Enter the fascinating world of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V.; DLR) and help shape the future through research and innovation! We offer an exciting and inspiring working environment driven by the expertise and curiosity of our 11,000 employees from 100 nations and our unique infrastructure. Together, we develop sustainable technologies and thus contribute to finding solutions to global challenges. Would you like to join us in addressing this major future challenge? Then this is your place!
Req ID: 4282
Place of work: Oberpfaffenhofen
Starting date: 01.05.2026
Career level: Student research project and final thesis, Student employment, Internship
Type of employment: Part time
Duration of contract: 6 Months
Remuneration: Remuneration is in accordance with the Collective Agreement for the Public Sector – Federal Government (TVöD-Bund)
The DLR Institute of Communications and Navigation is dedicated to mission-oriented research in selected areas of communications and navigation. Its work ranges from the theoretical foundations to the demonstration of new procedures and systems in a real environment and is embedded in DLR’s Space, Aeronautics, Transport, Security and Digitalization programmes.
What to expect
The department of Optical Satellite Links at the Institute of Communications and Navigation deals with the application of optical technologies in satellite communication and related topics. In this project, the goal will be the development, construction and testing of a quantum key distribution receiver for both time-bin and polarisation encoding. The job interview and the work activities will be carried out in English.
Your tasks
- Identifying the key components of the QKD receiver
- Building and aligning the optical setup
- Implementing a control loop for receiver stability
- Testing the receiver in conjunction with a QKD transmitter
Your profile
- Bachelor’s Degree in Physics, Electronic Engineering or similar
- Basic knowledge of optics and laser physics
- Basic knowledge of control loop programming (mainly Python)
- Some laboratory experience
- Good English proficiency
We offer
DLR stands for diversity, appreciation and equality for all people. We promote independent work and the individual development of our employees both personally and professionally. To this end, we offer numerous training and development opportunities. Equal opportunities are of particular importance to us, which is why we want to increase the proportion of women in science and management in particular. Applicants with severe disabilities will be given preference if they are qualified.
We look forward to getting to know you!
If you have any questions about this position (Vacancy-ID 4282) please contact:
Your contact: Dr. Innocenzo De Marco
Tel.: +49 (0)8153 – 28 3860
