OPS Research Assistant
About The Position
Manager Tasks - Maintain instrument uptime (preventive maintenance, PM logs, service tickets, vendor coordination); manage parts and consumables. Oversee chemical inventory in GatorTRACS; SDS library; waste pickups; compressed gas and hazardous materials handling. Prepare for and respond to EHS inspections; maintain SOPs, safety trainings/records, eyewash/shower checks, and incident logs. Manage space readiness: cleanliness, order, labeling, and shared toolkits; coordinate facility access and keys/badges. Support billing workflows (usage verification, internal/external invoices), and usage policy enforcement. Technician Tasks (A): Users Training, Experiments Oversee, & Billing - Onboard and train students, faculty, and new staff members on instruments, SOPs, and safety; refreshers and check-offs. Confirm scheduled equipment usage in advance; ensure users log hours/consumables accurately; follow up on missing logs. Oversee sensitive/long-running tests to prevent stalls, protect samples/equipment, and avoid interference. Help develop short how-to guides and videos; maintain the center website scheduling/best-practices pages. biomaterials.dental.ufl.edu Technician Tasks (B): Bench Experiments - Execute and assist direct supervisors with standardized dental materials tests (SOPs/ISO/ADA-aligned), produce clean datasets and draft figures/tables for reports, including but not limited to: Molecular/Analytical: UV-Vis, FT-IR, Raman, and NMR. Chemical: Degree of conversion & Kinetics of Conversion (FT-IR/Raman), depth of cure, water sorption and solubility, thermocycling and water storage aging. Optical/Physical: Light-curing unit characterization (spectral analysis; beam profiling); staining, color stability and color analyses; radiopacity, gloss and roughness. Mechanical: microhardness (Knoop/Vickers), bond strength, compressive/flexural strengths, two- and three-body wear/abrasion tests, fatigue tests, polymerization shrinkage and polymerization shrinkage stress tests. Biological: Microleakage; cytotoxicity and genotoxicity tests; and basic microbiology/cell biology support for relevant assays.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in materials science, chemistry, biomedical/biological sciences, mechanical engineering, or related field; or equivalent lab experience
- Must have strong organization and documentation skills
- Ability to follow/write SOPs
- Proficiency with Excel/Sheets
- Be able to perform mathematical calculations using algebra and practically apply percentages, fractions, and ratios
- Ability to speak and understand English language, follow instructions exactly, and record information accurately
- Comfort training novice users and figure prep publications/sponsor reports
- On-site role with occasional early/late coverage for long-running tests
- Lift/move up to ~40 lbs.
- Prolonged standing during setups
- Strict PPE and UFCD/UF Health Safety policies
- Annual safety refreshers and instrument check-offs required
Nice To Haves
- Ideal candidate will have hands-on lab instrumentation experience and safety compliance in an academic or industrial lab
- Prior experience as multi-user lab management
- Basic statistics knowledge
Responsibilities
- Maintain instrument uptime (preventive maintenance, PM logs, service tickets, vendor coordination)
- Manage parts and consumables
- Oversee chemical inventory in GatorTRACS
- Oversee SDS library
- Oversee waste pickups
- Oversee compressed gas and hazardous materials handling
- Prepare for and respond to EHS inspections
- Maintain SOPs, safety trainings/records, eyewash/shower checks, and incident logs
- Manage space readiness: cleanliness, order, labeling, and shared toolkits
- Coordinate facility access and keys/badges
- Support billing workflows (usage verification, internal/external invoices)
- Support usage policy enforcement
- Onboard and train students, faculty, and new staff members on instruments, SOPs, and safety
- Confirm scheduled equipment usage in advance
- Ensure users log hours/consumables accurately
- Follow up on missing logs
- Oversee sensitive/long-running tests to prevent stalls, protect samples/equipment, and avoid interference
- Help develop short how-to guides and videos
- Maintain the center website scheduling/best-practices pages
- Execute and assist direct supervisors with standardized dental materials tests (SOPs/ISO/ADA-aligned)
- Produce clean datasets and draft figures/tables for reports
Benefits
- The University of Florida offers low-cost State Health plans, a number of Dental plans to fit you and your family's needs, and Vision.
- Build your retirement with the FICA Alternative Plan and a host of voluntary add-ons, such as 457 deferred compensation and 403(b) plans.
- Optional insurance plans such as life, disability, legal, and accident insurance are also available.
- UF Employees are also eligible for the GatorPerks discount program, which provides big savings at various businesses and retailers!
- Explore UF's benefit options here: OPS Benefits
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
Number of Employees
5,001-10,000 employees
