Job Details

Department: Physics

General Statement of Job

The Lab Specialist II - Physics provides direct professional support to all Physics, Physical Science, Geology, and Astronomy faculty. Maintains safety in the labs according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and Global Harmonized System (GHS) guidelines, which includes but not limited to maintaining eye wash stations, maintaining properly labeled receptacles for broken equipment and used batteries, maintaining receptacles for various waste streams, and Safety Data Sheets (SDS).

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

Essential Functions:

• Collaborates with faculty to plan and organize weekly lab activities to ensure that instructional materials and lab experiments are available as needed.
• Assists lab instructors during regularly scheduled labs or as needed.
• Develops adequate training aids to train students and/or faculty on equipment use, as needed.
• Performs and assists in preparatory work for the labs, including reagent preparation, and preparing carts with materials for lab.
• Manages waste for the labs in compliance with federal, state, and local laws.
• Assists with completion of chemical hygiene plan for the division.
• Maintains laboratory inventory and equipment.
• Maintains accurate records related to inventory and operation of laboratory.
• Orders, receives, issues, and stores materials, parts, and supplies.
• Assists with the review of bids on materials and equipment purchases, as needed.
• Performs routine repairs on equipment, and notifies proper personnel for warranty maintenance and major non-warranty repairs.
• Coordinates and develops workshops for special and community events.
• Recommends laboratory equipment and researches potential new laboratory experiments, as needed or as requested by faculty.
• Maintains lab rooms in a clean and orderly condition.
• Cross-trains in other physical sciences (engineering and chemistry) to assist faculty in the other disciplines within the Physical Science department, as needed.
• Interviews, conducts reference checks, selects, trains, and supervises the Physics part-time staff.
• Responsible for managing the labs and may be temporarily assigned to other campuses, as needed.
• Travels throughout the college district, as needed.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Physics or related field required.
• At least two (2) years of experience in a science lab setting required.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Excellent oral, written, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills. Strong background in computers and office automation, including word processing, spreadsheets, database, Excel, PowerPoint and knowledge of the Windows environment. Knowledge of the physical science field, preferably physics. Familiarity of a science laboratory, including safety and precautions. Ability to use specialized instruments, equipment, software and perform experiments and demonstrations in the specialty area. Knowledge of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and Global Harmonized System (GHS) guidelines. Ability to prioritize, organize, and complete multiple tasks with attention to detail, within stated deadlines. Ability to adapt to constant change and periods of fast-paced, high-intensity work situations. Ability to work independently as well as a team player within department and with others. Ability to work evenings and/or weekends as needed; willing to travel throughout the college district using own means of reliable transportation. Demonstrated commitment to achieving the vision and mission of South Texas College. Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before groups of students or employees of organization. Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs. Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.

Checks, Certificates, Licenses, and Registrations

• All applicants are subject to a criminal background check under South Texas College policy.
• Must have or qualify for a valid Texas driver's license and proof of liability insurance.

Physical Requirements

Exerting up to 25 pounds of force occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Bending the body downward and forward by bending leg and spine. Perceiving attributes of objects, such as size, shape, temperature or texture by touching with skin, particularly that of fingertips. Picking, pinching, typing, or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand as in handling. Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm. Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discrimination in sound. Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position-to-position. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires substantial use of upper extremities and back muscles. Ability to make rational decisions through sound logic and deductive processes. Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including the ability to convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately and concisely. Standing particularly for sustained periods of time. Bending body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires full motion of the lower extremities and back muscles. Close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; and/or extensive reading. Close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: visual inspection involving small defects, small parts, and operation of machines, using measurement devices, and/or assembly or fabrication of parts at distances close to the eyes. Mobility to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another.

Work Environment:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to chemicals, fumes and particulates that may present health hazards if not handled according to safety protocols; standing frequently; may be required to work at multiple campus locations and various high school locations. Work hours frequently include evenings and weekends throughout the year depending on course and laboratory schedules.