Career Center

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UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty. 

The UW Department of Rehabilitation Medicine has an outstanding opportunity for a full-time Research Scientist/ Engineer 2.

The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, ranked #5 by US News & World Report and among the top-ranked programs nationwide for nearly 25 years, is a complex academic and clinical department in the University of Washington School of Medicine and part of UW Medicine. Affiliated Hospitals include UW Medical Center - Montlake, UW Medical Center – Northwest, Harborview Medical Center, Veteran’s Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, and Seattle Children’s. We provide inpatient rehabilitation care at the University of Washington Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle Children’s, and the VA. In addition, we have several outpatient clinics located throughout the region.

Our highly regarded education and training programs include a residency program in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, medical student clerkships, and fellowship training in several areas. We also have degree programs in physical therapy, occupational therapy, and prosthetics and orthotics, as well as a PhD graduate program in Rehabilitation Science. With our strong research focus, we are among the nation's leading recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CIDC), and other federal and state research funding. Our efforts make the University of Washington Department of Rehabilitation Medicine a leader in the field and contribute to a better understanding of the rehabilitation process.

This Research Scientist/Engineer position works with the Division of Prosthetics and Orthotics under the direction of Professor Stefania Fatone. The fields of research this position will engage in is biomedical engineering, human movement biomechanics, prosthetics and orthotics. It will support unfunded pilot projects as well as funded research projects related to the development, assessment and evaluation of prosthetic and orthotic devices, as well as studies related to human movement biomechanics.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Develop and manage equipment used in the conduct of research (50%)
•Develop physical measurement and analysis methodologies for research projects, including selection of existing equipment, modification of existing equipment or design/construction of custom measurement equipment and methodologies to support data collection and measurement in research projects related to the measurement of physical activity, movement, and performance.
•Use mechanical and electrical/electronic skills to design, construct, maintain and/or repair new or existing equipment for research.
•Manage lab inventory and equipment.
•Act as a general resource in the specification and selection of equipment and software; advise on new and emerging technologies.
•Provide computer and mobile device software and hardware support for Mac/iOS and PC.

Contribute to data analysis and collection (40%)
•Develop analytical procedures and custom software to facilitate processing, analysis and presentation of research data.
•Contribute to preparation of grants, presentations, manuscripts and technical reports, primarily in the areas of methodology and analysis.
•Assist with the scheduling and conduct of research projects, particularly data collection with human subjects.

Assist in supervision of research students during research lab activities (10%)

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:
•Master’s Degree in Biomedical or Mechanical Engineering
•Three months to one year of experience.

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
Specific knowledge, skills, and abilities required:
•Demonstrated mechanical/electrical skills applicable to the design, fabrication, troubleshooting, repair, and maintenance of equipment to support research in biomechanics, prosthetics and orthotics, and related activities.
•Basic electronic skills including breadboarding, soldering, and ability to read schematic diagrams.
•A working knowledge of programming environments such as LabVIEW or Matlab to create custom data acquisition and analysis programs to support research. Familiarity with mathematical methods including linear algebra and differential equations to support data analysis.
•A working knowledge of desktop/laptop computing systems to facilitate data acquisition and processing.
•Strong written and verbal communications skills and the ability to work in a collaborative fashion.
•Caring and compassionate approach, ability to interact with human subjects.

DESIRED:
•Basic working knowledge of force plates and transducers and their signal generating equipment.
•Basic knowledge of different types of motion capture systems.
•Experience with applying other transduction technologies such as accelerometry and ultrasound along with the application of electronic amplifiers and other signal conditioning equipment.
•Experience with electronic device design/fabrication, including microprocessor-based hardware.
•Experience designing, fabricating and modifying items using wooden, plastic and metallic materials.
•Experience in the safe and proper use of power tools such as a drill press, power saw, grinder, welder, etc.
•Basic knowledge of digital filtering and other signal processing and analysis techniques.
•Basic knowledge of motion analysis processing programs, such as Open Sim, Visual 3-D.
•Basic knowledge of biomedical statistical analysis.

Application Process:

The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process.  These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others.  Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.