STS Director
About the University
Western Washington University, with over 15,000 students in seven colleges and the graduate school, is nationally recognized for its educational programs, students and faculty. The campus is located in Bellingham, Washington, a coastal community of 90,000 overlooking Bellingham Bay, the San Juan Islands and the North Cascades Mountain range. The city lies 90 miles north of Seattle and 60 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia. Western has additional sites in Anacortes, Bremerton, Everett, Port Angeles, and Poulsbo. Western is recognized nationally for its successes, such as being named one of the top public master's-granting institutions in the Pacific Northwest for 25 years in a row by U.S. News & World Report.
Western Washington University is committed to achieving excellence through advancing inclusive success, increasing our Washington impact, and focusing on transformational education grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and based on innovative scholarship, research, and creative activity. Western's greatest strength is the outstanding students, faculty, staff, and alumni/ae who make up its community. Western supports an inclusive governance structure for all and provides a learning and working environment in which everyone can thrive. In pursuit of this excellence, individual employees are expected to establish and maintain productive and effective inclusive working relationships amongst diverse populations including staff, faculty, administration, student, and external constituents. Further, individual employees are expected to have the ability to operationalize sustainability concepts (economic, societal, environmental) into all aspects of performing their job duties.
About the Department
Scientific Technical Services (SciTech) supports research, scholarship and teaching by providing access to advanced multi-user scientific instrumentation, machine and electronics shops, and equipment design, fabrication and repair services. Through its core facilities, SciTech is essential to Western researchers’ efforts to accelerate the discovery of new knowledge, partners with instructors to teach graduate and undergraduate laboratory classes and provides regional industry access to specialized equipment.
Scientific Technical Services supports Western's mission, which states that together with our students, staff, and faculty, we are committed to making a positive impact in the state and the world with a shared focus on academic excellence and inclusive achievement. We encourage applications from women, people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, and other candidates from underrepresented backgrounds and with diverse experiences interested in this opportunity.
About the Position
The Director oversees all aspects of SciTech operations, staffing, and budget, and provides overall leadership for the unit. This is an Academic Program Director position that comes with an academic-year teaching release equal to 2 courses (totaling 6-8 contact hours), 3 weeks of summer salary and a stipend. To ensure a fair and competitive compensation package, the anticipated job compensation will be commensurate to current faculty salary rate, with the stipend level determined by the WWU - United Faculty of Western Washington Collective Bargaining Agreement. The anticipated start date is September 15, 2026.
Duties include the following:
Oversee and support the operations of all SciTech core facilities including the University Instrument Centers and University Shops.
Supervise SciTech staff.
Manage SciTech budgets and serve as budget authority.
Help strengthen Western research infrastructure overall, including through the identification, promotion, and coordination of efforts to pursue relevant external funding opportunities for equipment and other resources.
Encourage and engage in campus-wide approaches to planning for major equipment acquisitions that are collaborative, inclusive, and strategic.
Meet regularly with the SciTech Advisory Council including at least once at the beginning of the academic year, and each quarter during the academic year.
Keep the SciTech user community informed about developments affecting them.
Provide regular updates to the SciTech Advisory Council and Vice Provost for Research, attend and participate in SciTech Advisory Council meetings, and be responsive to SciTech Advisory Council requests and stakeholder concerns.
Working with the SciTech Advisory Council, develop and implement operations policies covering instrument access, user training, and fee structures, and other areas as needed.
Working with the SciTech Advisory Council, maintain an up to date strategic plan addressing major equipment acquisition, upgrade, and replacement plans, and regularly report on progress toward goals.
Collect and report annual data measuring impacts including instrument uptime and usage information, and information SciTech users, and the impacts of SciTech equipment and services on teaching and research.
Submit an annual report to the Vice Provost for Research during Spring quarter.
Maintain a supportive working environment promoting diversity, equity, access, and inclusion.
Required Qualifications
- Hold a tenured or tenure-track position at WWU
- Possess the necessary technical expertise to oversee the range of equipment and services offered by SciTech
- Have a successful track record of securing external research or equipment funding.
- Have a demonstrated track record of advancing diversity, equity and inclusion goals and be committed to furthering Western’s goals in the future. (For more information about Western’s commitment to and work on equity, inclusion, and diversity, please see Western President’s page on Advancing Inclusion and Diversity.)
Preferred Qualifications
- Prior experience leading a research program and managing a laboratory
- Prior experience with SciTech, as a user for research or teaching or serving as Advisory Council Member.
- Prior experience supervising staff.
- Prior experience managing budgets.
- Prior experience overseeing facility operations.
Conditions of Employment
All employees must comply with our Immunization policies, including Proof of Rubeola Measles Immunity within 60-days of hire. Please reach out to [email protected] if you need information regarding medical or religious exemption and applicable accommodations.
Salary
This is an Academic Program Director position that comes with an academic-year teaching release equal to 2 courses (totaling 6-8 contact hours), 3 weeks of summer salary and a stipend. To ensure a fair and competitive compensation package, the anticipated job compensation will be commensurate to current faculty salary rate, with the stipend level determined by the WWU - United Faculty of Western Washington Collective Bargaining Agreement. The anticipated start date is September 15, 2026.
Benefits Information
Benefits Overview for Faculty Positions
Bargaining Unit
United Faculty of Western Washington
Application Instructions
A cover letter and resume or CV are required and should address your experience related to the position responsibilities and the required and preferred qualifications.
Please include the names and contact information of up to three professional references.
Closing Date Notes
Application review begins February 9, 2026; the position is open until filled. The position is open to current tenured or tenure-track faculty members.
Western Washington University (WWU) is an equal opportunity employer. In compliance with applicable laws, WWU does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, national origin, age, citizenship or immigration status, pregnancy, use of protective leave, genetic status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, creed, religion, veteran or military status, disability or the use of a trained guide dog or service animal (including a service animal in training) by a person with a disability, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law, in its programs or activities, including employment, admissions, and educational programs. See WWU’s Policies on Prohibiting Discrimination Based on A Protected Class and Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Sex. Inquiries may be directed to the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance, Title IX and ADA Coordinator, Western Washington University, Old Main 126 (MS 9021), 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225; 360.650.3307 (voice) or 711 (Washington Relay); [email protected]
WWU is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. To request this document in an alternate format or to request an accommodation, please contact Human Resources Disability Services, 360.650.3751 or 711 (Washington Relay).
Annual Security and Fire Safety Report: This report is provided pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act ("The Clery Act"). It includes statistics for the previous three calendar years concerning reported crimes that occurred on Western's campus; in certain off-campus buildings or property owned or controlled by Western; and on public property within, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from, the campus. The report also includes institutional policies concerning campus security, such as policies concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. You can obtain a copy of this report in printed or alternate formats by contacting the Office of Student Life at [email protected]. The report can be found at: Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.
All new employees must comply with the immunization policy and show employment eligibility verification as required by the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service before beginning work at WWU. A thorough background check will be conducted on all new hires and rehires, which includes a sexual misconduct background check.