Technical Associate -Biology

UMass Dartmouth
life insurance, paid holidays, long term disability, retirement plan
United States, Massachusetts, Dartmouth
Dec 28, 2024
OFFICIAL JOB TITLE: Technical Associate DIVISION: Academic Affairs DEPARTMENT: Department of Biology BARGAINING UNIT STATUS: Faculty Federation FLSA STATUS: Non-Exempt REPORTS TO: Prof. Pia Moisander, Biology and Estuarine and Ocean Sciences SUPERVISES: N/A SUMMARY PURPOSE OF POSITION: The university invites candidates for a one-year grant-funded Technical Associate position to support a Blue Economy grant with Dr. Pia Moisander, Professor of Biology and Estuarine and Ocean Sciences. The position is renewable pending grant funding and positive evaluations. The primary responsibility of the Technical Associate is for field deployment of several oceanographic instruments at the university pier located at the UMassD School of Marine Science and Technology, New Bedford. The Technical Associate will assist faculty and staff in developing the mooring deployment and a data pipeline (data logging and distribution) from oceanographic sensors, and will be responsible for instrument programming, calibrations, instrument maintenance, maintaining data backups, and conducting data post-processing. After training, the Technical Associate is responsible for working independently to maintain the instrumentation deployment at the pier. Some local travel is required for training. The position is based both on the main UMass Dartmouth campus and at SMAST. DUTIES Primary Research Responsibilities Program and read out data from water quality sensors Program and adjust settings in a data logger Maintain and calibrate oceanographic instruments at the pier and in the laboratory at required intervals Test and validate instruments by secondary data sources Post-process collected data, to apply quality control and assurance Maintain computer server for data sharing Maintain data backups Contribute to initial design and construction of mooring and data management pipeline Contribute to development of Standard Operating Procedures Secondary Responsibilities Communicate with technical support of instrument vendors Contribute to developing a public-facing web portal Contribute to preparation of reports and grant proposals Contribute to sample analysis in the lab Contribute to training students Participate in other field work for instrument testing MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS EDUCATION: Baccalaureate degree in a relevant field (for example, Biology, Marine Science, Engineering, Computer science) EXPERIENCE: Hands on experience in an area related to the research activity OTHER: Must be a U.S. citizen or have authorization for full time employment in the United States. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. Driver's license KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED Strong communications skills and organizational ability High attention to detail Ability to work independently and as part of a team Ability to maintain, calibrate, operate and perform basic repair tasks on research equipment Ability to practice and promote safe, clean and secure laboratory and field practice Ability to lift 30 pounds PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS Master's degree in Biology, Marine Science, Data Science, Computer Science, Engineering, or other applicable field Computer programming experience (e.g. BASIC, Python, R, Matlab) Knowledge of the fundamentals of mechanics, electromechanics and/or electronics. Field experience or any research experience Experience working with oceanographic instruments Knowledge of calibration and/or adjustment techniques as applied to research equipment and instrumentation. NOTE: Other job-related duties and responsibilities may be assigned and/or the job description changed periodically to reflect changing organization needs. About UMass Dartmouth UMass Dartmouth is in the beautiful ocean side community of Dartmouth, about an hour south of Boston, half-hour east of Providence, and half-hour west of Cape Cod. It offers a world class education to undergraduate and graduate students each year in over 40 undergraduate and 23 graduate programs offered by the College of Engineering, College of Nursing, Charlton College of Business, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Visual and Performing Arts, School of Law and School for Marine Science and Technology. The College of Arts and Sciences and the Department value the ability to serve students from a broad range of cultural heritages, socioeconomic backgrounds, genders, abilities, and orientations. UMass Dartmouth has transformed the lives of 40,000 alumni and distinguishes itself as a vibrant, public research university dedicated to engaged learning and innovative research. It is the only Massachusetts Tier 1 national research university south of Boston and serves as a catalyst for the development of marine science and technology industries along the south coast. UMass Dartmouth offers exciting benefits such as: 75% Employer-Paid Health Insurance Flexible Spending Accounts Life Insurance Long Term Disability State Pension Retirement Plan Optional Retirement Savings Plans Tuition Credit (Employee, Spouse, & Dependents) Twelve (12) paid holidays And More! Benefits for Faculty Federation - Librarians/Technicians To apply please submit a letter of interest, a current CV and the contact information for three professional references. The review of internal and external applications will be ongoing until the position is filled.