Permanent positions

Recruitment examinations for engineers and technicians

Each year, CNRS organizes around 350 external competitive examinations to fill a wide variety of jobs, including many positions in research support. All these functions are organized in Professional Activity Branches (BAP) and fall under the category of engineers and technicians, who assist researchers in their scientific activities.

Application conditions

Rank	Research engineers (IR)	Engineers (IE)	Engineering assistants (AI)
Civil service category A	Doctoral level, French national certification and certain engineering degrees (university or high-level academy)	Level II, undergraduate degree, French DEA, DESS, IEP degrees	Level III, advanced technical diploma, French DUT, DEUST degrees
Conditions	Candidates of any nationality with educational levels ranging from technical school certification to doctoral degrees, equivalent degree(s) or experience

Rank	Technicians (T)	Assistant research technicians (AJT)
Civil service categories B and C	Level IV, advanced technical certification, French DEUG degree	Level V, technical school certification
Conditions	Citizens of a member state of the European Union or other country within the European Economic Area, plus Switzerland, Monaco and Andorra.

Timetable and recruitment process

June	Job openings are posted one CNRS website.
Mid-July	Deadline for applications to be filed online.
September to November	The candidate selection process takes place in two phases: The first is the eligibility phase, which consists of the assessment of applications by the panel * for research engineers, engineers, engineering assistants and technicians. Candidates for the position of assistant research technician take a written or practical examination that enables the panel to evaluate their skills and knowledge. The acceptance phase includes an interview, possibly preceded by a technical examination (written or practical) to be determined by the panel.* All candidates for the rank of engineering assistant or technician must take the technical examination.   * Each panel includes, at minimum, a chairman, a representative from the CNRS executive management, three expert members (including a representative from the National Committee for Scientific Research) and a director of the laboratory or department concerned (or his/her representative) if the job description specifies a laboratory or department.
December 1st	The selected candidates begin work at their lab.

Contractual recruitment of disabled engineers and technicians

Every year, CNRS recruits engineers and technicians in compliance with the obligation to employ disabled workers provided for in the French Labor Code, either by regular competitive examination (with the possibility of adaptive testing) or by contractual agreement.*

The latter is open to candidates who qualify to benefit from the above-mentioned obligation and are not already employed in the public sector, provided that they meet the necessary requirements for the position in question.**

Contractual agreements enable qualified candidates to be recruited on the basis of a contract that becomes permanent after a one-year trial period. They grant a dispensation for joining the civil service but do not replace the competitive examination, which remains the normal and preferred recruitment channel.

* In accordance with Article 27 of French law n°84-16 (amended) related to certain procedures for the recruitment of disabled staff in the public sector.
** The general prerequisites for recruitment are specified in decree n°95-979 dated 25 August 1995 (amended), related to the recruitment of disabled persons in the public sector.

To find out more

• Recruitment of engineers and technicians (in French)
• Recruitment of disabled staff (in French)

See also

• Recruitment campaigns