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Job Information
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN HET Science Operations Manager, McDonald Observatory in MCDONALD OBSERVATORY, Texas
Manage HET science and engineering support operations. Coordinate with engineering and special program leads to facilitate HET Board discussions of these allocations and produce Telescope Allocation Committee (TAC) allocations. Manage the HET observing queue and resolve time conflicts. Work closely with science and engineering staff to specify and conduct night-time engineering tests and analyze/reduce data/results as needed.Conduct personal research. Become an active user of the Observatory instruments to contribute to the scientific life at the Observatory. Participate in outreach activities such as giving public talks, tours of the facility, and attending colloquia. Submit research proposals to outside funding agencies as principal investigator (PI) or on research grants/contracts.Monitor and report on science operations. Lead operations meetings. Oversee HET Observing Metrics and report to the HET Board, Time Allocation Committees, and Users Committee on HET science operations performance and time usage.Conduct night operations. Serve as a resident astronomer approximately two nights per month, or as needed, in the night operations team to conduct science observations on behalf of HET users, using facility instruments and based upon queue priorities, weather conditions, and facility constraints. In addition, also maintains a working understanding of the essential duties of the Telescope Operator position, including stacking and acquiring targets.Supervise HET night-time operations staff. Manage projects to improve operations. Monitor and evaluate work performance. Supervise training.Conduct projects to improve HET operations and/or add new capabilities or features. Projects may include theoretical work, documentation, hardware, and software projects, depending on the candidate's skill set.Conduct daytime operations. Support daytime engineering testing, including instrument commissioning tests as needed and daily telescope functional tests on a rotation basis.Observatory operations. Participate in observatory-wide duties and serve as deputy facility manager.Perform other duties as assigned to meet business needs. Keep accurate and updated time sheets and complete required training and paperwork. Staff living on-site in the residential community are considered essential employees as determined by the HET Facility Manager and the Observatory Superintendent. They will be required to serve on the Observatory Emergency Response teamERT" and perform tasks to help respond to emergencies, such as fire, medical, hazardous material, or other emergencies threatening or interfering with the facility's normal operations.