Electronics Shop Manager

Electronics Shop Manager

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Full-time

Work Format:
Fully On-Site

Harvard Job Function:
Technical

Union: 00 - Non Union, Exempt or Temporary

Salary Grade: 059

Department:
Shops

FLSA Status:
Exempt

By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

Why join the Harvard John

A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences?

The Electronics Shop Manager provides advanced technical expertise in support of the research and teaching mission of the SEAS/Physics Electronics Shop shared by the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Department of Physics within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS). This position serves as a key partner to faculty, researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and students engaged in experimental research requiring custom electronic instrumentation, rapid prototyping, system integration, and specialized technical problem‑solving.

• Provide advanced engineering consultation and hands‑on technical support to faculty, researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and students developing or modifying custom electronic instrumentation for research and instructional use.
• Collaborate with researchers to translate scientific and experimental requirements into practical engineering solutions, including development of prototypes, subsystems, and fully integrated instruments.
• Advise researchers on best practices in instrumentation design, signal integrity, grounding, shielding, noise reduction, measurement reliability, and maintainability.
• Support a broad range of experimental and instructional applications across SEAS, Physics, and other Harvard units.

• Design, fabricate, assemble, test, troubleshoot, and refine custom electronic systems, often on accelerated timelines, in support of active research programs.
• Support instrumentation needs across a broad range of applications, including analog, digital, mixed‑signal, embedded, sensing, and RF/microwave systems, as appropriate to project requirements.
• Develop and review schematics, PCB layouts, wiring diagrams, interface specifications, and related technical documentation.
• Program, configure, and troubleshoot microcontrollers, embedded systems, FPGA‑based platforms, and associated hardware/software interfaces used in research instrumentation and control systems.
• Integrate commercial instruments, sensors, actuators, and data acquisition systems into custom experimental platforms.
• Perform diagnostic testing, failure analysis, debugging, repair, and iterative refinement of custom and existing instrumentation to ensure continuity of research operations.

• Mentor undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and research staff in the safe and effective design, fabrication, testing, and use of electronic systems and shop equipment.
• Lead or support safety training and orientation for shop users, including faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students.
• Provide guidance to users on the proper use of shop resources, tools, and instrumentation, promoting sound engineering practice and safe operation.

• Manage day‑to‑day operations of the Electronics Shop, including prioritization of requests, coordination of workflows, and support of multiple concurrent projects.
• Develop recommendations for…