Geophysical Field Engineer Berkeley Seismological Laboratory

Job

Location:

Main Campus-Berkeley

Type:
Full Time

• Maintain and upgrade geophysical stations (mainly seismic and geodetic) across Northern California to ensure low latency and high‑quality data is transmitted in real time to the processing centers on campus and in the cloud. This includes remotely assessing station performance, identifying station issues, creating plans to bring stations back to normal operations, purchasing, preparing and configuring all necessary equipment (power, telemetry, digitizer, geophysical sensors, etc.),
  
  interacting with landowners and stakeholders, traveling alone or with co‑workers to station locations (including off‑road driving), performing vegetation/tree clearing using chainsaws and other equipment, replacing equipment on site, working in confined spaces, climbing towers, following safety protocols and supervisor direction, and exercising independent judgement and decision making. Power systems include AC (up to 250 V) and DC systems. Telemetry systems include antennas, routers, switches, radio (e.g., 900 MHz, microwave), satellite and cellular modems.
• Scout, construct, install and relocate temporary and new permanent geophysical stations (mainly seismic and geodetic) in Northern California. Tasks include interacting with landowners and stakeholders on permits‑related matters, defining the optimal setup and configuration for sensors, power and telemetry systems, supervising contractors, purchasing and configuring equipment, traveling alone or with co‑workers to remote locations (including off‑road driving), operating heavy machinery (e.g., excavator, skid‑steer), UTV, 4x4 trucks and towing trailers, installing equipment on site, climbing towers, following safety protocols, and exercising independent judgement and decision making.
• Regularly monitor the performance of all BSL geophysical stations using dedicated BSL tools (Grafana dashboards). Perform remote troubleshooting actions when needed, including resetting equipment or telemetry connections, implementing configuration changes, upgrading firmware, re‑centering/calibrating sensors, and collaborating with other BSL staff members to solve complex issues.
• Maintain the engineering facility in good condition, including receiving and unpacking equipment and material, ordering spare parts on time, sending defective equipment for repair and following up with manufacturers, maintaining inventory, organizing and cleaning the space (including operating forklifts), and maintaining vehicles.
• Ensure that information and metadata about all BSL geophysical stations are kept up to date by updating equipment and activity records in the ANSS Station Information System (SIS), opening, updating and closing tickets in the BSL ticketing system, and updating sensitive station information and pictures in Net Box and Nextcloud.
• Test new types of equipment (power systems, telemetry components, digitizers and sensors) to validate their use in operational conditions and within the current BSL IT infrastructure.
• Participate in internal and external meetings, propose and test new station designs and configuration changes, provide support to the supervisor on all aspects related to operations and maintenance of BSL networks, and draft technical reports as necessary.
• Other duties as assigned by supervisor.

• Bachelor's degree in engineering and/or equivalent experience/training.
• Thorough knowledge and experience with engineering principles and methods to independently perform the full range of engineering activities, with emphasis on power, telemetry, digitizers and geophysical sensors.
• Experience with AC (up to 250 V) and DC power systems.
• Experience with a wide range of telemetry equipment including antennas, routers, switches, radio (e.g., 900 MHz, microwave), satellite and cellular modems.
• Knowledge of Linux and other environments (Windows, macOS).
• Demonstrated organizational and decision‑making abilities to prioritize competing work assignments to meet deadlines and adhere to quality standards.
• Strong analytical and judgment skills to independently conduct analyses and develop appropriate recommendations.
• Effe…