School of Cinematic Arts
Los Angeles, California
Engineering Technician II
USC’s
School of Cinematic Arts is seeking an Engineering Technician II to
join its Digital Media & Technology group. The School of Cinematic
Arts is the premier school for the study of cinematic arts and works on
the cutting edge of technology in all aspects of media production.
The
Engineering Technician II is responsible for the cinema and broadcast
cameras at the school. This includes building kits to prepare new
purchases for deployment, maintaining inventory, making repairs,
engineering multi-cam production, and training end-users. The position
will have hands-on experience supporting classes, shoots, and events on
the school’s sound stages. The role requires an in-depth knowledge of
digital camera operation, lenses, rigging, accessories, tripods,
monitoring, and cabling. It will also require an aptitude to configure
and support developing technologies such as digital lens encoders,
camera positional tracking systems, remote control over IP, and robotic
motion control.
The position is generally a weekday day shift with
set hours (37.5 hours a week), but the candidate must be flexible in
order to support the occasional evening or weekend special event.
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- The operation, maintenance, and repair of specialized and/or state-of-the art equipment.
- Providing technical guidance and direction to others such as faculty, staff, and student workers.
- Preparing kits in the camera equipment center for upcoming checkouts.
- Inspecting returned kits to validate they’re in working order.
- Repairing or sending out equipment for repairs.
- Engineering multi-cam setup, recording, and live streaming.
- Collaborating
with our technical engineering team to maintain an infrastructure of
virtual production technologies including LED walls, motion capture, and
camera tracking.
- Researching and procuring needed equipment,
tools, parts, and/or materials. Maintaining vendor contacts and purchase
and technical documentation files for reference and reporting, as
needed.
- Assisting with training and supervising of student workers.
- Creating procedures and documentation.
- Performing other related duties as assigned or requested.
Minimum Qualifications:
Bachelor’s Degree, or combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education
5 years of experience in camera support
Preferred Qualifications:
5-10 years of experience working in production in the camera department
Additional knowledge in these areas is a plus:
- Sony cinema and broadcast cameras
- Blackmagic switchers and HyperDeck recorders
- Camera Tracking using OptiTrack cameras and Motive software
- Softron recording software
- OBS Studio software
The
hourly rate range for this position is $29.59 - 33.05. When extending
an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers
factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of
the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key
skills, internal peer equity, federal, state, and local laws,
contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and
organizational considerations.
USC employees, by virtue of the
university’s status as a nonprofit tax-exempt organization, may qualify
for public service student loan forgiveness (PSLF).
USC
is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. All qualified
applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to
race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,
national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other
characteristic protected by law or USC policy. USC will consider for
employment all qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner
consistent with the requirements of the Los Angeles Fair Chance
Initiative for Hiring ordinance. We provide reasonable accommodations to
applicants and employees with disabilities.
Builds,
tests and designs or participates in the design of equipment,
instrumentation or systems. Sets up, assembles, installs, operates,
troubleshoots and maintains equipment and systems. Performs experiments
or tests using complex instrumentation. Demonstrates the operation of
equipment to faculty, researchers, students and visitors. May direct
the work of other technicians. Works under minimal supervision.