Instrument Machinist

University of Oregon•Eugene, OR

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The OFAD instrument shop provides professional instrument construction for research endeavors at UO. This position interacts with faculty, staff, postdocs, graduate students, and other research professionals both within and outside of the University. The Instrument Machinist in the shop provides design consultation services and operates a variety of standard and specialized equipment to create and assemble instruments for research use. This position performs manual machining, CNC programming, CNC turning, CNC milling, waterjet cutting, laser cutting/etching, sheet metal fabrication, plastic fabrication, additive manufacturing, and other related duties as assigned. The person in this position will need to understand the scientific purpose of the materials they are manufacturing and work closely with the researcher to build custom parts, often from scratch, with frequent modifications. The instrument machinist (IM) provides their technical skills, inventiveness, spatial reasoning, and creative abilities to the design, engineering, prototyping, and fabrication of research instrumentation for the advancement of research excellence on the University of Oregon campus. The IM provides their expertise to principal investigators and graduate students within the campus community to develop custom equipment requirements for proposed or ongoing grant submissions. The IM assists in the diagnosis and repair of existing research apparatus by researching, troubleshooting, and designing repairs. The IM occasionally assists and trains graduate students and undergrads associated with department labs in the use of diagnostic and fabrication equipment housed in the UO's research instrumentation shops.

Requirements

Two years experience in machine shop practice
Bachelor’s degree in a technical science or engineering plus two years of experience with machining, OR Associate’s Degree in a technology field plus at least three years of experience related to machining or fabrication; OR equivalent combination of training and experience.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a university setting or in creating instruments for experimental and research use.
Software experience with the following: Autodesk and Fusion, Solidworks, Mastercam, Microsoft Office, Preform
Hardware experience with: Manual and CNC Lathes and Mills (3-5 axis), Laser cutter, Waterjet, Saws (Vertical and Drop), Welding (MIG/TIG/Laser), Additive manufacturing (FormLabs)
Bachelors degree in engineering, physics or other scientific discipline.

Responsibilities

Provides design consultation services.
Operates a variety of standard and specialized equipment to create and assemble instruments for research use.
Performs manual machining, CNC programming, CNC turning, CNC milling, waterjet cutting, laser cutting/etching, sheet metal fabrication, plastic fabrication, additive manufacturing, and other related duties as assigned.
Works closely with researchers to build custom parts, often from scratch, with frequent modifications.
Provides technical skills, inventiveness, spatial reasoning, and creative abilities to the design, engineering, prototyping, and fabrication of research instrumentation.
Provides expertise to principal investigators and graduate students to develop custom equipment requirements for proposed or ongoing grant submissions.
Assists in the diagnosis and repair of existing research apparatus by researching, troubleshooting, and designing repairs.
Assists and trains graduate students and undergrads in the use of diagnostic and fabrication equipment.