Job Opportunity: Technical Director
The Department of Environmental Systems Science (D-USYS) at ETH Zurich is seeking a Technical Director to lead the operation of the Environmental Chemical Analysis Facility (ECAF), a newly established departmental platform. As the senior technical manager of ECAF, the Technical Director will ensure the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of ECAF instruments and user facilities in support of research and training. This role combines operational leadership of a modern analytical facility with close scientific interaction with a diverse user community.
About the Environmental Chemical Analysis Facility (ECAF)
The Environmental Chemical Analysis Facility (ECAF) serves as a user facility for chemical analysis instrumentation, supporting research and teaching across D-USYS and other units at ETH Zurich and the ETH Domain. The facility includes:
- Various mass spectrometry (MS) instruments (HR-MS, ICP-MS)
- Standalone and MS-coupled chromatography systems (GC, LC, IC)
- Instrumentation for elemental analyses
- Instrumentation for stable isotope measurements
ECAF is being established as a robust, user-focused platform with standardized workflows, a strong safety culture, and high-quality training to support chemical analyses critical for environmental research.
Key Responsibilities
- Facility Launch: Your vision and leadership will be critical in establishing ECAF as a modern, well-run, state-of-the-art facility, developing its policies, procedures, user culture, and strategy.
- Facility Operations: Oversee day-to-day activities in ECAF, ensuring instruments and user facilities are operational and accessible.
- Scientific and Research Support: Assist users in developing and optimizing analytical protocols for challenging analytes and complex matrices, including sample preparation workflows and QA/QC concepts.
- Supervision: Share supervision responsibilities with the ECAF faculty Director, overseeing and coordinating technical staff and student assistants.
- Maintenance and Service Coordination: Plan and coordinate preventive maintenance, servicing, repairs, vendor support, and service contracts.
- User Access and Training Framework: Develop and maintain workflows for user registration, onboarding, authorization, training records, and operational oversight.
- Resource and Cost Oversight: Maintain inventory and operational documentation; manage internal billing processes; provide guidance for annual fee setting and budget planning.
- Governance and Stakeholder Coordination: Serve as a member of the ECAF Directorate and contribute to operational planning, policy implementation, and continuous improvement of facility processes.
Qualifications
- Education: Advanced degree (PhD) in analytical chemistry, environmental sciences, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
- Technical Expertise: Demonstrated experience with modern analytical instrumentation and laboratory workflows (e.g., LC-MS, GC, ICP, IC, elemental analysis, optical spectroscopy, or comparable platforms).
- Operational Leadership: Ability to manage complex laboratory infrastructure, coordinate vendors and service providers, and maintain robust documentation systems.
- People and Communication Skills: Strong service orientation and communication skills; ability to work with diverse user groups and balance competing priorities.
- Language: Excellent English; proficiency in German is an advantage.
Join Us
This position offers a unique opportunity to shape and operate a new departmental research platform, influencing the long-term development of ECAF’s analytical capabilities, workflows, and user support model within a collaborative environment featuring a broad scientific user community. Employment conditions, salary, and benefits are in accordance with ETH Zurich regulations.
To apply, please apply online using the form below. Only applications matching the job profile will be considered.
For further information about the Institute, please visit our website. Questions regarding the position should be directed to Prof. Dr. Kristopher McNeill by email at kris.mcneill@env.ethz.ch (no applications).
Note: Applications submitted via email or postal services will not be considered. The pre-selection process is conducted by responsible recruiters and not by artificial intelligence.
For recruitment services, the General Terms and Conditions (GTC) of ETH Zurich apply.