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Caltech

Lead Telescope Assembly Technician

Location

Pasadena, CA

Wage

$41.5 – $64.5/hr

Employment Type

Full-time

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Posted on November 12, 2026

Job Description

Overview

Caltech is a world-renowned science and engineering institute seeking an experienced Lead Telescope Assembly Technician to support the reassembly and refurbishment of the Leighton Telescope. The successful candidate will demonstrate strong technical expertise, leadership capability, and advanced problem-solving skills in a dynamic, field-based environment.

Responsibilities

  • Perform complex mechanical assembly and subsystem integration.
  • Lead day-to-day field operations including planning and task assignment.
  • Provide technical direction to technicians and contractors.
  • Interpret and apply engineering drawings and specifications.
  • Serve as liaison between engineers and field team.
  • Coordinate and support rigging and crane operations.
  • Perform general shop work including cleaning, painting, metalworking, and woodworking.
  • Troubleshoot and resolve technical issues.
  • Review work for quality and compliance and identify and report defects.
  • Ensure proper documentation of all work.
  • Document assembly procedures and results.
  • Maintain a safe and clean work environment.
  • Operate telehandler and manlift.

Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related technical field with at least 8 years of relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
  • Demonstrated experience independently troubleshooting complex mechanical systems and providing technical direction on large-scale assembly and integration projects.
  • Extensive experience in telescopes, mechanical assembly of large systems or fabrication.
  • Experience leading technical teams.
  • Strong understanding of engineering drawings.
  • Ability to troubleshoot complex systems.
  • Strong attention to detail, coordination and communication skills.
  • Spanish language proficiency.
  • Valid driver’s license.

Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • PTO

Additional Information

  • Ability to lift up to 16 kg (35 lb).
  • Ability to climb ladders and work at height.
  • Outdoor workyard environment.
  • Initial assembly site at approximately 2900 m (9500 ft) altitude.
  • Deployment site at approximately 5115 m (16800 ft) altitude.
  • Work conducted in a remote location (San Pedro de Atacama, Chile).

Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
PTO
Apply for This Position

How this job compares in Pasadena, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $53/hr, this posting lands within a few percent of the $51/hr median for lead welder jobs across California, whose middle half runs $40–$63/hr across 14 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 57% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. In other words it is a market-rate offer, so benefits, overtime, and shift schedule are where the real difference between this and the next posting on the list shows up.

The local market in Pasadena, CA

Pasadena, CA currently has 7 other active welding openings besides this one, spread across 4 employers. 1 of them was added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 505 other active welding openings from 239 employers. That's enough local activity to be worth comparing two or three offers before committing. Browse every welding job in Pasadena, or widen the search to California.

The most active employers in California at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are SpaceX (37), Relativity Space (18), and Welding Shop in Los Angeles, CA (13). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within California, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are El Segundo at $53/hr, Los Angeles at $51/hr, and Long Beach at $49/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

Similar openings near Pasadena, CA

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Lead Telescope Assembly Technician figures were last recalculated when this page was built.