Innovation Lab Manager

Polaris School of Technology; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 600,000 - 1,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Polaris School of Technology in Bengaluru runs an industry-collaborative makerspace for prototyping, fabrication, and electronics. The Makerspace Manager ensures smooth operations, keeps equipment running, welcomes students, and supports rapid hardware prototyping across the lab.

The role includes maintaining 3D printers and electronics benches, guiding walk-in students, coordinating OJT projects, and developing workshop curricula to foster hands-on technical skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent hands-on experience in engineering/design.
• Experience with 3D printers, soldering and electronics prototyping.
• Experience teaching or mentoring beginners in technical skills.

Responsibilities

• Equipment maintenance & lab operations: maintain, calibrate, troubleshoot, and repair lab equipment; manage inventory; update software/firmware; enforce SOPs; assist in budgeting.

Skills

Hands-on hardware

Teaching/Mentoring

Safety awareness

Independent work

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering, design, or related technical field

Tools

KiCad

CAD

3D Printers

Soldering equipment

Job description

Polaris School of Technology is India’s industry-first tech college, built in collaboration with Google, AWS and Microsoft.

About the Role : Makerspace Manager at Polaris School of Technology

The Innovation Lab is a hands-on makerspace supporting students in prototyping, fabrication, and electronics. This role is the operational backbone of the space: keeping equipment running, welcoming and guiding walk-in students, and rapid prototyping complex hardware products.

Responsibilities

1. Equipment Maintenance & Lab Operations (primary)

• Maintain, calibrate, troubleshoot, and repair all lab equipment (3D printers, soldering stations,electronics benches, hand and power tools).
• Track and manage inventory of consumables (filament, solder, flux, wire, components, connectors)and initiate procurement of replacements.
• Keep software/firmware on lab machines and workstations up to date (slicers, CAD, KiCadtoolchain).
• Establish and enforce safety protocols; create and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs)and equipment usage guidelines.
• Assess existing equipment and recommend new purchases; assist with budget planning.
• Build and document pipelines/processes to streamline procurement and other operationalworkflows (purchase requests, inventory tracking, equipment booking, maintenance schedules).

2. On-the-Job Training (OJT) Support

• Support students undertaking OJTs at the lab: onboarding, equipment access, day-to-day technicalguidance.
• Help scope OJT projects to available lab equipment and student skill level.
• Track OJT student progress and coordinate with supervising faculty/staff.
• Ensure OJT students follow lab safety protocols.

3. Weekly Workshops & Training

• Design, schedule, and host recurring introductory sessions, including:
• Introduction to 3D Printing (printer operation, slicing, materials)
• Introduction to CAD (parametric modeling for fabrication)
• Introduction to KiCad (schematic capture, PCB layout)
• Soldering (through-hole and SMD basics, safety)
• Develop supporting materials: handouts, example projects, training checklists. Iterate curriculumbased on student feedback and uptake.

4. Walk-in Student Support

• Serve as the first point of contact for all walk-in students during lab hours.
• Guide students through safe, correct use of equipment; provide project-level design and fabricationadvice.
• Create per-equipment training guidelines (e.g., required training hours before independent use of agiven machine).
• Foster a welcoming, low-barrier environment for students with no prior experience.
• Build exemplary projects at the intersection of technology, AI, and art that showcase what makingcan bring to the table — for students and anyone else.
• Aim for large-scale installations that give the lab and the campus a living, breathing feel — ambient,interactive pieces people encounter in shared spaces, not shelf demos.
• Use showcase projects as reference material in workshops and OJT project scoping.

Qualifications

• Required Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in engineering, design, or related technical field (or equivalent demonstrated hands-on experience).

Required Skills

• Hands-on expertise with 3D printers, soldering, and basic electronics prototyping.
• Proficiency in at least one CAD package and working familiarity with KiCad (or ability to pick it upquickly).
• Experience teaching or mentoring beginners in technical skills.
• Strong safety awareness; ability to write and enforce SOPs.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Strong communication skills across students, faculty, and staff.

Preferred Skills

• Preferred Qualifications- Prior experience running or working in a makerspace, fab lab, or university lab.
• Experience with additional fabrication tools (laser cutting, CNC).
• Embedded systems / microcontroller experience (Arduino, ESP32, RP2040, etc.).
• Experience supervising student assistants or volunteers.
• Experience developing workshop curricula or community education programming.