMO), the Carnot de Bourgogne Interdisciplinary Laboratory (ICB) and the Institute of Physics of Rennes (IPR). The research project, theoretical and/or based on numerical modelling, should be distinguished by its originality and its ability to open new perspectives beyond established approaches. It will focus on the dynamics of complex quantum systems, with a particular interest in ultra-fast processes as well as in the effects related to light-matter interactions in molecular or hybrid systems. The proposed approaches may rely on recent tools such as machine learning, tensor network methods, or hybrid approaches incorporating physical constraints.  Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact their prospective host laboratory as soon as the call for applications is published.

Experimental Physics for Amorphous Materials (MatAmorph)

The CNRS opens the MatAmorph Junior Professor Chair to recruit in one of the four possible host laboratories: The Glass Surface and Interfaces laboratory (SVI) in Aubervilliers, the Institute of Physics of Rennes (IPR), the Institute of Mineralogy, Materials Physics, and Cosmo-chemistry (IMPMC) in Paris, and the Charles Coulomb Laboratory (L2C) in Montpellier. The candidates must propose a research project focused on experimental physics of amorphous materials, in line with the priorities of one of the four host laboratories. The project must demonstrate its originality and ability to advance understanding of structure-property relationships (optical, thermal, mechanical, chemical) in these materials. It should integrate state-of-the-art experimental approaches in physics, such as in situ characterization, spectroscopies, microscopies, and large-scale facilities. It is strongly recommended to contact your prospective host laboratory as soon as the call for applications is published. 

New Precision and New Frontiers in Theoretical Particle Physics (NouvPaTh)

The CNRS opens the NouvPaTh Junior Professor Chair to recruit in one of four possible host laboratories: The Centre de physique théorique (CPT) in Marseille, the Laboratoire de Physique de l'École Normale Supérieure (LPENS) in Paris, the Laboratoire de Physique Subatomique et Cosmologie (LPSC) in Grenoble, and the Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier (LUPM). The junior professor chair is part of the current dynamics in particle physics, with  increasingly precise experiments which must be compared with increasingly refined theoretical calculations to verify their conformity with existing theories and identify possible new frontiers. The chair aims to recruit a theorist whose project may address lattice gauge theories (including non-perturbative QCD), symmetry breaking phenomena, with a focus on electroweak symmetry beyond the Standard Model, model building and the phenomenology of theories beyond the Standard Model (including flavor physics and neutrino physics), or astroparticle physics and its consequences for cosmology, using analytical and/or numerical tools. Innovative approaches based on recent developments (e.g., machine learning, tensor networks, or quantum information) are welcome, as are links with experimental or observational programs.

Emerging Phenomena in Spintronics and its Interfaces (SPIN)

The CNRS opens the SPIN Junior Professor Chair to attract a talent to one of the three possible host laboratories: The Jean Lamour Institute (IJL) in Nancy, the Albert Fert Laboratory (Laboratoire Albert Fert) in Palaiseau, and the SPINtronique et TEchnologie des Composants laboratory (SPINTEC) in Grenoble. The research project, whether experimental or theoretical, must be convincing in its originality and ability to go beyond the state of the art. It should be in the field of spintronics, but could also be at the interface between spintronics and other fields of condensed matter physics, such as superconductivity, light-matter interaction, innovative low-dimensional materials, and quantum physics, without being exhaustive. It is strongly recommended to contact your prospective host laboratory as soon as the call for applications is published.