University of Chicago
Assistant Director and Technical Engineer, Facilities and Infrastructure
University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60290
Assistant Director And Technical Engineer
Reporting to the Executive Director of Space, Infrastructure and Facilities, the Assistant Director and Technical Engineer will oversee the development of complex and highly technical space plans and layouts for all PME space across 20 buildings on the University of Chicago campus and three sites off campus (Argonne, Hyde Park Labs, Fulton Labs, and Harper Court). This role provides leadership and direction for the capital projects delivery process, from the design phase through commissioning and close-out. The Assistant Director will work with the Associate Director of Capital Planning and Space Infrastructure, faculty, and staff to plan and design lab, research, administrative, and other spaces and develop schedules and budget estimates that meet the tactical and strategic long-range goals and lab design of research spaces. Responsibilities include: Maintaining equipment manuals, repair notes, processes, establishing quality monitoring, and improving the yield and performance of equipment across multiple buildings, labs, and sites. Performing 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. Performing inventory of supplies, chemicals, gases, and record keeping. Anticipating and taking proactive measures to ensure laboratories run smoothly. Handling hazardous materials, chemicals, and gases. Working with EH&S and in charge of chemical waste disposal. Reporting issues and maintenance updates to the Lab Safety Specialist and lab managers and working with lab users closely. Identifying equipment failure modes. Creating and enforcing operation protocols. Coordinating with Lab Safety Specialist to provide lab safety and equipment training to users. Assisting with automating existing manual processes and the scale-up of full automated production lines. Coordinating with the Lab Safety Specialist, EH&S and FMS to establish lab safety, inspection, and emergency response procedures. Developing and keeping chemical and equipment SOPs updated. Coordinating with EH&S on general laboratory safety inspections. Performing work in a manner that is safe to personnel, surroundings, and equipment, fostering a safe work environment for all. Exercising judgment, based on previous experience, practices, and precedents, to identify and solve problems that arise with little or no precedent. Identifying and addressing potential areas for improvement to maintain high levels of equipment availability and process stability. Auditing PMs and tasks, driving improvement, ensuring part list accuracy, and following all safety requirements. Developing and authoring SOPs and work instructions, and providing training and continuous feedback to team members to ensure adherence to procedures. Handling multiple tasks simultaneously and prioritizing activities. Flexibility to real-time requests. Troubleshooting, providing effective solutions in the repair of complex electrical and mechanical components and equipment. If necessary, participating in root cause analyses (RCAs) to help identify causes of equipment or process deviation. Working with vendors and field service. Keeping equipment operational by coordinating maintenance and repair services with vendors. Developing new maintenance procedures, providing supporting documentation and training, via computer maintenance management systems (CMMS) and spare parts management systems. Monitoring equipment uptime and performance metrics (MTBF, etc.) and driving improvement projects. Developing and implementing maintenance, service, calibration, and spares programs for all critical, internal manufacturing equipment, ensuring downtime is minimized. Driving continuous improvement of existing machines and equipment, ensuring changes are approved, documented, and tested. Designing and procuring, or fabricating in-house, custom fixtures, tools, and machines to enable more efficient and reliable processes. Managing acceptance testing, installation, and commissioning of new production equipment. Working with the Associate Director to generate RFPs and URSs for new equipment projects. Following industry standards and best practices and, where applicable, helping develop and author supplemental, internal equipment standards. Proactively identifying substandard conditions and services and recommending corrective actions. Interpreting needs and gaps in service to collaborate with and recommend appropriate services to colleagues and vendors. Performing other related work as needed. Minimum qualifications include a college or university degree in a related field and 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline. Preferred qualifications include a bachelor's degree in engineering or a related field, extensive experience developing mechanical and technical plans for complex research lab spaces, 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, 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, and excellent and highly detailed project management skills. Applications must include a resume/CV, cover letter (preferred), and professional reference contact list (3) uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.
Reporting to the Executive Director of Space, Infrastructure and Facilities, the Assistant Director and Technical Engineer will oversee the development of complex and highly technical space plans and layouts for all PME space across 20 buildings on the University of Chicago campus and three sites off campus (Argonne, Hyde Park Labs, Fulton Labs, and Harper Court). This role provides leadership and direction for the capital projects delivery process, from the design phase through commissioning and close-out. The Assistant Director will work with the Associate Director of Capital Planning and Space Infrastructure, faculty, and staff to plan and design lab, research, administrative, and other spaces and develop schedules and budget estimates that meet the tactical and strategic long-range goals and lab design of research spaces. Responsibilities include: Maintaining equipment manuals, repair notes, processes, establishing quality monitoring, and improving the yield and performance of equipment across multiple buildings, labs, and sites. Performing 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. Performing inventory of supplies, chemicals, gases, and record keeping. Anticipating and taking proactive measures to ensure laboratories run smoothly. Handling hazardous materials, chemicals, and gases. Working with EH&S and in charge of chemical waste disposal. Reporting issues and maintenance updates to the Lab Safety Specialist and lab managers and working with lab users closely. Identifying equipment failure modes. Creating and enforcing operation protocols. Coordinating with Lab Safety Specialist to provide lab safety and equipment training to users. Assisting with automating existing manual processes and the scale-up of full automated production lines. Coordinating with the Lab Safety Specialist, EH&S and FMS to establish lab safety, inspection, and emergency response procedures. Developing and keeping chemical and equipment SOPs updated. Coordinating with EH&S on general laboratory safety inspections. Performing work in a manner that is safe to personnel, surroundings, and equipment, fostering a safe work environment for all. Exercising judgment, based on previous experience, practices, and precedents, to identify and solve problems that arise with little or no precedent. Identifying and addressing potential areas for improvement to maintain high levels of equipment availability and process stability. Auditing PMs and tasks, driving improvement, ensuring part list accuracy, and following all safety requirements. Developing and authoring SOPs and work instructions, and providing training and continuous feedback to team members to ensure adherence to procedures. Handling multiple tasks simultaneously and prioritizing activities. Flexibility to real-time requests. Troubleshooting, providing effective solutions in the repair of complex electrical and mechanical components and equipment. If necessary, participating in root cause analyses (RCAs) to help identify causes of equipment or process deviation. Working with vendors and field service. Keeping equipment operational by coordinating maintenance and repair services with vendors. Developing new maintenance procedures, providing supporting documentation and training, via computer maintenance management systems (CMMS) and spare parts management systems. Monitoring equipment uptime and performance metrics (MTBF, etc.) and driving improvement projects. Developing and implementing maintenance, service, calibration, and spares programs for all critical, internal manufacturing equipment, ensuring downtime is minimized. Driving continuous improvement of existing machines and equipment, ensuring changes are approved, documented, and tested. Designing and procuring, or fabricating in-house, custom fixtures, tools, and machines to enable more efficient and reliable processes. Managing acceptance testing, installation, and commissioning of new production equipment. Working with the Associate Director to generate RFPs and URSs for new equipment projects. Following industry standards and best practices and, where applicable, helping develop and author supplemental, internal equipment standards. Proactively identifying substandard conditions and services and recommending corrective actions. Interpreting needs and gaps in service to collaborate with and recommend appropriate services to colleagues and vendors. Performing other related work as needed. Minimum qualifications include a college or university degree in a related field and 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline. Preferred qualifications include a bachelor's degree in engineering or a related field, extensive experience developing mechanical and technical plans for complex research lab spaces, 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, 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, and excellent and highly detailed project management skills. Applications must include a resume/CV, cover letter (preferred), and professional reference contact list (3) uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.