Visa Sponsored Job:

No

Relocation Assistance Eligible:

Yes

Job Location:

Boulder, Colorado

Position Type:

Full time, Regular

$67,053 - $83,817

*Final salary and rates are based on education, experience, and skills relevant to the role.*

Job Description Summary

The UCAR Community Program (UCP) is excited to announce the job opening for an Engineer I within our COMET program. This position will join our Innovative Capacity Development Program (ICDP) team, working to reduce the human toll of weather, water, and climate hazards in developing countries by putting cutting-edge, low-cost environmental monitoring technology in the hands of local partners worldwide. In this role, you'll design, assemble, test, and improve innovative environmental monitoring systems, including 3D-printed automatic weather stations, stream gauges, and air quality sensors, built using low-cost sensors, microcontrollers, and rapid prototyping techniques optimized for resource-limited environments. You'll evaluate system performance and recommend improvements across electronics, software, sensor integration, communications, and data quality.

A meaningful part of this role is people-facing: you'll help develop and deliver hands-on training workshops for international partner institutions on the fabrication, installation, and operation of these systems, and provide ongoing technical support as those partners put the technology to work in their communities. You'll collaborate closely with COMET scientists, engineers, educational designers, and administrative staff, and should expect significant domestic and international travel. A background in environmental instrumentation and/or boundary layer meteorology is preferred, though candidates with strong relevant technical skills are encouraged to apply regardless of their specific discipline.

COMET creates customized learning experiences and technology solutions for the Earth sciences enterprise and was developed by a multidisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, instructional designers, graphic artists, multimedia developers, and IT and administrative professionals working in close collaboration with our partners. Our mission is to advance the weather, water, and climate fields through scientifically robust, accessible, and impactful education, training, and innovative tools. Our vision is a world of educated, resilient communities with the expertise and resources to understand, predict, respond to, and adapt to environmental hazards.

Job Description

Application Deadline: This position will be posted until 11:59:59 pm MT on Wednesday, May 27. Applications will not be accepted past this date.

Required application materials (preferably in PDF Format): 

• Resume

• Cover Letter
  In lieu of a traditional cover letter, answer the following prompts that address the critical skills needed for this position. Your answers will be read and weighed equally to your Resume/CV and should provide specific, detailed, and informative responses based on your direct and previous work experiences. Please keep responses to 1-3 paragraphs per prompt.

  • Technical Instrumentation & System Support
    Describe your experience working with environmental monitoring systems, sensors, or instrumentation. What was your role in supporting, testing, or maintaining these systems, and how did you identify and address technical issues affecting performance or data quality?

  • Field Work & International Collaboration
    Describe an experience working in a field environment or with international partners, particularly in resource-limited or technically challenging settings. What obstacles did you encounter, and how did you adapt to meet the needs of the people or organizations you were supporting?

  • Training & Knowledge Transfer
    Describe a time you helped someone or a group of people learn a technical skill or process (whether through formal training, hands-on instruction, or direct support). How did you approach communicating technical content to your audience, and how did you know it was effective?

Background checks are conducted for candidates selected for hire. Learn more.

Work Location Expectations:  This position is open to candidates seeking in-person and/or hybrid (combination of 3 days in-person and 2 days of remote). UCAR requires ALL positions to be performed within the U.S., excluding U.S. Territories. 

What You Will Do

Here is a summary of what one would expect to be generally responsible for in this role.

Key Responsibilities

Instrument Maintenance, Evaluation, and System Support

• Support sensor calibration, verification, and performance testing; assist with evaluating results and identifying factors affecting data quality.

• Assist with integration, configuration, and testing of instrumentation prior to deployment, ensuring systems meet performance requirements.

• Support documentation of system performance, testing approaches, and technical findings, including manuals, procedures, and field guides.

Field Deployments and System Evaluation

• Assist with installation, configuration, and troubleshooting of instrumentation during domestic and international field deployments.

• Support evaluation of system performance under real-world operational and environmental conditions; help identify limitations and recommend improvements based on field observations.

• Assist partner organizations during deployments, supporting their understanding of system operation and performance evaluation.

Training and Capacity Development

• Assist in the development, delivery, and refinement of hands-on training workshops for international partner institutions on system fabrication, installation, configuration, and operation.

• Support explanation of system behavior, troubleshooting approaches, and performance considerations to audiences with varying technical backgrounds.

• Assist in building partner capacity through direct technical support, follow-up assistance, and ongoing communication with collaborating institutions.

Fabrication, Prototyping, and System Development Support

• Support fabrication and prototyping of instrumentation components using 3D printing and rapid prototyping tools; assist in refining mechanical designs for durability and performance in field conditions.

• Assist with testing and evaluation of new sensors, hardware components, and fabricated parts; help identify performance issues and recommend improvements.

• Support development of technical documentation including design notes, evaluation summaries, and development records.

Who We'd Love To Join Our Team

Successful candidates will ensure their application materials speak to the following criteria:

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related science field (e.g. meteorology, environmental science, earth science, computer science)

• 1 year of engineering experience

  • Or a combination of education and relevant experience.

    • Relevant experience includes application of engineering principles to instrumentation, environmental monitoring systems, electronics, sensor systems, or related technical areas.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Knowledge of basic engineering principles related to instrumentation, sensors, electronics, and environmental monitoring systems, including familiarity with low-voltage power systems and embedded systems.

• Ability to analyze system performance, interpret diagnostic results, and identify technical issues affecting reliability and data quality.

• Ability to apply basic engineering concepts to system configuration, testing, and integration; skill in reading and interpreting technical documentation such as schematics, system diagrams, and specifications.

• Experience with standard computer applications and data analysis tools.

• Good oral and written communication skills and ability to work effectively as a member of a collaborative, multidisciplinary team.

• Ability and willingness to travel internationally for extended periods (approximately 4-6 trips a year, with trips lasting up to 3 weeks).

Desired, but not required:

• Background in environmental instrumentation and/or boundary layer meteorology.

• Experience installing or maintaining weather stations or sensor networks.

• Experience with microcontrollers or IoT devices (e.g., Arduino, Raspberry Pi).

• Familiarity with communications systems such as cellular IoT, Wi-Fi, or LoRa.

• Experience operating 3D printers and/or 3D CAD software for fabrication of mechanical components.

• Experience teaching or facilitating hands-on training courses.

• Experience working in developing countries or international field programs.

Benefits Overview 

UCAR affirms its commitment to employees through competitive benefits. In addition to medical, dental, vision, retirement, and life insurance,  UCAR offers a variety of programs focused on work-life balance and professional, and personal development. These include:

• Tuition Assistance, time off allowance to attend classes, and other professional development opportunities.

• UCAR contributes 10% of your eligible pay into your retirement account; 100% fully vested on day one.

• Starting minimum accrual of 20 days of personal time off each year (prorated for less than full-time positions).

• 10 paid holidays.

• 12 weeks of paid parental leave.

• Short-term medical leave paid at 100% of your regular salary.

• EcoPass for local Colorado residents to use the Denver and Boulder-area transit system at no cost.

Commitment to Job Application Fairness

Applicants are not required to provide age or age-related information and may redact information related to age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution from any submissions during the initial application process.

Some Final Considerations

At NSF NCAR| UCAR | UCP, you will work alongside a dedicated team of professionals conducting critical research and community outreach to solve complex Earth system science  problems including climate change, air pollution, extreme weather, floods, drought, wildfires, and space weather, all with the goal of improving human life and reducing economic loss. Each of us, from scientists to the professionals who support their work, serves the public and a collaborative community of scientists in our mission to understand the complex processes that make up the Earth system, from the ocean floor to the Sun’s core.

Flexible Work

At UCAR, we are committed to supporting our mission by giving staff the flexibility to find the schedule and location that works best to maintain their own work-life circumstances and reach their full potential as professionals. Many positions within our organization are eligible for fully on-site, hybrid (three days per week) and/or flexible work hours.

Equal Opportunity Employer

UCAR is committed to providing equal opportunity for all employees and applicants for employment and does not discriminate on the basis of race, age, creed, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or pregnancy. Whatever your intersection of identities, you are welcome at UCAR.

Export Control

All positions are required to comply with U.S. export compliance regulations and work location requirements regarding access to facilities and research systems.

Work Location

UCAR requires ALL positions to be performed within the U.S., excluding U.S. Territories.

AI Software

ChatGPT and similar AI software are powerful tools that are changing the way society receives, processes, and leverages information promptly. While we acknowledge its benefits and do not restrict leveraging it with job applications, we highly encourage a majority of the applicant material to be original work.