Assistant Director and Technical Engineer, Facilities and Infrastructure
University of Chicago
Department
PME Space Infrastructure and Facilities
About the Department
Job Summary
Responsibilities
- Maintains equipment manuals, repair notes, processes, establishes quality monitoring, and improves the yield and performance of equipment across multiple buildings, labs, and sites. . Performs routine inspection, operation, and improvement of facilities such as HVAC, exhaust, DI water system, PCW, house vacuum, air compressor, acid waste neutralization system, gas delivery system, scrubber, TGMS, and particle counting.
- Performs inventory of supplies, chemicals, gases, and record keeping. Anticipates and takes proactive measures to ensure laboratories run smoothly.
- Handles hazardous materials, chemicals, and gases. Works with EH&S and in charge of chemical waste disposal.
- Reports issues and maintenance updates to the Lab Safety Specialist and lab managers and works with lab users closely.
- Identifies equipment failure modes. Creates and enforces operation protocols. Coordinates with Lab Safety Specialist to provide lab safety and equipment training to users. Assists with automating existing manual processes and the scale-up of full automated production lines.
- Coordinates with the Lab Safety Specialist, EH&S and FMS to establish lab safety, inspection, and emergency response procedures. Develops and keeps chemical and equipment SOPs updated. Coordinates with EH&S on general laboratory safety inspections.
- Performs work in a manner that is safe to personnel, surroundings, and equipment, fostering a safe work environment for all. Exercises judgment, based on previous experience, practices, and precedents, to identify and solve problems that arise with little or no precedent.
- Identifies and addresses potential areas for improvement to maintain high levels of equipment availability and process stability. Audits PMs and tasks, driving improvement, ensuring part list accuracy, and following all safety requirements. Develops and authors SOPs and work instructions, and provides training and continuous feedback to team members to ensure adherence to procedures.
- Handles multiple tasks simultaneously and prioritize activities. Flexibility to real-time requests. Troubleshoots, provides effective solutions in the repair of complex electrical and mechanical components and equipment. If necessary, participates in root cause analyses (RCAs) to help identify causes of equipment or process deviation.
- Works with vendors and field service. Keeps equipment operational by coordinating maintenance and repair services with vendors.
- Develops new maintenance procedures, provides supporting documentation and training, via computer maintenance management systems (CMMS) and spare parts management systems. Monitors equipment uptime and performance metrics (MTBF, etc.) and drive improvement projects. Develops and implements maintenance, service, calibration, and spares programs for all critical, internal manufacturing equipment, ensuring downtime is minimized. Drives continuous improvement of existing machines and equipment, ensuring changes are approved, documented, and tested.
- Designs and procures, or fabricate in-house, custom fixtures, tools, and machines to enable more efficient and reliable processes. Manages acceptance testing, installation, and commissioning of new production equipment.
- Works with the Associate Director to generate RFPs and URSs for new equipment projects.
- Follows industry standards and best practices and, where applicable, helps develop and author supplemental, internal equipment standards.
- Proactively identifies substandard conditions and services and recommends corrective actions.
- Interprets needs and gaps in service to collaborate with and recommend appropriate services to colleagues and vendors.
- Performs other related work as needed.
Minimum Qualifications
Education:
Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
Work Experience:
Certifications:
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Preferred Qualifications
Education:
- Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field.
Experience:
- Min 5- 7 years in a senior facilities management operations role.
- Extensive experience developing mechanical and technical plans for complex research lab spaces. is desired.
Technical Skills or Knowledge:
- Knowledge of physical operating parameters for biological, quantum-engineering, and materials research lab spaces for sensitive lab equipment.
- Knowledge of building operations and building codes and building automation systems.
- Familiarity with general business practices.
Preferred Competencies
- Demonstrated ability to create and modify space plans using CAD or similar modeling tools.
- Demonstrated experience working independently and as part of a team.
- Demonstrated solid planning and organizational skills emphasizing detail and thoroughness.
- Strong administrative and organizational skills.
- Effective communication in both written and verbal formats.
- Effective time management skills.
- Effective decision-making and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent and highly detailed project management skills.
Working Conditions
- On-call and available to work nights, weekends, holidays as necessary.
Application Documents
- Resume/CV (required)
- Cover Letter (preferred)
- Professional Reference Contact List (3) (required)
When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.
Job Family
Role Impact
Scheduled Weekly Hours
Drug Test Required
Health Screen Required
Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
Pay Rate Type
FLSA Status
Pay Range
The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.
Benefits Eligible
The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.
Posting Statement
The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.
Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.
All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.
The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.