Research Project Manager
Job Summary
Tucson, AZ
United States
Job Description
The Department of Astronomy/Steward Observatory (SO) at the University of Arizona is seeking a senior Research Project Manager (Research Manager IV) to serve on the NASA-funded Aspera Mission, in addition to other SO projects. The selected candidate will be responsible for managing projects that utilize engineering and technical support in the development and implementation of space and ground-based telescopes. The candidate will develop, implement, and maintain operational plans, programs, systems, and technical aspects of contracts requiring a high degree of innovation and creativity. Technical work includes optics handling/alignment, developing instrumentation, and various support for subsystems of telescopes during development, fabrication, and operation. This position requires broad knowledge and experience across multiple professional disciplines.
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Physics, Astronomy, Computer Science, or related field and a minimum of 9 years of related work experience, including 5 years of managerial experience, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.
- Experience leading a team, project, program, or function is required.
- Candidate will manage technical research projects that utilize engineering and technical support in the development and implementation of space- and ground-based telescopes.
- Will oversee planning, execution, completion, scope, schedule, budget, and risk of research on behalf of the Principal Investigator and drives consensus on project priorities and decisions.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Engineering experience with optics, telescopes, electronics, instrumentation, astronomy, and custom machines.
- Experience leading projects during all stages of the project lifecycle, including concept development, design, integration, testing, and delivery.
- Experience managing external collaborators, including vendors and subcontractors.
- Expertise using project management tools (e.g., Microsoft Project, Jira, Confluence, etc.)
- Previous experience working on NASA spaceflight projects preferred.
- Experience with hands-on integration and testing of contamination-sensitive flight hardware is a plus.
Compensation and Benefits
Outstanding UA benefits include health, dental, vision, and life insurance; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; UofA/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; access to UofA recreation and cultural activities; and more!
The Rate of Pay Field represents the University of Arizona’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting. The University considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, and internal equity.