• Job Description

  Req#: REQ-2026-19

  Visa Sponsored Job:

  No

  Relocation Assistance Eligible:

  Yes

  Job Location:

  Boulder, Colorado

  Position Type:

  Full time, Regular

  Compensation Range:

  Salary Range: $165,000-$180,000
  Final salary and rates are based on education, experience, skills relevant to the role.

  Job Description Summary

  UCAR is seeking an Engineer IV and Manager to lead the Design and Fabrication Services (DFS) group. This role blends advanced mechanical engineering expertise with organizational leadership to ensure technical excellence, operational effectiveness, and long-term strategic direction of DFS.
  
  The Manager leads planning for DFS technical capabilities, staffing, and infrastructure in alignment with EOL, NSF NCAR, and UCAR priorities. Working closely with scientists, engineers, machinists, technical, and administrative staff, this position supports the design, development, and fabrication of advanced atmospheric instruments and supporting infrastructure. The role serves as the primary point of contact for mechanical engineering and fabrication support needs across NSF NCAR and the broader research community.

  Job Description

  Application Deadline:

  • This position will be open for 3 weeks from posting.

  Required application materials: (preferably in PDF Format)

  Required application materials:

  • Resume (preferably in PDF Format)
  • Questionnaire (embedded in application): In place of a cover letter, applicants will be asked to respond to a small set of short-answer questions focused on engineering leadership, technical judgment, and experience relevant to this role in the form of a questionnaire, as part of the job application. Please limit your responses to 2 or 3 paragraphs.

  Background Checks: Conducted for candidates selected for hire. Learn more .
  Work Location: This position requires a hybrid modality of 3 days/week onsite in our Boulder location(s) at a minimum. Regardless of flexible work arrangements, UCAR requires ALL positions to be performed within the U.S., excluding U.S. Territories.
  

  What You Will Do
  Here is a brief summary of what one would expect to be generally responsible for in this role.
  Key Responsibilities

  • Lead and manage the DFS group, including engineering and fabrication staff.
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for mechanical engineering and fabrication support across NSF NCAR.
  • Provide technical oversight and engineering guidance for complex mechanical design and fabrication efforts.
  • Guide project planning, execution, risk management, and prioritization across multiple concurrent efforts.
  • Support proposal development, budgeting, and long-range planning efforts for DFS resources and capabilities,
  • Foster staff development through mentoring, feedback, and training while maintaining realistic schedules and costs.

  Who We'd Love To Join Our Team
  Successful candidates will ensure their application materials speak to the following criteria:
  Education and Experience (Required):

  • Bachelor’s degree in Engineering with at least nine (9) years of relevant engineering experience; or

  • Master’s degree in Engineering with at least seven (7) years of experience; or

  • PhD degree in Engineering with at least five (5) years of experience; or

  • An equivalent combination of education and experience.

  Experience should include leading complex engineering projects from concept through fabrication, and providing technical direction or supervision for engineering teams.
  

  Desired but not required:

  • Experience securing funding through proposal development or grant writing.

  
  Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (Required):
  Leadership, Decision Making and Problem Solving

  • Demonstrated success leading mechanical engineering projects from concept through fabrication, either as a hands-on technical lead or as a responsible engineering manager.

  • Applies engineering principles, expert judgment, creativity, and technical depth to solve complex and often novel mechanical engineering challenges.

  • Evaluates risks and tradeoffs to balance scientific need, technical feasibility, cost, schedule, and long-term organizational benefit.

  • Works effectively with broad objectives, helping define scope, priorities, and technical approaches while managing multiple concurrent efforts. .

  • Assumes responsibility for the integrity of design decisions, considering technical, economic, and organizational impacts.

  • Provides technical guidance and mentorship that supports staff development while maintaining effective production schedules and cost control.

  • Exercises strategic judgment to determine when to innovate, when to standardize, or adjust project scope or approach.

  • Contributes to long-term capability planning by identifying emerging technologies, tools, and processes.

  
  Leadership and Management

  • Proven ability to provide steady, credible leadership through clear communication, active listening, and sound decision-making.

  • Provides technical expertise and leadership for the full mechanical design lifecycle, from concept development through fabrication, working collaboratively with scientists, engineers, technicians, and manufacturing staff to maintain engineering standards, processes and documentation.

  • Demonstrated experience managing multiple concurrent projects using established project management tools and methods.

  • Ability to communicate technical information clearly to audiences of diverse technical backgrounds.

  • Demonstrated skill in budget administration, resource allocation, and schedule management.

  • Proven ability to supervise mechanical design engineering and fabrication activities from design through fabrication.

  • Experience serving as principal investigator, technical lead, or equivalent role with responsibility for scope, budget, and delivery.

  • Commitment to fostering a collaborative, respectful, and inclusive work environment.

  Engineering

  • Demonstrated skill to generate and review clear, accurate mechanical drawings and documentation applying GD&T (Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing).

  • Advanced proficiency in solid modeling and mechanical design, including design tables, master models, weldments, and sheet metal components (SolidWorks preferred)

  • Strong knowledge of materials, finishes, and components used in scientific instrumentation.

  • Expertise designing electronics packaging, including mechanical integration of PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) and flex circuits, grounding strategies, and EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) mitigation.

  • Expertise conducting or reviewing FEA (Finite Element Analysis), ensuring appropriate meshing, convergence verification, boundary condition evaluation, and interpretation of results using suitable failure theories.

  • Proven ability to perform structural analysis and prepare thorough, accurate, and well-reasoned analysis reports.

  • Expertise executing statistical tolerance analysis to inform design parameters such as intended gaps and part tolerances.

  • Subject-matter expertise in one or more of the following areas: optics, heat transfer, lidar/radar systems, mechanisms, manufacturing processes, electronics packaging, CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics), or airworthiness standards.

  Desired but not required

  • Experience designing atmospheric or environmental instrumentation.

  • Knowledge of electrical and aerospace engineering and airworthiness considerations for aircraft instrumentation.

  Benefits Overview

  UCAR affirms its commitment to employees through competitive benefits . In addition to medical, dental, vision, retirement, and life insurance, UCAR offers a variety of programs focused on work-life balance and professional, and personal development. These include:

  • Tuition Assistance, time off allowance to attend classes, and other professional development opportunities.

  • UCAR contributes 10% of your eligible pay into your retirement account; 100% fully vested on day one.

  • Starting minimum accrual of 20 days of personal time off each year (prorated for less than full-time positions).

  • 10 paid holidays.

  • 12 weeks of paid parental leave.

  • Short-term medical leave paid at 100% of your regular salary.

  • EcoPass for local Colorado residents to use the Denver and Boulder-area transit system at no cost.

  Commitment to Job Application Fairness

  Applicants are not required to provide age or age-related information and may redact information related to age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution from any submissions during the initial application process.

  Some Final Considerations

  At NSF NCAR| UCAR | UCP, you will work alongside a dedicated team of professionals conducting critical research and community outreach to solve complex Earth system science problems including climate change, air pollution, extreme weather, floods, drought, wildfires, and space weather, all with the goal of improving human life and reducing economic loss. Each of us, from scientists to the professionals who support their work, serves the public and a collaborative community of scientists in our mission to understand the complex processes that make up the Earth system, from the ocean floor to the Sun’s core.

  Flexible Work

  At UCAR, we are committed to supporting our mission by giving staff the flexibility to find the schedule and location that works best to maintain their own work-life circumstances and reach their full potential as professionals. Many positions within our organization are eligible for fully on-site, hybrid (three days per week) and/or flexible work hours.

  Equal Opportunity Employer

  UCAR is committed to providing equal opportunity for all employees and applicants for employment and does not discriminate on the basis of race, age, creed, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or pregnancy. Whatever your intersection of identities, you are welcome at UCAR.

  Export Control

  All positions are required to comply with U.S. export compliance regulations and work location requirements regarding access to facilities and research systems.

  Work Location

  UCAR requires ALL positions to be performed within the U.S., excluding U.S. Territories.

  AI Software

  ChatGPT and similar AI software are powerful tools that are changing the way society receives, processes, and leverages information promptly. While we acknowledge its benefits and do not restrict leveraging it with job applications, we highly encourage a majority of the applicant material to be original work.

• About the company

  University Corp. for Atmospheric Research, nonprofit consortium of 115+ universities fostering innovation in Earth system science. Research news: @NCAR_Science

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