Laboratory Technician

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A Caltech Lab is seeking a Laboratory Technician to assist in the day‑to‑day technical operations of its cleanroom facilities on the Caltech campus. The Technician will play an important role in maintaining the peak performance of state‑of‑the‑art nanofabrication equipment, which includes material deposition systems (e.g., plasma‑enhanced chemical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, physical vapor deposition), material etching systems (e.g., reactive ion etchers, vapor HF), a scanning electron microscope, fume hoods for wet chemistry, and other supporting tools.

Responsibilities for the equipment will be shared with other technicians and a process engineer, with whom the Technician will work closely. The Technician will take ownership of the equipment by learning to operate it at peak performance and administering maintenance and alignments that keep it dialed in for use by the lab’s quantum device researchers. When repairs are needed, the successful applicant must combine problem‑solving skills with mechanical, electrical, and vacuum‑system know‑how to return equipment to optimal working order, then document the solutions to improve future repairs.

The Technician will carry out test protocols and preventative maintenance plans that minimize the chance of equipment failure, thereby maximizing uptime. The successful candidate must become an expert in equipment operation to the point of training lab users to also operate the equipment proficiently. Overall, the Technician must contribute to the lab culture and capabilities, striving to meet the high standards necessary to run a world‑class research operation.

• Follow established protocols to perform qualifying runs on equipment on a daily or weekly basis to ensure that equipment is operating at peak performance for the lab’s researchers.
• Assist in developing new protocols for equipment that do not yet have them, setting the standard by which peak performance can be evaluated.
• Help maintain organized data records that can be used to verify peak performance and indicate when maintenance and/or alignments of equipment components are necessary.
• Work with the lab engineer to administer preventive maintenance plans for equipment to keep performance at the established, high standard; this includes performing instrument alignments.
• Perform routine repairs of mechanical, electrical, and vacuum systems to address day‑to‑day problems; aid in diagnosing and fixing problems by reading through equipment and utility schematics, soliciting advice from vendors, and communicating with other lab staff.
• For repairs that rise to the level of needing attention from vendor service people (most equipment will be covered under service contract), first coordinate the service, and then follow through until the service is complete, which includes documenting the service visit and communicating results to the lab supervisor (and to the lab users, who can then be invited back to use the equipment).
• Lead in creating, updating, and maintaining equipment troubleshooting documents that can be used to address commonly encountered problems.
• Carry out quality control practices, such as lab walkthrough checklists, and help improve these practices.
• Create, update, and maintain standard operating procedures for lab equipment.
• Train lab users in the safe and successful operation of equipment, up to the standard of achieving peak performance.
• Participate in the discussion of laboratory protocols and objectives with the supervisor.
• Communicate progress and problems to supervisor via email/phone, meetings, and in reports, depending on the urgency and scope.
• Respond to new technical challenges, research and reference, and then implement established scientific/technical practices, standards, and/or policies.
• Contribute to the planning,…