The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP) at Cornell University is seeking a skilled Rand Shops Technician to support the operation of its wood and metal shops and shared work space. Working as part of a two-technician team, this position combines hands-on technical expertise, shop operations, safety oversight, and student employee supervision to maintain a well-run environment where students, faculty, and staff can safely develop and pursue their work.
The position provides technical guidance across a broad range of wood and metal shop processes, helping users understand equipment capabilities, select appropriate approaches, and build the skills needed to work safely and independently. You will monitor shop activity, assess whether proposed work can be safely accommodated, troubleshoot operational and equipment issues, and respond to the changing needs of a busy shared facility.
This position is responsible for managing the Rand student monitor team, including hiring, training, scheduling, and assignments; approving timecards; and providing ongoing feedback and support to student employees who help operate the shops.
Safety is fundamental to the role. You will monitor shop activities and equipment use, provide required safety instruction, verify user competency, and intervene when conditions or practices present a risk. You will also help steward the equipment, tools, and facilities that support the shops, performing routine maintenance and repairs, identifying emerging needs, and contributing to improvements over time.
The Rand shops support a broad range of fabrication practices. The wood shop includes stationary and portable equipment for wood processing, including sawing, planing, jointing, routing, drilling, and sanding, along with a broad selection of hand tools. The metal shop includes equipment for cutting, grinding, sanding, sheet metal forming, MIG and TIG welding, and oxy-acetylene welding and cutting.
The role requires a strong working knowledge of wood and metal shop equipment and fabrication processes, but you do not need to arrive with expertise in every process or piece of equipment. The shops and their technical needs will continue to evolve, so curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to develop new skills are important to success.
The regular hours for this position are Monday through Friday, 11:30am to 8:00 p.m.
About AAP: The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning at Cornell University (Cornell AAP) includes the departments of Architecture, Art, City and Regional Planning, the Paul Rubacha Department of Real Estate, jointly led by AAP and the SC Johnson College of Business, the multicollege Department of Design Tech, and the Cornell Mui Ho Center for Cities. The college spans three locations in Ithaca, New York City, and Rome, Italy, each with world-class facilities and cutting-edge technologies.
Cornell AAP is about acts of transformation. We are committed to reimagining and reshaping the world in new ways, every day. A vital college at one of the nation’s foremost research universities, Cornell AAP brings faculty, staff, and students together from around the world to take up some of today’s most urgent challenges and advance research, inquiry, and collaborative approaches to designing, making, and doing that make a more just and resilient future.