IGPP has 45 academics in various titles (Professor, Professor-in-Residence, Research Scientist, Project Scientist, and Specialist), several Research Associates/Visiting Scholars, 10 Postdoctoral Scholars, 30 graduate students, and 80 staff. The Institute has approximately $22 million in annual federal, state and private allocations and $27 million in expenditures. It occupies 55,000 square feet, including instructional and research support space, administrative offices, and research labs. IGPP has 4 recharge facilities providing services to UCSD and the geophysics community. IGPP manages the operations of the Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Foundation for Earth Sciences and its endowment under the direction of the Board of Directors. The foundation provides funding for postdoctoral fellowships, seed money for new research, support for visiting scholars, and cost-sharing funds.
This position is in the Acoustic Oceanography Group at IGPP. The group designs, constructs, deploys and analyzes ocean acoustic tomography experiments.
POSITION OVERVIEW
Under general supervision, the Research and Development Engineer 2 fabricates, updates, and designs complex electronic circuits in oceanographic instrumentation and support equipment. They will test, calibrate, troubleshoot, and repair oceanographic instruments using specialized equipment and procedures with careful attention to catch potentially expensive design or construction defects. They will also conduct electromechanical fabrication, maintenance, and preparation of seagoing support equipment. The incumbent will also assist in seagoing logistics and operations at sea and help to maintain the laboratory.
QUALIFICATIONS
- S. Degree in mechanical or electronic engineering or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Experience in shipboard operations including over-the-side deployment of oceanographic equipment, particularly deep-sea subsurface, surface moorings, and autonomous systems.
- Experience with launch and recovery techniques at sea. Skill and experience in maintenance and deployment of oceanographic instrument systems for the marine environment.
- Ability to work in remote locations and at sea under potentially adverse conditions for extended periods.
- Experience in design, construction, testing, maintenance electrical circuit, PCBs. Ability to implement electronic and mechanical design, constructions, and wiring of new instrumentation. Experience soldering and populating electronic boards with electronic components.
- Experience with logic circuits, programmable logic, and hardware description languages (VHDL/Verilog).
- Analytical and judgment skills to conduct analyses and develop appropriate recommendations. Ability to use standard electronic test equipment such as multimeters, oscilloscopes, frequency counters and spectrum analyzers.
- Working knowledge of engineering principles and methods in order to independently perform professional engineering design work of limited scope and complexity.
- Ability to work in a collaborative manner, to assist in identifying any challenges or barriers. Ability to work with a diverse group of people and to demonstrate tact and diplomacy.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience with digital signal processing techniques including FFTs and Fourier analysis as well as signal analysis in the time and frequency domains.
- Experience and sufficient proficiency with programming languages including C/C++, VHDL/Verilog, Python, Matlab, LabView.
Salary range: $80,000 – $92,500
Application deadline: March 19, 2026
