Robotics Research Systems Technician

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh (Allegheny County)

On-site

USD 50,000 - 75,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Medical, prescription, dental, and vis

Generous retirement savings with match

Tuition benefits

Paid time off & holidays

Life and disability insurance

Transit pass

Family support services

Fitness center access

Job summary

Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Innovation Center is seeking a Technical Support Specialist to maintain and operate specialized research facilities in Motion Capture, Drone Cage, Wet Laboratory, and Water Tank environments.

You will provide hands-on troubleshooting, equipment calibration, and user support across multiple robotics research projects, collaborating with faculty, researchers, and students to ensure safe, reliable operation of critical infrastructure.

Qualifications

Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Robotics, Engineering Technology, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Information Technology, or a related technical field.
Experience supporting research, laboratory, testing, or technical facilities.
Experience troubleshooting hardware, software, networking, and instrumentation systems.

Responsibilities

Provide daily operational support for motion capture systems and associated hardware and software.
Calibrate, configure, and maintain motion capture cameras, markers, tracking systems, and data acquisition equipment.
Troubleshoot motion capture hardware, software, networking, and synchronization issues.
Assist researchers with experiment setup, data collection, and system optimization.
Monitor system performance and coordinate preventative maintenance activities.
Maintain documentation, procedures, and user guides for motion capture facilities.
Support motion capture systems used for UAV and aerial robotics testing.
Configure and validate tracking performance within drone flight test environments.
Assist researchers and project teams with flight-test preparation and operational activities.
Verify system accuracy, coordinate frame alignment, and integration with flight-control and navigation systems.
Support safe operation of drone testing facilities and ensure compliance with established safety procedures.
Troubleshoot communication, telemetry, tracking, and network-related issues associated with aerial robotics research.
Provide technical support for robotics-related wet laboratory operations and equipment.
Assist users with laboratory setup, instrumentation, and experimental configurations.
Monitor laboratory equipment functionality and coordinate repairs and maintenance as needed.
Maintain laboratory inventory, supplies, and consumables.
Ensure compliance with laboratory safety procedures, chemical handling requirements, and environmental regulations.
Support facility readiness for research projects and educational activities.
Support operation and maintenance of water tank testing facilities used for robotics and autonomy research.
Assist researchers with underwater, aquatic, and marine robot experimentation.
Set up and maintain instrumentation, sensors, cameras, networking equipment, and data acquisition systems.
Respond to user support requests and provide timely resolution of technical issues.
Coordinate facility scheduling and ensure readiness for research testing activities.
Maintain equipment inventories, asset records, and maintenance logs.
Coordinate with engineering, IT, facilities, vendors, and external service providers.
Develop and maintain standard operating procedures and technical documentation.
Support research demonstrations, outreach events, and facility tours.
Recommend improvements to facility infrastructure, reliability, and operational efficiency.
Track project use of labs for billing purposes.
Assist with general building operations as assigned.