Robotics Facility Administrator

Sarah and John Graves Institute for Robotics & Autonomy

Laboratory Operations and Infrastructure

• Maintain robotics workspaces and testing areas

• Manage inventory of parts, sensors, actuators, batteries, tools, and consumables

• Order and receive equipment and track budgets for supplies

• Maintain equipment and station scheduling and checkout systems

• Organize storage and documentation systems

• Coordinate equipment repairs and vendor support

• Assist with facility improvements and laboratory organization

• Supporting technology demonstrations for sponsors and industry partners

• Ensure facility upkeep and cleanliness, including by working with facilities and other support services to those ends

Research and Experiment Support

• Prepare robots for experiments

• Set up test environments

• Maintain technical records and documentation supporting commercialization activities

Safety and Compliance

• Maintain laboratory safety protocols

• Train new users on equipment

• Develop instructional materials for user support

• Develop standard operating procedures

• Conduct safety inspections

• Ensure compliance with institutional and grant funding requirements

• Oversee chemical, battery, and electronic waste disposal

Technical Support for Research Projects

Mechanical Support

• Assemble robotic platforms

• Aid in the design and fabrication components

• Maintain machine shop tools

• Perform basic machining, drilling, cutting, and 3D printing

• Build experimental fixtures and test rigs

• Determine when to outsource design and fabrication and perform follow-through

Electrical Support

• Wire robotic systems

• Build cable harnesses

• Solder components

• Troubleshoot power systems

• Maintain laboratory electronics

Software Support

• Deploy robotics software

• Install operating systems and development environments

• Maintain ROS (Robot Operating System) infrastructure

• Assist with sensor integration

• Help configure data-collection systems

Technical Skills

• Mechanical assembly and fabrication

• CAD software (SolidWorks, Fusion 360, Onshape)

• 3D printing

• CNC machining

•  Embedded systems

• Electronics troubleshooting

• Soldering

• Linux, Python, ROS / ROS2

•  Sensor integration

• Networking

• Data acquisition systems

Other Skills

• Laboratory record keeping

• Good Communication and organization

• Customer-service mindset