Faculty Administrative Assistant - 140249

Filing deadline: Wednesday, August 26, 2026. Preference given to UCSD layoff applicants who apply by August 17, 2026.

About the role

The Physics Department at UC San Diego is a prominent, research-intensive department with over 400 employees, $58M in annual expenditures, and 18K+ annual course enrollments. Research spans astrophysics, atomic/molecular physics, biophysics, condensed matter physics, plasma physics, particle physics, nanoscience, and nonlinear dynamics, conducted on-campus and at national/international sites including U.S. National Laboratories, global observatories, Antarctica, and CERN. The department collaborates with universities, national labs, research institutes, and private companies, funded by agencies such as NSF, NIH, DOE, DOD, and AFOSR.

Instruction includes a doctoral program (200 students) with Ph.D. options in Physics, Biophysics, Computational Science, or Quantitative Biology; an undergraduate program (400+ majors) offering B.S. and B.A. degrees with specializations in Astrophysics, Biophysics, Computational Physics, Earth Sciences, Materials Physics, or Secondary Education; and a 5-year B.S./M.S. in Materials Physics. Lower-division courses support general education and foundational science/engineering majors.

Under the direction of the Physics Department Business Manager, this role provides administrative support for faculty instruction, service, and research programs. The incumbent serves as an administrative liaison for faculty research programs, collaborating with campus offices and external organizations to optimize research group performance. Responsibilities include managing lab orders, travel coordination, reimbursements, instructional support, and visitor logistics for domestic and international guests. The role also involves coordinating faculty events, seminars, colloquia, and department functions, as well as supervising and optimizing student worker performance. Occasional evenings, weekends, and overtime may be required.

Responsibilities

• Provide administrative support for faculty instruction, service, and research programs, serving as a liaison with department units, campus offices, and external organizations.
• Manage administrative tasks for research lab groups, including graduate/undergraduate students, postdoctoral fellows, project/research scientists, lab staff, and Principal Investigators (PIs), covering lab orders, travel coordination, reimbursements, and instructional support.
• Collaborate with Departmental Research Administrators on purchasing, travel arrangements, commitments, and invoicing inquiries.
• Independently coordinate logistics for a high volume of domestic and international visitors, including meeting organization, accommodations, and reimbursements.
• Serve as the coordinator for faculty events and functions, and act as a backup for seminars, colloquia, and department events.
• Assign tasks and support the optimization of student workers' performance within the administrative framework.
• Enhance research groups' ability to meet administrative requirements within and outside UC by implementing procedural changes.
• Exercise initiative, resourcefulness, and sound judgment in handling diverse administrative duties under pressured, production-oriented conditions.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience providing administrative support within an academic department, with familiarity and understanding of related scientific terms and concepts.
• Experience supporting multiple individuals with competing demands.
• Experience interpreting and applying complex rules and regulations.
• Ability to work independently or as part of a team.
• Excellent editorial correction skills for technical manuscripts and proposals.
• Ability to work under pressure in a centralized, production-oriented atmosphere, prioritizing and organizing workload to meet deadlines.
• Strong written communication skills, with the ability to adapt writing style, write concisely and persuasively, and summarize information effectively.
• Strong organization, negotiation, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to maintain the highest level of confidentiality.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to interact effectively with senior faculty, research staff, coworkers, and senior representatives of non-university agencies using diplomacy and tact.
• Ability to independently exercise judgment and make problem-solving decisions in unique and everyday situations.
• Patience and verbal skills to communicate abstract concepts.
• Proficiency in computer skills (e.g., Word, Excel, Acrobat, EndNote).
• Ability to communicate well with non-native English speakers from diverse cultural backgrounds.
• Skill in maintaining and retrieving accurate records.

Pay

Hiring pay scale: $61,428 - $68,841 per year. Annual full pay range: $61,429 - $88,030 (prorated for appointments less than 100%). Hourly equivalent: $29.42 - $42.16. Compensation is determined based on experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure, certifications, and organizational needs.

Schedule

Full-time (100%) career appointment. Work schedule: Monday through Friday, 8 hours per day.