(Casual Hire) Undergraduate Research Assistant

****Applicants seeking short-term or part-time work with the University of Hawaii may apply for Casual Hire positions which include administrative professional and technical (APT) or Instructional-type positions. Because of the temporary nature of these appointments Casual Hire employees are not eligible for most benefits as provided to regular BOR and Civil Service employees such as paid leave and holidays. Casual Hire appointments may last for up to 89 days for full-time employees and up to one calendar year for part-time employees.****

Title:(Casual Hire) Undergraduate Research Assistant (Mechanical Engineering)

Position Number:*****Casual Hire.

Hiring Unit:College of Engineering Department of Mechanical Engineering

Location:Manoa campus

Date Posted:12/16/2025

Closing Date:01/01/2026

Salary Information:$20/hr

Hours/week: NTE 10 hrs/week

Full Time/Part Time:Part-time

Temporary/Permanent:Temporary

Other Conditions:To beginDecember 22 2025.

This is a temporary position to work on the design fabrication modeling and control of bio-inspired soft robots at the Soft Robotics and Intelligent Machines Laboratory (SAIL) under the guidance of Assistant Professor Tianlu Wang in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Duties and responsibilities for this work are listed below.

Duties and Responsibilities

The casual hire will support ongoing research activities in the design fabrication modeling and control of bio-inspired soft robotic systems. Specific duties include but are not limited to:

• Assist with the mechanical and materials design of small-scale bio-inspired soft robots including soft actuators compliant mechanisms and robotic structures.

• Support fabrication and assembly processes such as soft material casting (e.g. silicone elastomers hydrogels) mold design and preparation and basic benchtop prototyping.

• Conduct experimental testing and characterization of soft robotic components and systems including actuation performance locomotion manipulation and durability.

• Assist with modeling and analysis of soft robotic systems including basic analytical models simulation or data-driven modeling approaches.

• Support control and electronics integration including basic microcontroller programming sensor integration and experimental control setup.

• Help maintain laboratory equipment organize experimental data and document design iterations and experimental results.

• Collaborate with graduate students and faculty in a team-based research environment and participate in regular lab meetings as appropriate.

Minimum Qualifications

• Enrollment in a Bachelors degree program (or higher) in Mechanical Engineering Robotics Bioengineering or a closely related field; students currently pursuing their bachelors degree are eligible.

• Prior hands-on lab-based experience in soft robotics or closely related experimental research demonstrated through coursework research projects internships or independent projects.

• Experience with at least one of the following areas:

  • Soft robotic design and fabrication (e.g. silicone molding compliant mechanisms 3D printing basic machining)

  • Experimental testing of robotic or mechatronic systems

  • Basic modeling or simulation of mechanical or robotic systems

  • Introductory control electronics or programming (e.g. MATLAB Python Arduino ROS or similar)

• Ability to work independently with guidance follow lab safety protocols and maintain organized experimental records.

• Strong motivation to learn attention to detail and ability to collaborate effectively in a research laboratory setting.

To Apply

Click on the Apply button on the top right corner of the screen to complete an application and attach 1) CV/resume 2) transcript and 3) names of 2 professional references (include titleemail and phone number).

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Inquiries:Prof. Tianlu Wang

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