Go through job postings (on Monster or other job boards) and find descriptions of jobs or parts of descriptions that appeal to you. Circle what appeals to you and note why that’s of interest. Try to find 5-10 job postings that have something that’s of interest to you.
So, sounds easy enough, right? But man - this was really hard - and sort of depressing. The first challenge was figuring out where to find job postings and how to narrow the search. I ended up looking through the postings on the MIT alum site since that was a limited number and focused on math/science/engineering. Then I turned to Monster.com and tried to come up with a search that was narrow enough to be approachable, but wide enough to let in things that I may not have thought about. To help keep the results list manageable I did limit the jobs geographically to the Boston area.
The depressing part of the exercise was that it seems like that jobs that are the most interesting are things that I am in no way qualified to do and/or would include a large cut in my salary. There were a number of jobs posted that simply made my skin crawl just reading the description. So halfway through I began to get sad, feeling like there was no job out there that I could do and that might make me happy.
But then I tried to let go of that by reminding myself that the assignment wasn't to actually go out and find a new job. It is simply to find descriptions of parts of descriptions that are interesting to me and highlight those parts. Once I eased on up my expectations/requirements it got a bit easier. Here's the list I ended up with - it's long because I included the full descriptions, but I'll try to handle that with formatting. The parts of the description that are the most interesting to me are highlighted in red text.
Job Posting #1
Title: Clinical Scientist
Location: Mountain View, California
Job Description
Description:
The successful candidate for this position will engage in translational research as a member of a team conducting clinical trials and developing new applications for a responsive neurostimulator for the treatment of brain disorders. The primary responsibility is to optimize the clinical application of this technology. This individual will be a key member of the clinical research team, contributing to preparation of scientific presentations and manuscripts, and FDA submissions. This person will work closely with NeuroPace research scientists, data management, field clinical engineers, and investigational trial coordinators and physicians. Additionally, this individual will attend scientific and investigator meetings as appropriate.
Responsibilities:
" Perform qualitative and quantitative analyses of clinical trial data to support clinical study reports and product development
" Develop tools to streamline data analysis processes to provide timely updates to clinical and regulatory teams
" Contribute to the writing of clinical study reports and other clinical documents
" Prepare abstracts, poster presentations, slides, and manuscripts of clinical study findings
" Contribute to clinical study protocol development - perform literature reviews and analyses to provide clinical and scientific evidence to support clinical trial design
" Participate in the development and review of statistical analysis plans
" Facilitate investigator initiated research
" Perform hypothesis-driven analyses and data-mining exploration of device and electrocorticographic data
" Collaborate with research scientists and software developers to develop research tools and implement data visualization tools
Requirements:
" An advanced degree and background in neuroscience, neurology, psychiatry, neurophysiology, or bioengineering
" 3-5 years experience conducting research
" Exceptional analytical skills; ability to organize data, develop hypotheses and perform complex analyses
" Proficiency in Matlab (or other analytics software) and strong working knowledge of Excel data analysis tools
" Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to communicate complex concepts and processes to a varied audience
" Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in multi-disciplinary teams
Preferred qualities:
" Experience with clinical trials
" Familiarity with signal processing and data visualization algorithm development
" Familiarity with statistical software packages such as SAS
" Familiarity with database query languages such as SQL
Job Posting #2
Science Writer / Research Specialist
Reports to:
Sangeeta N. Bhatia, MD PhD
Investigator
Research Abstract
Job Summary:
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute currently has an opening for a Science Writer (Research Specialist) to join Dr. Sangeeta Bhatias Laboratory for Multiscale Regenerative Technologies at MIT. The Science Writer / Research Specialist will serve as project manager for communications and grant development.
Dr. Bhatias research focuses on the applications of micro- and nanotechnology in regenerative medicine. The labs long-term goals are to improve cellular therapies for liver disease, develop enabling tools to systematically study the fate of stem cells, and design multifunctional nanoparticles for cancer applications.
Principal Responsibilities:
The Science Writer / Research Specialist will manage the communication and development of scientific activities for the Bhatia Laboratory as follows:
Communication of science from the Bhatia Laboratory in forms appropriate for diverse target audiences. In association with the Director, typical responsibilities include:
Plan content, write and edit articles, manuscripts, and abstracts and assist lab members with research fellowships.
Substantial interpretation of diverse scientific information and maintenance of a current knowledge of biomedical and bioengineering research.
Coordinate presentation materials for talks, conferences, site visits
Coordinate and provide guidance on art/photography design and layout.
Perform proofreading/copy editing and supervise the distribution of written material.
Coordinate review and submission of the Director's manuscripts.
Scientific communication with Director's colleagues and collaborators at MIT and other institutions.
Liaise with Director and Public Affairs Office in communicating to the media after major scientific publications.
Manage and coordinate all aspects of the Bhatia lab website. Ensure the Bhatia laboratory web pages (HST, HHMI, MIT, EECS, and KIICR) portray the laboratory to its full potential in order to attract new students, post-docs and potential funding agencies.
Grants Development
Involvement in all aspects of the organization, planning and execution of grant applications in collaboration with the Director, the administrative assistant, post-docs, students and the Fiscal Office. Typical responsibilities include:
Maintain a current knowledge of funding opportunities and identify sources of research funding for the Bhatia Laboratory.
Formulate strategic plans for research funding.
Financial planning for each grant.
Critically review experimental designs, write and expedite submission of applications.
Liaise with funding agencies (Government, Corporate or Private Foundations) from initial contact through receipt of funding to writing progress and final reports.
Preferred Qualifications:
Advanced degree in Bioengineering or Biomedical Sciences; Ph.D. preferred.
Knowledge of science and science writing essential.
Must have 5 years of relevant experience.
Excellent writing and proofreading skills.
Excellent design skills and knowledge of good design elements.
Knowledge of grant funding resources and experience in writing and coordinating grant applications essential.
Excellent organizational and communication skills.
Ability to juggle multiple tasks and projects at once.
Must be able to professionally interact with all levels of employees, as well as members of the media and the community.
Must enjoy working in a fast-paced, service-oriented environment, and be a team player.
Experience with word processing, Photoshop and PowerPoint desirable.
Job Posting #3
Job Summary
Company: Veryst Engineering
Location: Needham, MA 02494
Industries: Engineering Services
Job Type: Full Time
Employee Years of Experience: 2+ to 5 Years
Education Level: Doctorate
Career Level: Manager (Manager/Supervisor of Staff)
Salary: Salary, disability, medical, dental, 401k
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
About the Job
Senior Mechanical Engineer
Veryst Engineering seeks a full time Senior Mechanical Engineer with a background in engineering mechanics and analysis. Responsibilities include engineering analysis, design, and prototyping. Veryst Engineering is a small engineering consulting firm located in Needham, Massachusetts. Our practice applies engineering fundamentals to challenging design, manufacturing process, and failure analysis problems. PhD in mechanical engineering or aeronautical engineering with 2 years minimum industrial experience essential. Strong academic record and references necessary. Experience with computational methods, particularly nonlinear finite element analysis desirable. Will collaborate with other engineers on a range of engineering projects that require strong understanding of engineering fundamentals. Should have demonstrated ability to communicate technical content well, analyze multi-faceted problems and be able to work well both self-directed and within a team.
Responsibilities will include:
Nonlinear finite element analysis and system simulation
Mechanical engineering design
Arrange prototype manufacture
Project management and report writing
Document review and summarizing
Veryst believes strongly in a maintaining a healthy work environment. The firm emphasizes superior technical content, a cooperative work environment, and honest interaction between staff. Veryst is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Job Posting #4
Principle Validation Engineer
Responsibilities:
Exa Corporation is seeking a Principal Validation Engineer who will be responsible for performing and coordinating development and validation studies for advanced physics development. The PVE will be responsible for investigating new developments, validating, and documenting the results. The results must then be communicated effectively to customers, as well as other groups within the organization. Additional responsibilities include testing existing products as well as early prototypes of new products, setting up fluid simulation cases, running the cases, collecting and analyzing results, carrying out technical research, writing-up analysis, and presenting results. The PVE will play a key role in new product development, interacting closely with the physics and software development teams to transition product prototypes through all of the development stages into product release. This position also requires modest customer interaction to provide assistance and support in using PowerFLOW for engineering development, beta testing and general product release.
Daily tasks would include:
· Carefully define, run, analyze and document cases that test new developments in physics and software, and benchmark the results against known quantities.
· Work with Physics development team to drive improvements and implement new versions of the development code, and discover potential issues.
· Support physics related issues that arise from customers, as well as from other sectors of the organization.
· Liaise between customers, physics, software, and application management teams to arrive at meaningful solutions for issues involving both product and development code.
· Analyze and diagnose issues related to physics models, software implementation, and usage for a wide range of physical cases involving academic and industrial flows and report on the results.
Requirements:
· PhD in Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering or equivalent, that is focused on CFD with a preference for focus in Industrial, high Reynolds number, turbulent flows.
· Minimum 5 years post-doctoral research or industrial experience with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), preferably with aerospace or automotive applications.
· Prior experience with turbulent, compressible or transonic flows is a strong plus.
Additional Skills & Experience:
· Excellent communication skills with strengths in both oral and written form.
· Thorough understanding of fluid dynamics and fluids analysis. Experience in the following fields is a strong plus:
Turbulence modeling
Compressible/Transonic flows
Acoustics
· Strong problem-solving skills, energetic disposition
· Strong computer skills, especially UNIX. Experience with Python, and scripting is a plus.
Company Background:
Exa Corporation, based in Burlington, Massachusetts, develops, markets, and supports PowerFLOW®, PowerVIZ®, PowerCLAY®, PowerWRAP®, PowerSPECTRUM®, PowerTHERM™ and PowerCOOL™ CAE simulation software applications along with a full suite of engineering consulting services. The company's products are marketed to engineers worldwide in a range of industries including automotive, aerospace, chemical, energy, architectural, and environmental. PowerFLOW, Exa’s flagship product, is a breakthrough technology that is unique among computational fluid dynamics (CFD) packages in its ability to handle complex geometry and deliver accurate fluid-flow analysis at a fraction of the total cost of other available solutions. Exa’s products and services enable engineers to create competitive designs, while shortening product design cycles and improving time-to-market. Exa prides itself on offering products and services that fundamentally improve and enhance the engineering design processes.
Exa currently employs over 150 people worldwide with offices in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, UK, Japan and South Korea. For immediate consideration, please send your resume to physicsjobs@exa.com and enter Job Code 10-009 in subject line.
Job Posting #5
Staff II - Structures
About the Job
Function/Role:
The Structural Mechanics and Infrastructure group has built a solid foundation for advanced engineering services based on experience with large-scale computer analyses and design. We analyze and design structures using state-of-the-art linear and nonlinear finite element programs and optimization techniques using nonlinear programming. We work on precision structures such as large radio telescopes, antennae, land and sea based radar, and observatories. Our infrastructure work includes pipelines, tanks, tunnels, bridges, and nuclear facilities. Special areas of expertise include failure analysis, wind effects, seismic analysis, soil-structure interaction, dynamic and blast response, structural plastics, composites, metallurgy, and corrosion analysis. Our engineering work is supported by our in-house testing laboratory.
Responsibilities:
Conduct structural analysis, design, and investigative projects.
Perform finite element analysis.
Complete and review design calculations.
Manage the preparation of drawings, specifications, and reports.
Job Requirements:
MS or PhD in Civil Engineering with specialization in Structural Engineering.
Professional Engineering (PE) Registration, or the ability to obtain with in 1 year.
3-5 years experience in development & use of large scale finite element computer models for the analysis, design & evaluation of a broad variety of structures including antennas and telescopes, nuclear structures, elevated tanks, large diameter buried structures, and pipelines.
Effective oral and written communication skills.
Assist with client communication pertaining to specific assignments or meetings.
Strong background in structural analysis.
Preferred knowledge of soil structure interaction.
Experience in the design of hydraulic structures.
SGH has more than 400 employees and offices in Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington DC.SGH is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
Req. Code : 104
Division/Department : Engineering Mechanics/ Infrastucture
Skills : Engineering -> Structural Mechanics, Structural Design, Finite Element Analysis
Job Posting #6
Manager, Systems Engineering
About the Job
Nuvera Fuel Cells (www.nuvera.com) is a global leader in the development of fuel processing and fuel cell technology, committed to providing clean, safe, efficient, and high-value added hydrogen-based power products. With offices in the USA and Italy, Nuvera is focused on the commercialization of electrochemical power modules for industrial and automotive applications, and modular, cost-effective hydrogen generation, storage, and dispensing systems.
We are seeking a Manager, Systems Engineering to join our team. This position will report to the Vice President of Technology & Product Development. An experienced engineer and dynamic leader is sought to drive innovation and lead a group of eight engineers at the center of the company’s product development initiatives. The Systems Engineering Group is engaged in a wide spectrum of activities, including: product requirements definition, verification unit prototyping, system simulation and analysis, test program design and execution, control logic creation, reliability monitoring and forecasting, troubleshooting, and sustaining engineering. This is a fantastic opportunity for a talented, team-oriented engineer with keen analytical abilities and passions for challenge, leadership, and clean energy technology.
Essential Job Responsibilities
Project Management
Develop, propose, and implement project plans (objectives, scope, budget, schedule)
Lead business-critical, systems-related projects
Document work and communicate progress to project stakeholders
Systems Engineering
Develop mathematical models to describe complex dynamic systems
Exercise system models to inform and guide engineering/development
Design and conduct system verification test campaigns
Create performance maps and develop control logic for subsystems and products
Lead root cause identification campaigns and implement corrective actions
Functional Management
Coordinate involvement of direct reports in company projects
Manage staff development plans and conduct performance reviews
Communicate company strategy and priorities
Job Qualifications: (required unless otherwise noted)
Educational Background
MS/PhD (Mechanical, Controls, Chemical, or Electrical Engineering)
Previous Work Experience
7-10 years development experience, including modeling and analysis, design, and testing/experimental work
Skills and Abilities
· Solid grounding in engineering disciplines: thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, heat & mass transfer, strength of materials, controls, and basic electronics.
· Proven capabilities in engineering mathematics (linear algebra, differential equations, numerical methods, probability & statistics, and control theory)
· Demonstrated ability and interest to manage, mentor, and grow people, in functional and/or project contexts
· Dynamic systems modeling capability using MathWorksTM platforms
· Power systems simulation (preferably hybrid) and/or engineering
· Understanding of battery and/or fuel cell performance and aging phenomena
· Familiarity with power system hardware (plumbing, wiring, pumps, blowers, heat exchangers, filters, valves, regulators, power convertors), engineering instrumentation (flowmeters, pressure sensors, thermocouples), and data acquisition systems
· Ability and interest to work in a fast-paced team environment
· Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills
· Fluency in English language
Desirable Skills and Abilities
· Process simulation software (ASPEN preferred)
· Automotive systems design methods and engineering
· Mechanical or electrical component design/development experience
· High pressure gas (5-15 kpsi) systems experience
· CAD software, preferably SolidWorks
· Design for Manufacturability & Assembly (DFMA) principles and cost estimation
· Training/experience in Six Sigma or related principles
Physical Requirements/Work Environment
Laboratory and office work environments.
Significant time standing in development laboratories/work areas is required.
Ability to lift components weighing up to 35 lbs. is required.
Travel Required
Up to 25% regional travel and occasional 0-5% travel outside the U.S. is required.
Job Posting #7
Engineer Research and Development
About the Job
Creare, a leader in cutting-edge R&D since 1961, conducts applied research, develops new technologies and provides analysis, design, experimental, computational, product, and consulting services to industry and government. Project teams are small and engineer-led and individuals have significant opportunity to pursue areas of technical interest.
With 80+ active R&D projects, Creare's work spans the following areas:
Fluid Mechanics/Heat Transfer
Analog/Digital Electronics
Structures
Cryogenics
Software Development
Signal/Image Processing
Biomedical
Combustion
Applied Mechanics
Manufacturing Processes
We are looking for exceptional engineers with the passion, creativity, and skills to pursue varied technical research in a multi-disciplinary environment.
Professional requirements: Ph.D. with exceptional academic achievement and/or Masters with the same plus 5 or more years of relevant industrial experience. Engineering degree majors include: Aeronautical, Biomedical, Chemical, Electrical, Mechanical, and Nuclear.
This position requires U.S. Citizenship or U.S. Permanent Residency.
Creare is an Equal Opportunity Employer F/M/D/V.
Job Posting #8
I work for Booz Allen Hamilton (www.boozallen.com), a leading strategy and technology consulting firm which consistently receives prestigious “Best Place to Work” and “Best Place to Launch a Career” recognition from BusinessWeek, Fortune, Working Mother and numerous other lists.
I am looking for strong candidates to fill aerospace consulting positions within our Science and Technology Team. The division provides technical direction, program management, and development consulting to civilian and government clients. We are located in Arlington, Virginia.
The ideal candidate will have an aerospace engineering or related degree and experience in the following disciplines:
§ subsystems and systems engineering
§ mission analysis
§ operations
§ business knowledge
§ ability to work independently
§ interaction with clients
We are looking for both early career professionals (with 1 to 2 years of experience) as well as senior-level professionals with a graduate degree and up to 10 years of experience. In addition, U.S. citizenship and clearability are required.
