Special Information

• This position is eligible for on-site, hybrid, or remote work.
  
  • On-site work requires the incumbent to complete their work primarily at an NAU site, campus, or facility with or without accommodation.  Opportunities for remote work are rare.
  • Hybrid work allows the incumbent to complete their work at both an NAU site, campus, or facility and at a non-centralized site with or without accommodation.
  • Remote work allows the incumbent to complete their work at a location other than an NAU site, campus, or facility with or without accommodation.  The incumbent may occasionally work in a shared site, but primarily will work elsewhere.
• This position is subject to the availability of funding. The incumbent is not eligible for Service Professional non-renewal notice, or Classified Staff layoff or recall status.
• This position is posted as Quality Engineer, Senior, which is a working title. The NAU system title for this position is Instrument Engineer, Senior.
• Required application materials: Applicants must submit the following:
  • Curriculum vitae/resume
  • A one- to two-page cover letter
  • Contact information for three professional references. References will be contacted only with the applicant’s prior permission.
• Export control requirements: This position must comply with all U.S. laws and regulations governing the export of controlled technologies and information. Finalists will be asked to provide additional information to determine eligibility for any required export licenses or exemptions. Employment offer is contingent upon a satisfactory export control evaluation.
• Work schedule considerations: Some duties may require work outside normal business hours, including travel, integration activities, or test campaigns.

About the Department/College

NAU’s Radiant Center for Remote Sensing coalesces existing expertise in remote sensing and applications across the university to answer pressing scientific questions in multiple disciplines including planetary surfaces, atmospheres, ecology, forestry, wildfire science, environmental science, urban planning/geography, geoscience/volcanology, and anthropology/archeology. The Radiant Center is housed under the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) which promotes research, scholarship, and creative activity across Northern Arizona University.

About the Position

The Radiant Center seeks to hire a Quality Engineer who will support engineering activities across the full lifecycle of flight and ground systems for multiple currently funded NASA projects. This position focuses on quality engineering, mission assurance and compliance as well as systems engineering, with significant responsibility for technical execution and cross disciplinary coordination. The role also provides as needed support in electrical and software engineering areas to ensure system integrity, reliability, and successful integration. The engineer works collaboratively with systems engineering and project leadership to deliver compliant, verifiable, and mission ready systems.

The successful candidate will contribute to the development and application of new remote sensing instruments for use in laboratory, field, UAS, and spaceborne environments. Working as part of a multidisciplinary engineering team, this role supports the design, analysis, development, procurement, fabrication, integration, and testing of optical, electrical, and mechanical subsystems for spacecraft instruments.

Applicants should have experience supporting spacecraft or aerospace programs and be familiar with best practices in quality engineering and systems engineering. Candidates with multidisciplinary or overlapping technical expertise are encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities Include

75% - Engineering

• Oversees and implements quality engineering activities spanning multiple engineering domains (systems, electrical, software, mechanical, and SMA).
• Oversees requirements development, allocation, and verification, including traceability management and compliance validation across system hierarchies.
• Applies quality engineering and risk management practices to instrumentation and system development activities throughout the project lifecycle.
• Oversees procurement, fabrication, integration, and test activities to ensure conformance to engineering designs and applicable standards.
• Leads verification and validation (V&V) planning and execution, including analytical modeling, system-level analysis, and test/inspection strategy development.
• Reviews and approves assembly integration and test procedures.

10% - Technical Communication

• Coordinates and develops engineering and quality documentation and presents materials at technical and design reviews.
• Contributes to proposal development, conceptual design studies, and project reporting.
• Conducts analysis and writing in support of project reporting.

5% - Supervision

• May direct and supervise professional and technical staff and graduate students.
• Provides technical guidance related to systems engineering, integration, and quality practices.
• Supports performance monitoring and feedback processes.

5% - Administrative Duties

• Manages budgets, staffing coordination, and cost control for assigned engineering activities with project management staff.

5% - Other

• Participates in team meetings.
• May travel to conferences, reviews, or otherwise to support Center objectives.
• Supports an orderly and functional laboratory workspace.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related field, and
• 3 years of professional Quality and/or Systems Engineering experience

*A combination of related education, experience, and training may be used as an equivalent to the above Minimum Qualifications.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in engineering or related field.
• Prior involvement in quality and systems engineering, SMA, or compliance/configuration-focused roles.
• Broad technical background spanning systems, hardware, and software integration.
• Experience supporting flight hardware or other high reliability systems with spaceborne applications
• Experience with carrying out assembly, integration, and test programs for airborne and/or spaceborne
  applications.
• Experience with working on projects that adhere to NASA Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) best
  practices, NASA Procedural Requirements (NPR), and environmental standards (e.g., General Environmental Verification Standards - GEVS).

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

Knowledge

• Knowledge of engineering design principles and procedures.
• Knowledge of advanced techniques and the modification of theories.
• Knowledge of best practices in Quality and/or Systems Engineering, and Safety and Mission Assurance.
• Knowledge of supervisory practices and principles.

Skills

• Skilled in engineering design applications.
• Skilled in applying engineering principles and procedures.
• Skilled in both verbal and written communication.

Abilities

• Stages and coordinates a number of projects.
• Sustains complex teams.
• Facilitates communication across individuals and teams.
• Establishes and maintains effective working relationships.
• Communicates effectively.
• Possesses strong problem solving, organizational, and analytical capabilities.

Compensation

Anticipated salary range is $102,000 to $122,853. Annual salary commensurate with candidate's qualifications and related experience.

Pre-Employment Check

Northern Arizona University requires satisfactory results for the following: a criminal background investigation, an employment history verification and a degree verification (in some cases) prior to employment. You may also be required to complete a fingerprint background check. Also, as an employer in the state of Arizona, NAU is required to participate in the federal E-Verify program that assists employers with verifying new employees' right to work in the United States.

This position has been identified as a safety/security sensitive position. Therefore, per AZ Revised Statute, Northern Arizona University requires satisfactory results for the following: a criminal background investigation, employment history investigation, degree verification (in some cases) and fingerprinting. If you are applying for a job that requires a CDL, you will be required to register with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse and adhere to the clearinghouse requirements.

Notice of Availability of the Annual Fire and Security Report

Each year Northern Arizona University releases an Annual Security Report. The report is a result of a federal law known as the Clery Act. The report includes Clery reportable crime statistics for the three most recent completed calendar years and discloses procedures, practices and programs NAU uses to keep students and employees safe including how to report crimes or other emergencies occurring on campus. In addition, the Fire Safety Report is combined with the Annual Security Report for the NAU Flagstaff Mountain Campus as this campus has on-campus student housing. This report discloses fire safety policies and procedures related to on-campus student housing and statistics for fires that occurred in those facilities. If you would like a free paper copy of the report, please contact the NAUPD Records Department at (928) 523-8884 or by visiting the department at 525 E. Pine Knoll Drive in Flagstaff.

Immigration Support/Sponsorship

Northern Arizona University will not provide any U.S. immigration support or sponsorship for this position.

Submit your Application

To apply for this position, please click on the "Apply" button on this page. You must submit your application by midnight of the application deadline.

If you are an individual with a disability and need reasonable accommodation to participate in the hiring process, please contact the Disability Resources Office at 928-523-8773, DR@nau.edu, or PO Box 5633, Flagstaff AZ 86011.