Residence Life Tech Specialist - Amenities

University of Washington•Seattle, WA

22h•Hybrid

About The Position

Housing & Food Services (HFS) has an outstanding opportunity for a Residence Life Tech Specialist - Amenities to join the team. To advance the educational mission of Housing & Food Services, we must provide modern, well-maintained maker, media, and gaming environments that cultivate creativity, community, and career-ready skills for more than 9,500 residential students. Rapid innovation in audio production, imaging, VR/AR, 3-D fabrication, and collegiate esports now outpaces the capacity of existing staff and infrastructure. This new position ensures we meet student demand and institutional goals by (1) stewarding specialized spaces — Sound Lab, Image Lab, VR suite, gaming hubs, McCarty Innovation and Learning Lab, and Dabble Lab, through strategic technology life-cycle management; (2) integrating these resources into living-learning initiatives, academic partnerships, and conference offerings that generate auxiliary revenue and elevate UW’s reputation as a regional innovation hub; and (3) providing expert guidance, interdisciplinary activities, and co-curricular engagement that empower students to create, prototype, compete, and connect. Without dedicated leadership, we risk outdated equipment, underutilized spaces, and missed opportunities for high-impact, experiential learning that differentiates the on-campus experience and directly supports student success.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, digital media, industrial design, game development, arts, or a closely related field
Two years professional experience managing a maker, fabrication, digital-media, or esports/gaming facility with responsibility for scheduling, budgeting, and technology upkeep.
Hands-on technical proficiency with a broad toolset, including FDM/SLA 3-D printers, CO₂ laser cutters, entry-level CNC routers, basic wood- and metal-shop equipment, digital sewing/embroidery machines, multi-track audio-recording gear, high-spec gaming PCs/consoles, and VR/AR hardware
Demonstrated collaboration with Residence Life, K–12 outreach, or comparable student-facing programs, showing an understanding of developmental theory and co-curricular learning models.
Excellent written and oral communication skills with meticulous attention to detail; able to create instructional materials, grant narratives, and technical documentation for diverse audiences.
Proven ability to partner across departments (e.g., Engineering, DXARTS, Computer Science, Athletics, Conference Services) to design experiential and co-curricular learning opportunities.
Experience securing external resources—familiarity with basic grant writing, sponsorship cultivation, or revenue-share models for programs and events.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in higher education, computer science, engineering, arts, or a closely related discipline.
Deep knowledge of the collegiate esports’ ecosystem, including competitive formats, broadcast/streaming workflows, and athlete development.
Successful track record of grant acquisition or auxiliary-revenue growth, especially for maker or media initiatives.
Demonstrated experience designing, marketing and executing large-scale workshops or experiential events, such as hackathons, maker summits, esports tournaments, or campus-wide showcases involving multi-department coordination and 100+ participants.
Formal project-management credential (CAPM, PMP, or Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt) indicating the ability to deliver complex technology refreshes on time and on budget.

Responsibilities

Manages day-to-day technical operations of Area 01, the Dabble Lab and McCarty Innovation and Learning Lab, as well as supporting the sound lab and gaming spaces in the amenities areas, as well as providing support in the print shop located in the Poplar space.
Supervises student staff repairing equipment, enforcing safety standards, managing resources, and verifying compliance with university policies and maximizing usage of spaces.
Supervises a robust tech team of 13 students developing and mentoring their technical expertise and leadership skills.
Oversees student staff who do performance tuning and maintenance of gaming PCs, consoles, audio gear, imaging equipment and mechanical shop equipment (3D printers, laser cutters, sewing machines) to ensure reliable experiences for casual users, competitive teams and addressing curricular needs and integration.
Plans and implements in cooperation with amenities team and campus partners, an annual technology refresh cycle for labs and maker spaces, evaluating emerging hardware and software, coordinating purchasing and installation, and maintaining detailed documentation.
Collaborates with university partners (HUB, UW Athletics, Student Life) to further develop esports programs; coordinate with academic departments to reserve lab space for classes and project studios; and support Living Learning Communities centered on digital arts, maker culture, gaming and engineering.
Serves as an on-site resource in Area 01 and the MILL, answers student questions and assists with projects to encourage cross-disciplinary learning, having a heavy on-site presence engaging with users and guests in the space.
Assists with operational needs in the 8 Community Center and the wood and metal shop, provides support to students in managing these locations as well as coordinating with College of Engineering on any needs in the space.
Liaises with student organizations and community partners to co-create tournaments, showcase nights and collaborative demonstrations that foster engagement and experiential learning.
Establishes and maintains assessment strategies for digital media, gaming and maker spaces; analyzes usage statistics, satisfaction surveys and learning outcomes to drive equitable access; presents data to leadership and committees.
Serves in an after-hours on-call capacity to troubleshoot urgent technical or access issues, ensuring uninterrupted availability of MILL space, Dabble Lab and the 8, as well as the gaming resources.
Develops, documents, and enforces safety standards and SOPs for all tech-enabled amenities spaces, including emergency procedures, equipment check-in/out, and risk-mitigation protocols.
Coordinates student staff who administer shared gaming platforms—e.g., Steam, Epic, and console accounts—by managing user permissions, age/content filters, license compliance, and multi-factor security.
Collaborates with Facilities Services and HFS-IT to coordinate infrastructure upgrades, work orders, and service-level agreements that enhance power, networking, and HVAC reliability in high-load tech environments.
Oversees student staff who manage asset inventories and refresh cycles for gaming PCs, VR headsets, consoles, audio gear, and imaging equipment, mechanical shop tools and consumables; maintains warranty logs and strategic replacement plans and coordinates repairs or replacements.
Coordinates with Conference Services to host academic conferences, pre-k12 field trips, personalized activities, and experiential learning packages.
Ensures age-appropriate content, staffing and safety oversight for all activities.
Acts as academic liaison to the College of Engineering, DXARTS, Computer Science & Engineering, and other departments to reserve lab space for classes, project studios, and co-curricular integrations.
Co-develops with other residence life staff to implement an annual Maker Summit in partnership with the U-District Street Fair, showcasing student projects, esports exhibitions, and community workshops that highlight year-round achievements.
Assists in developing multiple events, workshops, and planning activities throughout the year, ranging from Hackathons to competitive gaming sessions or live demonstrations.
Pursues external funding opportunities by working with IT, Facilities, Athletics, and UW Advancement to identify grants, sponsorships, and in-kind donations from private industry and corporate partners that expand technology offerings and offset operating costs.
Executes Purchasing for Amenities by researching vendors, securing competitive quotes, processing e-procurement requests, and reconciling expenses in alignment with departmental budgets.
Purchases any news machines, items, resources or services needed in the space.
Maintains Detailed Inventory Controls for all technology, consumables, and loanable items across amenities spaces; updates asset-management systems, tracks depreciation, and coordinates repairs or replacements.
Recruits, hires, and onboards desk attendants and student maintenance techs, applying inclusive hiring practices and clear competency frameworks to build a diverse, service-oriented and experienced team.
Supervises 2 student technician coordinator staff who create and assistant in creating weekly staffing schedules for maintenance cycles, technical support shifts, workshop instruction, balancing peak-use periods, student availability, and budgeted labor hours and completion of 150 annual maintenance tickets.
Supervises student staff who design and facilitate workshops in digital audio, imaging, VR/AR, streaming and maker technologies (Intro to 3D printing, Intro to laser cutter, etc..).
Supervises staff who lead at least two quarterly student workshops highlighting creative use of Area 01 and MILL equipment and host additional workshops with outside presenters as needed.
Holds bi-weekly staff meetings with tech team, as well as weekly one-on-one meetings with tech student coordinator providing necessary updates and coordinating operational needs in the spaces.
Provides ongoing yearly training and coaching in customer service, troubleshooting workflows, equipment check-out procedures, and safety protocols; assesses learning through shadow shifts and skills validations.
Provides instruction to the tech team composed of 12 students and 70-person student desk team on how to use the various machines in the spaces as well as maintenance.
Conducts regular performance check-ins and annual evaluations, setting individualized goals, documenting feedback, and implementing improvement plans or recognition strategies as needed.
Fosters a collaborative, growth-minded culture by mentoring student leads, promoting professional development opportunities such as certifications, workshops, or conference attendance and actively working with students on developing skills for job placement.
Serves as a member of the Residential Life Team including participating in staff meetings, trainings, end of the year celebrations and other residence life initiatives.
Meets regularly with IT and assist with additional IT projects as needed.
Coordinates with UW Environmental Health and Safety regular inspections of the space, maintains all safety expectations as directed.
Serves as the Lab Manager preparing for safety audits, ensuring EH&S training is up to date for the tech team, ensuring general training and SOPs for users are accurate and effective, managing chemicals in the MyChem database, weekly testing of the eyewashes and other safety precautions.
Supports Admitted Student Preview Days & Campus Tours by showcasing the Dabble Lab, MILL, and gaming hubs; provide live demos and Q&A to highlight the residential learning experience.
Participates in staff selection activities and training activities for Residential Life student leaders, office assistants, support staff, community managers, and other positions as needed.
Participates in unit and HFS trainings, meetings, move-in and move-out activities as needed.
Safely operates or supervises activities in environments that require OSHA-compliant personal protective equipment—including respirators, hearing protection, eye protection, and dust-collection controls—during fabrication, woodworking, metalworking, laser-cutting, or chemical‐use procedures in the MILL, Dabble Lab, and The 8 wood/metal shop.
Provides on-site technical support during extended or irregular hours—including late-night or weekend maker hackathons, esports tournaments, and other special events—anticipating peak usage, equipment troubleshooting, and student supervision needs.
Maintains an awareness of current issues and developments within the field of recreation, makerspaces, campus partnerships, student wellbeing, and student life.
Serves on unit-wide committees as assigned.
Perform other duties as assigned.