Engineering / Full-time
Field Instrumentation Engineer
Design, build, and maintain antenna, hydrophone, and ground-sensor systems that recover persistent signals at the edge of detection.
The continuous record only survives if hardware changes are deliberate, reversible, and documented well enough for future replay.
Resume or CV
Project, field, instrumentation, or troubleshooting record
Short description of site-safety and documentation habits
Candidate exercise
A practical troubleshooting conversation based on a noisy instrument record and a maintenance log.
Engineering recruiting desk / FAL-FIG-26-006
Full-time exempt staff appointment
Continuing employee benefit tier
REC-FIG-26-006-ENG
FAL-FIG-26-006-public-notice-03
July 4, 2026
Search committee
- 01Marcus Adeyemi
- 02Engineering recruiting desk
- 03Station Safety and Field Operations delegate
Recruiting active file plus finalist review record
How this packet is evaluated
Field engineering
Finalist review covers private-site access, field safety, instrument-adjacent work, and maintenance-record custody.
Complete packets are logged under REC-FIG-26-006-ENG, separated from public correspondence, and assigned to the Engineering recruiting desk for first read.
Any exercise is bounded, redacted, and evaluated only for hiring. It is not added to the catalog, public systems, grant files, or laboratory work product.
| Criterion | Weight | Evidence reviewed |
|---|---|---|
| Instrument judgment | 30% | Can reason from noisy records, maintenance logs, and physical constraints. |
| Documentation | 25% | Leaves field changes traceable for later audit. |
| Safety habits | 25% | Keeps private-site, weather, vehicle, and low-structure work boring and repeatable. |
| Continuity | 20% | Protects continuous recording while solving immediate field problems. |
- 01Reference check after candidate notice
- 02Station access and site-duty acknowledgement
- 03Records-handling and confidentiality review
- 04Program-office recommendation before offer
Candidate review docket REC-FIG-26-006-ENG; public posting version FAL-FIG-26-006-public-notice-03.
Responsibilities
- Maintain long-baseline antenna and hydrophone arrays and their calibration records
- Design and deploy low-noise detectors and remote field-station instrumentation
- Diagnose and correct sources of instrument noise across the tract
- Support the continuous-recording infrastructure that has run without interruption since 1971
Qualifications
- Degree in electrical engineering, applied physics, or equivalent field experience
- Hands-on experience with low-noise analog design, RF, acoustics, or geophysical instrumentation
- Ability to document field changes with enough precision for archival replay
- Comfort with outdoor field work in weather, mud, insects, and quiet
Preferred experience
- Experience with GPS-disciplined timing, shielded feeds, or hydroacoustic systems
- FCC, tower, confined-space, or wilderness first-aid training
What good work looks like
- Calibration windows close with fewer unexplained instrument flags
- Field repairs are traceable from work order through archive record
- New deployments lower site noise without creating maintenance debt
Continuing staff appointment
Full-time Calder Ridge duty with rotating field-call coverage
Local remote-station travel, usually by field vehicle
Station access review, driving record check, and field safety clearance required
Hiring process
- 1Engineering screen
- 2Practical troubleshooting interview
- 3Site walk
- 4Reference review
Recruiting acknowledges complete packets within five business days and routes them to the program office named on the requisition.
Access, relocation, and accommodations
Full-time Calder Ridge duty with rotating field-call coverage
Relocation support is reviewed after finalist stage for continuing Calder Ridge appointments.
Candidates may request accommodation support through recruiting before any timed exercise or station visit.
Engineering recruiting desk, FAL-FIG-26-006
- Recruiting will not request references until the candidate is notified.
- Finalist access checks are started only after a program panel recommends continued review.
- Candidate materials are retained under the recruiting records schedule and are not used as public work product.
Candidate materials remain in the recruiting record and are not used as laboratory work product, public samples, or source material for the catalog.
Candidates may request accommodations before any timed exercise, station visit, or access-review step by contacting the recruiting desk listed on the requisition.
FAL evaluates candidates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, or any other protected status.
Apply for this position
Applications are read by the relevant program. Include links to your CV, publications, or portfolio where relevant. For station roles, use the message field to note any field, access-controlled, archive, or remote-site experience that would help the review panel.