Job Title

Research Associate

Agency

Texas A&M University Health Science Center

Department

Medical Physiology

Proposed Minimum Salary

Commensurate

Job Location

Bryan, Texas

Job Type

Staff

Job Description

Our Commitment 

Texas A&M University is committed to enriching the learning and working environment by promoting a culture that respects all perspectives, talents & lived experiences. Embracing varying opinions and perspectives strengthens our core values which are: Respect, Excellence, Leadership, Loyalty, Integrity, and Selfless Service.    

 

Who we are

As one of the fastest-growing academic health centers in the nation, Texas A&M Health encompasses five colleges and numerous centers and institutes working together to improve health through transformative education, innovative research and team-based health care delivery. 

What we want

The Research Associate performs independent research activities requiring an advanced level of knowledge in a field of science or learning and required consistent use of discretion and judgement. The Research Associate will serve as a lead systems and hardware engineer responsible for the design, development, integration, testing, and deployment of spaceflight and high-reliability experimental payloads. This role spans mechanical, electrical, embedded software, and systems engineering domains and supports flight and flight-like hardware across multiple concurrent projects. The position requires end-to-end ownership of engineering deliverables, compliance with commercial and government flight partner requirements, and a commitment to rigorous engineering processes appropriate for mission-critical environments.

 

What you need to know

Salary: Will be commensurate based on the selected hire’s education and experience.   

Location/Schedule: Bryan, TX/Full-Time; This position may require work beyond normal office hours and/or work on weekends and may require travel.

Please note: This position is grant funded; future employment may be contingent upon future funding.   

Apply! Submitting a cover letter, resume/CV to assist us with the review process. You may upload these documents to the application under CV/Resume.

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, or a closely related field.

• Two years of hands-on experience in a research, flight hardware, or advanced engineering development environment involving multidisciplinary hardware systems.

 

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience in the design, integration, testing, and troubleshooting of complex electronic and/or electro-mechanical systems.

• Direct experience supporting hardware integration with external engineering teams, industry partners, or flight/vehicle integrators.

• Demonstrated experience translating research-driven experimental platforms into operational hardware, including working effectively with both academic researchers and professional engineering teams.

• Experience integrating experiment and test platforms developed in academic environments into operational or flight-like systems.

• Experience participating in environmental and qualification testing (e.g., thermal, vibration, shock, vacuum, or related test campaigns), including test setup, execution, and data review.

• Experience with hardware bring-up, instrumentation, data acquisition, and system-level debugging in a lab or field environment.

• Familiarity with engineering documentation practices, including schematics, test procedures, integration notes, and configuration records.

• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced, prototype-to-deployment environment while coordinating closely with faculty, students, and external partners.

• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple hardware efforts in parallel.

• Prior experience working on spaceflight, high-altitude, or other high-reliability platforms.

• Experience working on-site with a commercial or government aerospace partner for hardware integration or testing campaigns.

• Experience with embedded systems, firmware development, or hardware/software interfaces.

• Experience with environmental test facilities and procedures (thermal, vibration, vacuum, EMI/EMC, etc.).

• Experience with PCB design, board bring-up, harnessing, and system integration.

• Familiarity with CAD for enclosure or fixture design and/or rapid prototyping workflows.

• Experience supporting formal engineering reviews (e.g., PDR, CDR, TRR, FRR) or equivalent research-to-flight readiness processes.

Responsibilities

ESystems, Mechanical, & Electrical Engineering

• Serve as lead systems and hardware engineer for spaceflight and high-reliability experimental payloads spanning mechanical, electrical, and software domains.

• Lead the full engineering lifecycle: requirements interpretation, architecture development, detailed design, prototyping, fabrication, integration, testing, verification, and deployment.

• Design and develop mechanical structures, enclosures, fixtures, and payload assemblies using CAD tools, rapid prototyping workflows, and vendor fabrication processes.

• Design, integrate, and debug electronic systems including power distribution, sensors, data acquisition, communications, and embedded control architectures.

• Develop and maintain embedded firmware and/or host-side software for experiment control, data acquisition, health monitoring, and test automation.

• Lead hardware bring-up, integration, and verification activities including wiring, harnessing, PCB bring-up, fault isolation, and performance validation.

• Ensure designs meet structural, thermal, vibration, integration, and mission-environment constraints appropriate for flight and flight-like systems.

• Interface directly with commercial and government flight partners to ensure compliance with Interface Control Documents (ICDs), safety requirements, verification plans, and mission constraints.

• Contribute to and help enforce a strong culture of engineering rigor, including structured design reviews, disciplined test practices, documentation standards, and risk management.

 

Integration, Test & Verification

• Plan, execute, and document environmental and qualification testing (e.g., vibration, shock, thermal, vacuum, EMI/EMC as applicable).

• Develop test readiness reviews, procedures, anomaly reports, and corrective action documentation.

• Lead troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions for hardware, firmware, and system-level issues encountered during integration and testing.

• Support payload integration campaigns, acceptance testing, shipment, and on-site or remote mission support as required.

 

Documentation, Compliance & Configuration Management

• Produce and maintain engineering documentation including requirements specifications, ICDs, schematics, CAD models, test plans, procedures, as-built configurations, and verification & validation records.

• Manage configuration control, hardware inventories, spares, and lifecycle tracking across multiple flight projects.

• Coordinate technical procurement, vendor fabrication, PCB assembly, and external manufacturing workflows.

• Ensure compliance with institutional, sponsor, and partner requirements including safety, quality assurance, configuration management, and export control.

 

Continuous Improvement

• Identify and implement improvements to engineering processes, design standards, and test infrastructure.

• Support scalability of engineering operations to accommodate a growing portfolio of flight experiments and hardware systems.

Why Texas A&M University?

We are a prestigious university with strong traditions, Core Values, and a community of caring and collaboration.  Amenities associated with a major university, such as sporting and cultural events, state-of-the-art recreation facilities, the Bush Library and Museum, and much more await you.  Experience all that a big city has to offer but with a reasonable cost-of-living and no long commutes.   

• Medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, life and AD&D, flexible spending accounts, and long-term disability insurance with Texas A&M contributing to employee health and basic life premiums  

• 12-15 days of annual paid holidays   

• Up to eight hours of paid sick leave and at least eight hours of paid vacation each month  

• Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas   

• Health and Wellness: Free exercise programs and release time  

• Professional Development: All employees have access to free LinkedIn Learning training, webinars, and limited financial support to attend conferences, workshops, and more   

• Educational release time and tuition assistance for completing a degree while a Texas A&M employee  

• Living Well, a program at Texas A&M that has been built by employees, for employees  

 

Instructions to Applicants: Applications received by Texas A&M University must either have all job application data entered, or a resume attached. Failure to provide all job application data or a complete resume could result in an invalid submission and a rejected application. We encourage all applicants to upload a resume or use a LinkedIn profile to prepopulate the online application.

All positions are security-sensitive. Applicants are subject to a criminal history investigation, and employment is contingent upon the institution’s verification of credentials and/or other information required by the institution’s procedures, including the completion of the criminal history check.

Equal Opportunity/Veterans/Disability Employer.