FLOAT ENGINEER

As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.

UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty. 

The Ocean Physics team at the Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington is hiring – see yourself at APL!

The Applied Physics Laboratory is a research unit at the University of Washington. Our research expertise is in ocean physics and engineering, ocean and medical acoustics, polar science, environmental remote sensing, and signal processing. We conduct research and development that is sponsored by a variety of federal and state agencies, and take great pride in our long-standing status as a US Navy-designated University Affiliated Research Center (UARC). Our work takes place not only on the University of Washington campus and medical centers, but in field locations around the world – at sea, in the air, and on polar ice caps. We apply rigorous scientific inquiry and engineering excellence in pursuit of solutions to important problems for the good of our region, nation, and world.

Diversity is a core value at University of Washington and the Applied Physics Laboratory shares this commitment. We are focused on building and sustaining an inclusive and equitable research environment for all students, staff, and collaborators. We believe every member on our team enriches our community by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and to discover, design and deliver solutions.

APL has an outstanding opportunity for a Float Engineer.

This Float Engineer will be responsible to develop and support custom observational oceanographic instrumentation, specifically electromagnetic sensors such as on profiling floats, their technical development (of mechanical, electronic, and software systems), preparation for deployment, deployment at sea, analysis and reporting of research, and use for oceanographic research.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

This position will be independently responsible for identifying and carrying out engineering research and develop solutions to mechanical, electronic, and operational hurdles.  Tasks will be assigned at a high level (“collect good data with the sensor”), with the candidate’s experience and knowledge needed to identify and implement a working solution.  Tasks will sometimes need to be done in isolation, on tight deadlines, and/or in harsh environments (e.g. on research vessels during heavy weather).  The nature of using custom systems requires a willingness and a curiosity to search for solutions for problems and systems that are poorly described or documented, including outside of one’s area of direct knowledge. The candidate needs to work well in a mixed team of senior and junior engineers and scientists, including consulting with relevant team member for complex tasks.  The candidate will also need to be self-motivated and be able to prioritize tasks to meet high level project goals.
Instrumentation Program Engineering and Research:
* Define the scope of a problem and identify solutions, and work individually to implement and test their efficacy.  As needed, consult with other engineers and scientists to tackle more complex problems.
*  Participates in identifying engineering solutions to be solved, independently evaluates and applies engineering procedures to unusual and complex problems, develops or modifies approaches to perform experimentation, and collect data and provide analysis on findings along the way.
* Aide in the building of instrumentation, design strategy, and testing.
* Conduct research and design, identify and implement solutions for engineering problems related to mechanical or electronic systems.

Operational Procedures:
* Responsible for assembling custom systems, including identifying suitable parts, purchasing, and building them into functioning units sensors/systems.  Engineer fixes to issues and ensure functionality.
* Testing the assembled systems to ensure proper functionality, on the lab bench, in test tanks, and in saltwater field trials.
* Developing and improving protocols to use for assembly or testing, servicing units for expendable parts (batteries, memory cards, communication cards) for pre-deployment and post-deployment maintenance.
* Ballasting/weighing assembled systems.

Field Work:
* Help at all stages of performing field work, from day cruises in local waters to month long cruises on the open ocean, including:
* Planning for hardware needs, packing supplies, shipping material, setting up onboard lab space, testing instruments in the lab and before deployment.
* Performing deck work to deploy instruments, recovering instruments, demobilizing from the ship (packing up, sending material back to the lab, and unpacking/storing cruise material back in the lab).

Reporting and Documentation:
* Report progress to the scientist and senior engineers on a regular basis, participate in system design discussions and planning, and create documentation of mechanical and electronic components/systems as needed.

REQUIREMENTS:

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Physical sciences, Geosciences, Oceanography, or related field AND 2 years of experience.

Specific knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the job satisfactorily:
-Mechanical and electrical aptitude, plus a curiosity and drive to understand custom instrumentation and apply them to answer cutting edge oceanographic questions.

Knowledge, skills, and abilities and that desirable, providing for an enhanced level of job performance:
-Additional knowledge of or experience with mechanics, electronics, electrical engineering, embedded systems, control software, and the use of data for scientific research.

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

May be subject to successful completion of E-Verify process.

Application Process:
The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process.  These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others.  Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.