Laboratory Technician; Wage

Laboratory Technician (Staff Wage)

The Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia is seeking a Lab Technician for its CIRCL, Contemplative Innovation + Research Co-Lab. This position will be approximately 25-35-hours per week, in-person in Charlottesville, VA. The Lab Technician will assist the research team with the management of equipment, software, and data for several studies in the collaboratory. Main responsibilities of this position will include:

• Managing lab equipment including EEG devices, heartrate monitors, Virtual Reality headsets, wearables such as headbands and watches, a light and sound immersion room, laptop computers, audio-visual recording devices, etc.
• Becoming knowledgeable on the use of all lab equipment and software (e.g. familiarity with Python, Metalab, NVivio). Training will be provided when applicable.
• Managing data storage and organization.
• Setting up and configuring equipment for individual study protocols, including study-specific software settings, recording parameters, sensor/channel configurations, event markers/triggers, data storage, and device synchronization.
• Preparing and implementing EEG and related neurophysiological equipment during active study sessions, including participant setup, impedance checks, trigger/event-marker verification, recording-quality checks, and post-session shutdown/storage.
• Troubleshooting equipment during studies and demonstrations, including coordinating with equipment representatives or technical support teams to resolve issues with lab equipment, as needed.
• Keeping inventory of lab equipment and managing equipment check-out, including tracking serial numbers, repairs, loaner devices, software/driver versions, and recurring technical issues.
• Supporting quality assurance for multimodal data collection, including EEG, ECG/heart-rate monitoring, VR, wearables, environmental sensors, and audio-visual recording as applicable.
• Working with interdisciplinary teams of researchers (faculty, senior researchers, postdocs, graduate Research Assistants, Lab Coordinators) to implement research studies.
• Training members of the research team and undergraduate Research Assistants on equipment use.
• Participating in CSC and CIRCL regular team meetings and working groups (research methods, readings, workshops, salon, etc.) and contributing to CSC culture.
• Other tasks relevant to CIRCL research activities.

The Lab Technician will have opportunities to learn interdisciplinary research methods in practice and be an integral member of a dynamic team of collaborative researchers dedicated to studying contemplative practices.

Qualifications:

Applicants with a MA degree in a relevant field and related lab technical experience will be considered most preferably. Anticipated Position Compensation: $32.00 Hourly.