Employment Opportunities with McDonald Observatory

We are beyond that moon that you are considering a career with us.

As a research unit of The University of Texas at Austin, we offer employment opportunities at both the Observatory in West Texas and on the UT campus in Austin. Please be sure to check where jobs are located when reviewing open positions.

Looking to volunteer instead? Visit our Volunteer page to learn more and apply.

Jobs in Austin, Texas

Mechanical Engineer 

Job Description: Based in Austin, Texas, his position works in the McDonald Observatory's instrumentation group, exercising a wide latitude of independent judgment to design, analyze, build, test, and support optomechanical and electromechanical subsystems for the McDonald Observatory instrument and telescope development projects. Reports to the Chief Scientist.

For more information on this position and to apply, please see the full job posting here.

Jobs in Fort Davis

Building Attendant Leader

Job Description: Serves as the custodial crew leader at McDonald Observatory, while performing the same duties as other journey-level employees in the work group.

For more information on this position and to apply, please see the full job posting here.

Facility Maintenance Tech

Job Description: Performs day-to-day technical trades skills in the maintenance, repair, fabrication, and operations of a remote research facility, and perform skilled work in an electrical, mechanical, and HVAC environment.

For more information on this position and to apply, please see the full job posting here.

Mechanic/Technician

Job Description: Performs day-to-day technical trades skills in the maintenance, repair, fabrication, and operations of a remote research facility, and perform skilled work in an electrical, mechanical, and HVAC environment.

For more information on this position and to apply, please see the full job posting here.

Hobby-Eberly Telescope Mechanical Engineer

Job Description: This position leads a small team of technicians and performs mechanical engineering maintenance, design, and performance improvements on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope’s (HET) equipment and facility infrastructure. This position reports to the HET Facility Manager at the McDonald Observatory site near Ft. Davis, Texas.

For more information on this position and to apply, please see the full job posting here.

Hobby-Eberly Telescope Electrical Engineer

Job Description: Performs electrical engineering tasks on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope's (HET) equipment and facility infrastructure, with a wide latitude for independent action and decision-making. This hands-on position maintains, designs, and improves the functionality of electrical, electronic, electromechanical, and electro-optical subsystems on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) to achieve McDonald Observatory's scientific goals. The position reports to the HET Electrical Engineer Manager at McDonald Observatory.

For more information on this position and to apply, please see the full job posting here.

Hobby-Eberly Telescope Science Operations Manager

Job Description: Provides leadership, high-quality science, and technical support in the science operations of the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET), including managing the HET science and engineering support operations, supervising night-time operations, monitoring and reporting on HET optical and instrumentation performance, data acquisition and reduction.

For more information on this position and to apply, please see the full job posting here.

Positions are security sensitive; conviction verification conducted on applicant selected.