Department: |
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
|
Effective Date: |
January, 2007 |
Grade: |
USG 11 |
Reports to: |
The director of the fabrication facility |
General Accountability
This position is accountable to the director of the fabrication facility in the department of electrical and computer engineering for management and the daily operation of the facility along with the supervision of, the training of and working with, laboratory technical staff and research personnel as well as graduate and undergraduate students. The position is permanent.
Nature and Scope
The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department is the largest academic department in the University of Waterloo with 69 faculty members and 360 graduate students. In addition, 420 undergraduate students are admitted each September. There are 19 secretarial/administrative staff as well as 25 technical support staff.
The G2N lab is a new world-class facility consisting of 15,000 square feet of clean room laboratory, test laboratory and office space in a secured area of the new E3 extension. It is a rapidly evolving facility focusing on the applications of nanocrystalline silicon technology for solar cell research, display technology, and sensor and imaging devices. The advanced capabilities of the facility are achieved through operation of several cluster-tool systems providing thin film deposition and metal sputtering capabilities. The G2N laboratory provides photolithograpy capability for substrates ranging from 75-mm to 150-mm, thin-film deposition of nanocrystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous silicon, dielectrics, E-beam, DC and RF sputtering capabilities, reactive ion etching, rapid thermal processing, wafer-probing and device parameter testing, wire bonding, wafer sawing, and materials characterization capability.
This position is responsible for the day-to-day operation of this world-class high tech facility.
This position faces numerous challenges such as:
- developing lab policies and practices based on current needs and university guidelines;
- interacting with university and external support services;
- consulting with graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, faculty, and external customers on current and future projects;
- supervising and training lab users in the areas of lab safety and equipment operation;
- scheduling workloads in order to meet deadlines;
- controlling access to the lab for security purposes;
- negotiating the purchase of new equipment;
- negotiating upgrades, repairs and maintenance of existing equipment.
- tracking lab and supply usage for the purpose of billing;
- maintaining the safety and integrity of the lab environment, processes, equipment and facilities;
- installing and commissioning new lab equipment;
- documenting all lab processes and procedures;
- maintaining an adequate inventory of supplies;
- purchasing consumables, supplies and spare parts for the ongoing operation of the labs;
- keeping up to date with advancements/changes in the industry;
Statistical Data
- The Lab Manager has signing authority on research accounts on lab supplies up to $1,000.00 per transaction.
- The maintenance responsibilities of this position encompass over 10 million dollars worth of assets.
- Personnel reporting directly to the Lab Manager currently consist of one technical staff member supporting clean room activities, one technical staff member supporting electrical measurement and testing labs and one process engineer/technologist (to be hired). The manager is also responsible for supervising lab activities and interacting with the entire research group which consists of 5 professors, 3 staff, and more 30 students.
- Operation of 15,000 sq. ft. of clean room and lab space with state of the art processing facilities for large area electronics on glass and plastic.
Specific Accountabilities
- Technical expertise: The Facility Manager is expected to have a high level of technical expertise, with a strong background in Electrical Engineering, Chemistry and Materials Science. S(he) must be highly qualified by training and experience to undertake the responsibilities of this position. In particular, the Facility Manager must have a strong background in troubleshooting, maintaining and repairing high vacuum systems. S(he) must also possess an excellent familiarity with precision optical systems, furnace technology, electronic controllers, robotics, gas delivery systems and metrology tools. S(he) should be capable of operating and maintaining the complex and delicate equipment in the G2N facility. The incumbent must maintain a suitable level of technical currency.
- Supervision of technical staff: Ensure that laboratory technical staff are trained according to the needs of the position and with respect to safety. Ensure that the technical staff carry out the duties of their position in accordance with university policies and procedures. Delegate tasks to technical staff and verify that these tasks have been carried out properly and in a timely manner, in conjunction with the director of the facility. Keep records pertaining to staff performance and attendance and constantly update facility director. Conduct yearly performance appraisals of technical staff in conjunction with facility director. Mediate conflicts between technical laboratory staff and other users of the facility if the need should arise, and follow up recommendations of action items to the facility director.
- Training and supervision of researchers: Ensure that researchers in the laboratory receive the necessary training with respect to safety and laboratory procedures with respect to the operation of equipment within the research facility. Ensure the adherence to established procedures for operation of the various equipment and processes within the laboratory by working with the researchers, including liaison with faculty members through a progressive system of training, and re-training should the need arise.
- Cost control: The Facility Manager ensures that the G2N Lab operates on a revenue neutral basis with expenses associated with equipment operation being offset by charges to users. To this end, billing of users not affiliated with G2N is performed on a regular (monthly, per-term or annual) basis. The Facility Manager interacts with outside users to validate project work, coordinate access to equipment and to the G2N lab.
- Controlling and monitoring access to lab facilities and services: Control secure access to laboratory facilities. Maintain the RFID card access system. Administer the distribution of key cards.
- Laboratory logistics: The Facility Manager will be responsible for the day-to-day needs of the laboratory from the perspective of consumable items, spare parts, tools and equipment needed for the purposes of the research and maintenance of the facility at a state of readiness for the research. This is to be carried out in conjunction with faculty members who provide funding for the laboratory operations and includes planning and procuring items as well as attending to the paperwork associated with this process, such as spreadsheets that provide an inventory of equipment and maintenance costs. An extension of this process involves sourcing major assets for laboratory upgrades and expansion to meet new research requirements.
- Laboratory maintenance: The responsibilities of this position are not limited to a managerial scope. It is expected that the incumbent is fully capable of carrying out maintenance operations as well in cases where the requirements exceed the capabilities of the junior technical staff members or extra manpower is required. The laboratory manager is also responsible for ensuring that necessary maintenance procedures are carried out as scheduled to maintain the quality and availability of the facility for research.
Working Conditions