Instructional Support Specialist

The Instructional Support Associate will use analysis and technical skills to instruct, develop, and write manuals to support Electrical Engineering Labs.

• Department technical and operational support
• Provide all required technical and operational support for both the Embedded Systems Design Laboratory (ESDL) and the Digital Systems Rapid Prototyping Laboratory (DSRPL). Install, upgrade, maintain, and/or repair all equipment and devices available within the facility.
• Provide all required technical and operational support for the IoT course laboratory activities. Install, upgrade, and maintain, and/or repair all IoT equipment and devices available within the facility.
• Assist in supervising graduate and undergraduate students, teaching assistants, and student assistants involved with “in-lab” and IoT laboratory activities associated with research and developmental courses and senior design.
• Maintain, update, and back up a dedicated software license server, ensuring several important “licensed” software packages can be accessed and executed from any workstation in the ESDL or the DSRPL.
• Oversee all lab-related purchasing, maintain inventory, including design software packages, using the campus Wolfmart procurement system. Manage ABET budget. Manage lab fee account spending for equipment.
• Maintain and update the following ESDL/DSRPL parts databases: 1) integrated devices database and list, 2) discrete parts and components database and list, 3) adapter boards (SOIC/SOT to DIP) database and list, 4) development boards database and list.
• Manage and supervise the overall daily operation of the ESDL and the DSRPL facilities.
• Order, install, and maintain a variety of advanced design software packages, which provide students and teaching assistants with state-of-the-art laboratory tools and a design environment for developing a range of complex embedded systems. Monitor and keep licenses current.
• Course and Laboratory Instructional Support
• Assist in the preparation and review of a variety of course materials and documents associated with the laboratory components of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ESE) courses. This includes, but is not limited to, user guides, tutorials, and a variety of experiment-related documents.
• Assist with lectures related to embedded system design/troubleshooting during Fall and Spring semesters.
• Assist in preparing and posting course materials, including grades, on the campus Learning Management System.
• Assist students involved with:
• Lab operation and project related Research & Development
• Lab experiment development
• SD projects and TAships for courses as needed. This requires conducting a variety of introduction and overview discussions (in small groups) on subjects that range from orientation, operations, training, etc., as well as technically assisting students and TAs with a variety of issues that come up and must be resolved.
• Set up and maintain a student grading database on the Learning Management System (Brightspace) for. In addition, at the end of the semester, download the grading database into an Excel spreadsheet for final processing, reduction, and histogram generation.
• Supervise the design, construction, and debugging of a variety of experimental test stations for use in student lab sessions.
• Conduct various laboratory lectures and seminars during the Fall and or Spring semesters, as required, which are related to embedded system design and troubleshooting. These include wiring and breadboard seminars, test equipment usage seminars, etc.
• Create and maintain electronic forms that are used by TAs when evaluating the performance of the systems students design and implement for each week’s laboratory assignment. These forms are specific to each laboratory in each different course. Send electronic acknowledgements of sign-offs for each laboratory task completion to each student.
• Safety Management
• Serve as the department laboratory safety coordinator. Oversee all aspects of the department’s development of safety policies and ensure compliance with safety policies set by the University and government agencies. Ensure the lab is running safely and student safety is maintained.
• Create, update, and maintain a large number of forms and safety-related documents that are used by both students and teaching assistants during lab-related activities.
• Other duties or projects as assigned as appropriate to rank and department mission

Special Notes:

This is a full-time appointment. FLSA Exempt position, not eligible for the overtime provisions of the FLSA. Minimum salary threshold must be met to maintain FLSA exemption.

Master’s Degree (foreign equivalent or higher). Three (3) years of full time related experience working with students, teaching assistants, or technical staff in an instructional, lab, or training environment (student experience may be considered). In lieu of a Master’s Degree, a Bachelor’s Degree (foreign equivalent or higher) and two (2) years of full-time experience working with students, teaching assistants, or technical staff in an instructional, lab, or training environment (student experience may be considered)., Master’s degree (foreign equivalent or higher) in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a closely related field. Experience developing technical documentation, instructional materials, user guides, or lab manuals. Experience managing lab operations, inventory, purchasing, budgets, or equipment procurement. Knowledge of laboratory safety practices and regulatory compliance requirements in an academic environment.

In addition to the employee’s base salary, this position is eligible for $4,000 UUP annual location pay, paid biweekly.