Light Stable Isotope Facilities Manager

Company: University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC)
Location: Santa Cruz
Posted on: January 25, 2023

Job Description:

The Light Stable Isotope Laboratory at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) invites applications for a Light Stable Isotope Facilities Manager. Under the direction of the Earth & Planetary Sciences Department Chair, the specialist will serve a diverse community of researchers in managing and supporting the UCSC Light Stable Isotope Laboratory (SIL), a shared open access facility equipped with a wide variety of chemical preparation and stable isotope mass spectrometry equipment. The lab currently supports seven isotope ratio instruments, including multiple GC-IRMS and EA-IRMS instruments making bulk organic and individual compound analysis of C, N, O, S, one dedicated carbonate instrument (a Kiel IV + MAT253), and the first linked Q-Exactive Orbitrap high resolution GC-MS / GC-IRMS configuration in the United States.
The users of the UCSC-SIL include researchers and students from multiple institutions, including multiple UCSC academic departments; the Institute of Marine Sciences (UCSC); other Universities; and external collaborators, such as the US Geological Survey and National Marine Fisheries Service. This open-access facility has a long history of being highly productive in serving both internal research needs and external clients, due in large part to having had a knowledgeable and service-oriented lab manager in place for many years. We seek a new manager for the facility who will provide the level of service, support, and technical expertise required to make the most of these shared resources.
The position will be approximately half managerial and half technical duties. Critical duties include: 1) maintaining isotope ratio instrumentation, developing new analytical methods and applications, and also analyzing specific sample sets as needed, 2) training users on proper equipment use and techniques, 3) overseeing day-to-day operation of the lab and working with the faculty oversight committee in the overall management of SIL operations, 4) supervising other SIL staff, and 5) planning for future SIL operational priorities in order to maintain strong fiscal health of the facility, all while maintaining a diverse user base and state-of-art analytical capabilities. Furthermore, the position will require that the specialist be physically capable of lifting items weighing as much as thirty pounds and working in tightly confined spaces with or without accommodations.
To accomplish these tasks, the specialist must consistently demonstrate strong communication skills, exemplary organizational skills, the ability to oversee staff, and work both collaboratively (with students, postdoctoral scholars, and visitors) and independently. Under the guidance of the faculty oversight committee, the specialist will be given wide latitude in day-to-day lab operation.
Applicants with any of the following qualifications are strongly encouraged to apply:

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• Master's or doctoral degree (or an equivalent foreign degree) in the sciences.
  
• Expertise in stable isotope instrumentation and related chemistry.
  
• Prior management experience in a technical lab setting.
  
• Demonstrated record of working with research scientists in a cooperative and service-oriented role.
  
• Record of writing clear, detailed reports, standard operating protocols, and technical guides.
  
• Demonstrated record of strong organizational skills and the ability to work independently with little supervision.
  
• Demonstrated record of troubleshooting and solving complex problems in a research environment.
  
  The hiring unit will not sponsor employment-eligible immigration statuses for this position.
  

Keywords: University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), Santa Cruz , Light Stable Isotope Facilities Manager, Executive , Santa Cruz, California