Research Engineer I, II, III, or Senior

Job Title

The Raspet Flight Research Laboratory (RFRL), the premier manned and unmanned aviation research facility in the nation, was established in 1948. RFRL possesses a rich heritage in full-scale aircraft research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E), particularly in advanced flight test. RFRL's rich history includes dozens of aviation "firsts," particularly in the application of cutting-edge composite structures in aviation. Today, RFRL's focus is to perform advanced research, development, and testing of:
1) Manned and Unmanned Aircraft;
2) Automated Flight Control Systems;
3) Aircraft Sub-Structures and Components;
4) Ground and Airborne Sensor Systems, including Detect and Avoid; and
5) Ground and Maritime Robotics. MSU's unique position as the only university that is both the FAA-designated lead for the national UAS Center of Excellence, and an FAA-designed UAS Test Site, provides unparalleled capability to conduct world-class research and comprehensive flight testing for unmanned aircraft, ground control systems, component systems, and key supporting technologies such as detect and avoid. In addition to our flight RDT&E capabilities, RFRL also offers cutting-edge composite materials design, fabrication, prototyping, and low-rate initial production through the Marvin

B. Dow Stitched Composites Development Center. RFRL also regularly helps grow aviation-related companies and innovative technologies through our role as a technology incubator. Throughout our illustrious aviation history, RFRL has been dedicated to outstanding research programs, strategic alliances with industry and government, and close collaboration with academic units of the university. Raspet offers faculty, staff, students, industry, and government agencies a facility with experience and capability for composite fabrication, structural testing, UAS and component RDT&E, in-flight sensor evaluation, and flight test instrumentation and test assistance.

Salary Grade: 15

Please see Staff Compensation Structure or Skilled Crafts and Service Maintenance Compensation Schedule for salary ranges. For salary grade UC, these positions are "Unclassified" and salary ranges are determined by the hiring department.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Engineer I

• Using accepted methods and techniques, solves well-defined problems and performs specific and limited portions of broader projects, under technical guidance of an experienced engineer.
• Applies standard practices and techniques in specific situations, adjusts and correlates data, recognizes discrepancies in results, and follows operations through a series of related detailed steps or processes.
• Defines and improves practices from experiences on small projects.
• Conducts experiments/tests in the laboratory field that include taking measurements and recording observations, collecting, compiling, and processing data.
• Contributes data/findings for use in reports, documents, or oral/written presentations.
• Interacts in a collaborative manner with other team members to accomplish organizational goals. May provide ideas to improve efficiency at group level.
• Networks primarily within own technical peer group.
• In the process of learning methods for planning, including assessment of cost, scope, and schedule against plan.
• No defined role in identifying/securing research funding; however, successful performance of project related tasks contribute to on-going funding efforts.
• Performs related duties as required.

Supervisory Responsibility

Typically none, but may guide the work of peers, technicians, or other support staff as necessary to achieve specific assignments.

Engineer II

• Performs work that involves conventional types of plans, investigations, systems, structures, or equipment with relatively few complex features or for which there are precedents.
• Performs tasks/projects of a larger scope.
• May lead specific tasks within the project scope.
• Scopes task and develops approaches for moderately difficult tasks.
• Takes responsibility for assuring quality, cost effectiveness, and timeliness for small projects.
• Assists in preparation of reports, papers, presentations, new proposals, etc., and may collaborate on some proposals.
• Presents papers at technical meetings.
• Continues to enhance capabilities for project planning, including assessment of cost, scope, and schedule against plan.
• Implements new systems/approaches for moderately difficult tasks/projects.
• Establishes networks in internal peer group; starts becoming part of identifiable external peer network.
• Interacts in a collaborative manner with other team members to accomplish organizational goals.
• Provides ideas to improve efficiency at group level. Participates in procurement of additional/new funding through contributions to technical proposal preparation and/or presentations.
• Contributes to positive co-workers/customers/investigators relationships through efficient interaction on current grants/projects.

Supervisory Responsibility

Monitors the work of junior staff to…