Physics Teaching-Laboratory Manager and Instructor
About The Position
Caltech is a world-renowned science and engineering institute that marshals some of the world's brightest minds and most innovative tools to address fundamental scientific questions. We thrive on finding and cultivating talented people who are passionate about what they do. Join us and be a part of the diverse Caltech community. Job Summary We seek a highly skilled and motivated individual to teach professional-level experimental physics, laboratory methods, and data-analysis techniques to undergraduate and graduate students at Caltech. Responsibilities include organizing courses and schedules, training and supervising teaching assistants, and maintaining a physics laboratory complex of sophisticated, research-grade hardware and software. Our teaching-lab experiments cover many areas of modern physics research, including classical and quantum electrodynamics, atomic, optical, and condensed-matter physics, and elementary-particle and nuclear physics. This role requires both technical expertise and teaching skills, with opportunities to develop innovative laboratory experiments and instructional materials. Opportunities to conduct original research may also be available.Essential Job Duties Key Responsibilities
Requirements
- A Master's degree in physics, Applied Physics, or a closely related field.
- Strong technical troubleshooting and problem-solving skills.
- Experience with modern laboratory environments, equipment, and safety protocols.
- Effective communication and teaching skills, with the ability to work with diverse student populations.
- Ability to assemble, test, and repair delicate mechanical and electronic apparatus, and to move equipment weighing up to 30 pounds.
- Proficiency in: Mathematica (for data analysis, modeling, and simulation).
- Electronics test equipment and computer data acquisition systems.
- Electronics system maintenance and design (analog and digital circuits, instrumentation for data acquisition and experiment control).
Nice To Haves
- Ph.D. preferred.
- Prior experience teaching or mentoring experimental physics at the college level.
- Experience developing new instructional laboratory experiments.
- Proficiency in: Optics techniques (laser systems, interferometry, spectroscopy, etc..
- High energy photon and electron detection techniques.
- High vacuum and cryogenic systems and techniques.
- LabVIEW (for data acquisition and control software.
- Additional scientific computing tools (e.g., Python, MATLAB, C++).
Responsibilities
- Provide lecture and in-lab instruction to undergraduate and graduate students, both individually and in small groups, in several laboratory courses covering introductory, intermediate, and advanced experimental physics.
- Generate and update extensive written instructional materials regarding experimental apparatus, laboratory techniques, and data analysis.
- Support students in mastering the scientific method and tests of physical theories, experimental techniques, data analysis tools, and scientific communication.
- Supervise and mentor undergraduate and graduate student teaching assistants.
- Oversee day-to-day operations of the physics teaching laboratories.
- Maintain, troubleshoot, and upgrade laboratory hardware and instrumentation.
- Manage, update, and create new laboratory and data analysis software, ensuring smooth integration of data-acquisition and analysis tools.
- Design and implement new laboratory experiments in areas such as optics and photonics, condensed-matter, and quantum physics.
- Write proposals for funding new experiments to keep our courses relevant for modern physics research.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
Industry
Educational Services
Number of Employees
1,001-5,000 employees
