Jobs

Purpose

This position works in the McDonald Observatory's instrumentation group, exercising a wide latitude of independent judgment to design, analyze, build, test, and support optomechanical and electromechanical subsystems for the McDonald Observatory instrument and telescope development projects. This position reports to the Chief Scientist.

Responsibilities

• Designs and develops scientific instrumentation and mechanical equipment, often iteratively, including detailed requirements, design, modeling, and analysis, with wide latitude for independent action and decision.
• Interfaces with project leadership and staff to contribute substantially to the development of design concepts and requirements for new projects. Performs prototypes and supporting analyses and writes reports.
• Produces fabrication drawings. Places, monitors, and supports fabrication of designed parts in machines and other workshops.
• Directs, coordinates, or assists, according to assignment, in the assembly, deployment, commissioning, and field support of developed instrumentation and mechanical equipment.
• Documents projects, and submits technical reports and project results to management. Participate in design reviews and the publication of journal articles as appropriate.
• Continues development of engineering skill set and identifies new technologies valuable to the instrumentation. Performs other functions as required to support business needs.

For more information and to apply: Mechanical Engineer 

Purpose

To serve as the custodial crew leader at McDonald Observatory, while performing the same duties as other journey-level employees in the work group.

Responsibilities

• Supervision. Leads, assigns, schedules, and coordinates the work of the building attendants. Responsible for appraisals, hiring, and work assignments of custodial team. Inspects completed work of the building attendants. Receives and handles concerns from occupants of the buildings.
• Custodial Services. Performs custodial duties, typical of the custodial team, or special cleaning at McDonald Observatory facilities, including, but not limited to, the Mt. Locke facilities, Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET), HET gallery, Moody Visitors Center, Frank Bash Visitors Center, Physical Plant offices, Firehouse, residences and telescope dome facilities.
• Purchasing and Events. Orders and purchases custodial supplies and restroom stock and enters purchases in the purchasing database. Assists with set-up and cleaning for special events.
• Repairs. Reports need for building repairs to the Physical Plant staff and ticketing system.
• Back-up and Other Tasks. Serve as back-up to the team and fill in for the different positions during vacations and sick leave. Performs other duties as assigned to meet business needs. Drives a UT vehicle and maintains eligibility pursuant to The University of Texas System Policy UTS157.

Additional information and to apply:  Building Attendant Leader

Purpose

Perform day-to-day technical trades skills in the maintenance, repair, fabrication, and operations of a remote research facility, and perform skilled work in an electrical, mechanical, and HVAC environment.

Responsibilities

• Assists with carpentry and general residential maintenance, including but not limited to concrete work, structure repair, drywall, painting, appliance servicing, and plumbing.
• Troubleshooting, repairing, and maintaining commercial facilities' electrical and HVAC systems, residential structures, elevators, and telescope enclosure buildings. General maintenance on telescope dome systems and infrastructures, mechanical and hydraulic systems.
• Performs preventative maintenance tasks incidental to operating mechanical and electrical equipment, systems, and residential structures. Maintains logs and records on equipment. Inspects, lubricates, and troubleshoots equipment. Informs supervision of conditions.
• Assists with welding of mild steel, stainless, and aluminum, as well as torch welding, cutting, and brazing on various mechanical equipment and structures. Assists with fabrication and precision machining of metal parts and equipment using metal lathes, milling machines, and drill presses. Ability to interpret three-dimensional assemblies from two-dimensional drawings, knowledge of material properties.
• Helps co-workers as necessary in their various disciplines in a team-oriented environment. Performs additional tasks as assigned. Drives a UT vehicle. According to UT policy, we maintain professionalism in interacting with the public, our fellow workers, and in our appearance. Wear protective safety equipment and follow safety guidelines or procedures.
• Performs emergency services duties as assigned, including fire department participation, response, training, and related activities.

For additional information and to apply: Facility Maintenance Tech

Purpose

Perform day-to-day technical trades skills in the maintenance, repair, fabrication, and operations of a remote research facility, and perform skilled work in an electrical, mechanical, and HVAC environment.

Responsibilities

• Assists with carpentry and general residential maintenance, including but not limited to concrete work, structure repair, drywall, painting, appliance servicing, and plumbing.
• Troubleshooting, repairing, and maintaining commercial facilities' electrical and HVAC systems, residential structures, elevators, and telescope enclosure buildings. General maintenance on the telescope dome systems, infrastructures, and mechanical and hydraulic systems.
• Performs preventative maintenance tasks incidental to operating mechanical and electrical equipment, systems, and residential structures. Maintains logs and records on equipment. Inspects, lubricates, and troubleshoots equipment. Informs supervision of conditions.
• Assists with welding of mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminum, as well as torch welding, cutting, and brazing on various mechanical equipment and structures. Assists with fabrication and precision machining of metal parts and equipment using metal lathes, milling machines, and drill presses. Interpret three-dimensional assemblies from two-dimensional drawings, knowledge of material properties.
• Helps co-workers as necessary in their various disciplines in a team-oriented environment. Perform additional tasks as assigned. Drives a UT vehicle. According to UT policy, we maintain professionalism in interacting with the public, our fellow workers, and our appearance. Wear protective safety equipment and follow safety guidelines or procedures.
• Performs emergency services duties as assigned, including fire department participation, response, training, and related activities.

For additional information and to apply: Mechanic/Technician

Purpose

This position leads a small team of technicians and performs mechanical engineering maintenance, design, and performance improvements on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope’s (HET) equipment and facility infrastructure. This position reports to the HET Facility Manager at McDonald Observatory.

Responsibilities

• Engineering. Designs, models, analyzes, troubleshoots, fabricates, assembles, tests, and supports new and existing mechanical equipment on the telescope and facility infrastructure.
• Operations and Supervision. Leads a small team of technicians in a technical leadership and mentoring role, emphasizing operating and maintaining the HET telescope.
• Preventative Maintenance. Coordinate the effort to develop, implement and conduct a professional preventive maintenance program on HET systems.
• Project Management. Works with the Facility Manager and other HET group managers to establish priorities and schedules for the maintenance and repair of existing equipment and the design, upgrade, and deployment of existing and new systems.
• Team Coordination and Backup. Coordinates the mechanical engineering efforts internal to the HET and with Austin staff and other staff on the Observatory site. Periodically performs operations engineering and day engineering duties.
• Respond to Problems. Respond to problems on the telescope during the daytime, after hours, and over weekends.
• Planning Meetings. Attend and constructively participate in the morning planning meetings, weekly HET staff meetings, weekly mechanical team meetings, periodic technical and/or design review meetings, and other meetings as needed for an efficient and productive operation.
• Other Duties. Performs other duties as required to meet the business needs. Serves as an essential employee, and acts as a member of the McDonald Observatory’s Emergency Response Team (ERT), responds to fire, medical, hazardous material, or other emergencies that threaten or interfere with the facility’s normal operations.

For more information and to apply: HET Mechanical Engineer 

Purpose

This position performs electrical engineering tasks on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope's (HET) equipment and facility infrastructure, with a wide latitude for independent action and decision-making. This hands-on position maintains, designs, and improves the functionality of electrical, electronic, electromechanical, and electro-optical subsystems on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) to achieve McDonald Observatory's scientific goals. The position reports to the HET Electrical Engineer Manager at McDonald Observatory.

Responsibilities

• Engineering. Conducts electrical engineering duties that modify, repair, or reconfigure the HET electrical, electro-optical, and electro-mechanical subsystems.
• Team Collaboration and Backup. Works cooperatively and constructively with the HET and Austin electrical and mechanical teams on design, improvements, and preventative maintenance on HET electrical, electro-mechanical, and electro-optical subsystems. Periodically performs operations engineering and cross-functional duties.
• Planning Meetings. Attends and constructively participates in morning planning meetings, weekly HET staff meetings, weekly electrical team meetings, periodic technical and/or design review meetings, and other meetings as needed for an efficient and productive operation.
• Project Management. Provides input into long-term planning and technical direction for HET engineering tasks. Provides daily reporting of activities.
• Respond to Problems. Responds as necessary to night-time repair and maintenance calls from telescope operations staff.
• Other Duties. Performs other related duties as assigned to meet business needs. Serves as an essential employee, and acts as a member of the McDonald Observatory’s Emergency Response Team (ERT), responds to fire, medical, hazardous material, or other emergencies that threaten or interfere with the facility’s normal operations

For additional information and to apply: HET Electrical Engineer 

Purpose

The Science Operations Manager for the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) at the McDonald Observatory will provide leadership, high-quality science, and technical support in the science operations of the HET, including managing the HET science and engineering support operations, supervising night-time operations, monitoring and reporting on HET optical and instrumentation performance, data acquisition and reduction.

Responsibilities

• Manage HET science and engineering support operations. Coordinate with engineering and special program leads to facilitate HET Board discussions of these allocations and produce Telescope Allocation Committee (TAC) allocations. Manage the HET observing queue and resolve time conflicts. Work closely with science and engineering staff to specify and conduct night-time engineering tests and analyze/reduce data/results as needed.
• Conduct personal research. Become an active user of the Observatory instruments to contribute to the scientific life at the Observatory. Participate in outreach activities such as giving public talks, tours of the facility, and attending colloquia. Submit research proposals to outside funding agencies as principal investigator (PI) or on research grants/contracts.
• Monitor and report on science operations. Lead operations meetings. Oversee HET Observing Metrics and report to the HET Board, Time Allocation Committees, and Users Committee on HET science operations performance and time usage.
• Conduct night operations. Serve as a resident astronomer approximately two nights per month, or as needed, in the night operations team to conduct science observations on behalf of HET users, using facility instruments and based upon queue priorities, weather conditions, and facility constraints. In addition, also maintains a working understanding of the essential duties of the Telescope Operator position, including stacking and acquiring targets.
• Supervise HET night-time operations staff. Manage projects to improve operations. Monitor and evaluate work performance. Supervise training.
• Conduct projects to improve HET operations and/or add new capabilities or features. Projects may include theoretical work, documentation, hardware, and software projects, depending on the candidate's skill set.
• Conduct daytime operations. Support daytime engineering testing, including instrument commissioning tests as needed and daily telescope functional tests on a rotation basis.
• Observatory operations. Participate in observatory-wide duties and serve as deputy facility manager.
• Perform other duties as assigned to meet business needs. Keep accurate and updated time sheets and complete required training and paperwork. Staff living on-site in the residential community are considered essential employees as determined by the HET Facility Manager and the Observatory Superintendent. They will be required to serve on the Observatory Emergency Response team “ERT" and perform tasks to help respond to emergencies, such as fire, medical, hazardous material, or other emergencies threatening or interfering with the facility's normal operations.

For additional information and to apply: HET Science Operations Manager