Research Administrator 3 - 139421
UC San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
Research Administrator 3
Filing Deadline: Fri 5/8/2026
UC San Diego values and welcomes people from all backgrounds. If you are interested in being part of our team, possess the needed licensure and certifications, and feel that you have most of the qualifications and/or transferable skills for a job opening, we strongly encourage you to apply.
UCSD Layoff from Career Appointment
Apply by 4/27/26 for consideration with preference for rehire. All layoff applicants should contact their Employment Advisor.
Reassignment Applicants
Eligible Reassignment clients should contact their Disability Counselor for assistance.
Union Representation
Both this position, and any future roles in the unit, will be represented by the UAW-RPSP union.
DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW
The Mission of the San Diego Supercomputer Center is to translate innovation into practice. SDSC adopts and partners on innovations in industry and academia in the areas of software, hardware, computational and data sciences, and related areas, and translates them into cyberinfrastructure that solves practical problems across any and all scientific domains and societal endeavors. Cyberinfrastructure refers to an accessible, integrated network of high‑performance computing, data, and networking resources and expertise, focused on accelerating scientific inquiry and discovery. With more than 250 employees and $30‑50M of revenue a year, SDSC is a global leader in the design, development, and operations of cyberinfrastructure.
SDSC supports hundreds of multidisciplinary programs spanning a wide variety of domains, from earth sciences and biology to astrophysics, bioinformatics, and health IT. SDSC presently operates multiple large HPC systems, ranging from a 120k x86 CPU core general‑purpose system to a system explicitly designed for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and a nationally distributed system open for all of academia to integrate with. SDSC offers research data services across the entire vertical stack from universally scalable storage to consulting services on FAIR, Big Data, and AI. SDSC offers a rich set of cloud services, both on‑premise and in the commercial cloud, and as hybrid services across both.
SDSC has three geographic scopes: a national scope supporting cyberinfrastructure for the entire US research and education community, a California scope with a special focus on convergence research that addresses the three dominant threats to CA: Drought, Fire, Earthquakes, and a campus scope focusing on advancing the global impact of SDSC by advancing the research objectives of the UC San Diego faculty, researchers, and students. SDSC impacts researchers at scales from 1,000 to millions. SDSC annually trains thousands of researchers in cyberinfrastructure tools and software, and supports thousands of individual researchers via Unix accounts on its large HPC systems. SDSC was a leader in developing the Science Gateway concept, and continues to be a global leader in its evolution. SDSC operates multiple major gateways with user communities ranging from the tens of thousands to the millions. SDSC's educational programs include online courses that have been attended by more than a million students.
SDSC is committed to democratizing access to cyberinfrastructure across all of its geographic scopes. SDSC strives towards a culture that supports our employees to be their best, achieve their goals, and enjoy their lives, both professionally and personally.
Business Services Division Overview
The Business Services Division of SDSC provides all the administrative functions for the center, as well as certain pooled technical services. The administrative function requires management of all SDSC fiscal resources, which come from over 100 different fund sources, preparation and submission of proposals, management of human resources, management of space and facilities, and the administration of large complex recharges or self‑supporting activities, including Colo, cloud storage, IT Desktop and Systems, and Web/DB operations. The Business Services Division also provides technical services from its Web Application, Database, and Documentation Development group, which offers programming, database administration and documentation services both to SDSC divisions and to individual PIs and awards.
POSITION OVERVIEW
The incumbent will provide analytical and financial support to Principal Investigators (PIs) at the Supercomputer Center in proposal processing, contract and grant administration, and budget development, including pre‑award proposal initiatives, management of funds post‑award, and closeout activities for federal, state, local and private sponsors. Activities include forecasting, planning, and managing research portfolios by coordinating and identifying proposals, contracts, and other agreements; reviewing proposals to ensure institutional compliance; negotiating, administering and monitoring contract and grant awards; financial management and reporting from a variety of campus systems, including Kuali, UCPath, and Oracle Financial; and sub‑award/subcontract issuance and administration.
Type of Proposals: Highly complex proposals involving multiple departments, multiple institutions (sub‑awards), institutional cost‑sharing, institutional commitment proposals; responsive to award agency proposal requirements (RFP, RFA, PA); numerous integrated projects; Program Project or Center applications, Service Agreements and Contracts; extensive variety of agencies; significant and unique reporting requirements; equipment acquisition or fabrication; performance milestones.
Type of Awards: Funds managed will be for awards received as a result of submission of the above proposals. Self‑supporting activities and research recharge operations are large and complex (income > $500,000). Contributions to development of policies and procedures include team leadership and approval or recommendation for approval changes.
Annual Fund Management Duties
Number of proposals submitted: ~30
Dollar amount of proposals submitted: ~$30M total costs
Percentage of proposal types: 50% or more unsolicited, RFA, Center, Contracts, cost‑sharing;
Number of awards managed: 30‑35
Dollar amount of awards managed: $6M direct cost, $2.3M indirect cost for extramural awards.
Percentage of award types: 50% or more standard federal, sub‑award, cost‑sharing, Program Project, Center Grant, LSAs and Contracts;
Post‑award reporting complexity varies depending on the funding agency such as Federal; DARPA, DOD, NIH, NSF and State as well as private and international and University funding type such as agency and/or conference accounts and service agreements.
Number of PIs supported: 10‑15
Additional Complexity/Workload Responsibilities
UCPath funding entry; faculty with joint appointments in Health Sciences; Scripps Institute of Oceanography; Division of Social & Physical Sciences; Jacobs School of Engineering, Physics; proposal submission for faculty appointments held within the above units or Chancellor or VC areas.
For more information, please visit https://www.sdsc.edu/
QUALIFICATIONS
Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training.
Ability to perform complex financial analysis and customized reporting. Experience using Oracle financial or other types of financial reporting applications.
Demonstrated competence in the use of spreadsheet and database software in financial analysis, fiscal management and financial reports. Ability to read and understand the UCSD general ledger produced by General Accounting to interpret into local reports, knowledge of University accounting and purchasing policies and procedures to support the Center's financial structure; knowledge and skill in the use of Oracle financial systems for inquiry and data entry information on purchase orders, travel, and UCPATH on‑line subsystems. Ability to train support staff on these systems.
Ability to review and analyze budgets for funds and appropriateness of expenses against agency regulations. Knowledge of budgeting, accounting principles and bookkeeping to maintain department financial records and produce reports and reconcile discrepancies.
Thorough understanding of research administration guidelines of Federal and non‑Federal sponsors supporting research and educational activities, preferably in a university environment.
Experienced with all types of award mechanisms, including grants, contracts, subcontracts, and cooperative agreements. Maintains current knowledge of compliance regulations in all areas of research administration.
Thorough knowledge of contractual document or proposal formats and requirements of federal, state, and private agencies. Demonstrated skill in collecting cost data for large proposals, including salary information, large equipment acquisition and sub‑award data. Preparing multi‑year proposals with these elements.
Ability to manage significant volume of transactions. Ability to work in a fast‑paced environment with overlapping deadlines and short lead times and maintain a high level of attention to detail, and ability to work with a high degree of accuracy. Ability to identify problems and recommend actions to present to central campus and senior management. Effective problem‑solving skills.
SPECIAL CONDITIONS
Job offer is contingent upon satisfactory clearance based on Background Check results.
Position will be represented by the UAW‑RPSP union.
Pay Transparency Act
Annual Full Pay Range: Unclassified – No data available (will be prorated if the appointment percentage is less than 100%)
Hourly Equivalent: Unclassified – No data available
Factors in determining the appropriate compensation for a role include experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. The hiring pay scale referenced in the job posting is the budgeted salary or hourly range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position. The annual full pay range may be broader than what the University anticipates to pay for this position, based on internal equity, budget, and collective bargaining agreements (when applicable).
To foster the best possible working and learning environment, UC San Diego strives to cultivate a rich and diverse environment, inclusive and supportive of all students, faculty, staff and visitors. For more information, please visit UC San Diego Principles of Community.
The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.
The University of California's Anti-Discrimination Policy, available at https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/Anti-Discrimination
UC San Diego is a smoke and tobacco free environment. Please visit smokefree.ucsd.edu for more information.
Misconduct Disclosure Requirement:
As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts an offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of substantiated misconduct with a previous employer.
a. "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, or discrimination, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC's policies addressing some forms of misconduct:
UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
UC Anti-Discrimination Policy
Abusive Conduct in the Workplace
#J-18808-Ljbffr
Filing Deadline: Fri 5/8/2026
UC San Diego values and welcomes people from all backgrounds. If you are interested in being part of our team, possess the needed licensure and certifications, and feel that you have most of the qualifications and/or transferable skills for a job opening, we strongly encourage you to apply.
UCSD Layoff from Career Appointment
Apply by 4/27/26 for consideration with preference for rehire. All layoff applicants should contact their Employment Advisor.
Reassignment Applicants
Eligible Reassignment clients should contact their Disability Counselor for assistance.
Union Representation
Both this position, and any future roles in the unit, will be represented by the UAW-RPSP union.
DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW
The Mission of the San Diego Supercomputer Center is to translate innovation into practice. SDSC adopts and partners on innovations in industry and academia in the areas of software, hardware, computational and data sciences, and related areas, and translates them into cyberinfrastructure that solves practical problems across any and all scientific domains and societal endeavors. Cyberinfrastructure refers to an accessible, integrated network of high‑performance computing, data, and networking resources and expertise, focused on accelerating scientific inquiry and discovery. With more than 250 employees and $30‑50M of revenue a year, SDSC is a global leader in the design, development, and operations of cyberinfrastructure.
SDSC supports hundreds of multidisciplinary programs spanning a wide variety of domains, from earth sciences and biology to astrophysics, bioinformatics, and health IT. SDSC presently operates multiple large HPC systems, ranging from a 120k x86 CPU core general‑purpose system to a system explicitly designed for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and a nationally distributed system open for all of academia to integrate with. SDSC offers research data services across the entire vertical stack from universally scalable storage to consulting services on FAIR, Big Data, and AI. SDSC offers a rich set of cloud services, both on‑premise and in the commercial cloud, and as hybrid services across both.
SDSC has three geographic scopes: a national scope supporting cyberinfrastructure for the entire US research and education community, a California scope with a special focus on convergence research that addresses the three dominant threats to CA: Drought, Fire, Earthquakes, and a campus scope focusing on advancing the global impact of SDSC by advancing the research objectives of the UC San Diego faculty, researchers, and students. SDSC impacts researchers at scales from 1,000 to millions. SDSC annually trains thousands of researchers in cyberinfrastructure tools and software, and supports thousands of individual researchers via Unix accounts on its large HPC systems. SDSC was a leader in developing the Science Gateway concept, and continues to be a global leader in its evolution. SDSC operates multiple major gateways with user communities ranging from the tens of thousands to the millions. SDSC's educational programs include online courses that have been attended by more than a million students.
SDSC is committed to democratizing access to cyberinfrastructure across all of its geographic scopes. SDSC strives towards a culture that supports our employees to be their best, achieve their goals, and enjoy their lives, both professionally and personally.
Business Services Division Overview
The Business Services Division of SDSC provides all the administrative functions for the center, as well as certain pooled technical services. The administrative function requires management of all SDSC fiscal resources, which come from over 100 different fund sources, preparation and submission of proposals, management of human resources, management of space and facilities, and the administration of large complex recharges or self‑supporting activities, including Colo, cloud storage, IT Desktop and Systems, and Web/DB operations. The Business Services Division also provides technical services from its Web Application, Database, and Documentation Development group, which offers programming, database administration and documentation services both to SDSC divisions and to individual PIs and awards.
POSITION OVERVIEW
The incumbent will provide analytical and financial support to Principal Investigators (PIs) at the Supercomputer Center in proposal processing, contract and grant administration, and budget development, including pre‑award proposal initiatives, management of funds post‑award, and closeout activities for federal, state, local and private sponsors. Activities include forecasting, planning, and managing research portfolios by coordinating and identifying proposals, contracts, and other agreements; reviewing proposals to ensure institutional compliance; negotiating, administering and monitoring contract and grant awards; financial management and reporting from a variety of campus systems, including Kuali, UCPath, and Oracle Financial; and sub‑award/subcontract issuance and administration.
Type of Proposals: Highly complex proposals involving multiple departments, multiple institutions (sub‑awards), institutional cost‑sharing, institutional commitment proposals; responsive to award agency proposal requirements (RFP, RFA, PA); numerous integrated projects; Program Project or Center applications, Service Agreements and Contracts; extensive variety of agencies; significant and unique reporting requirements; equipment acquisition or fabrication; performance milestones.
Type of Awards: Funds managed will be for awards received as a result of submission of the above proposals. Self‑supporting activities and research recharge operations are large and complex (income > $500,000). Contributions to development of policies and procedures include team leadership and approval or recommendation for approval changes.
Annual Fund Management Duties
Number of proposals submitted: ~30
Dollar amount of proposals submitted: ~$30M total costs
Percentage of proposal types: 50% or more unsolicited, RFA, Center, Contracts, cost‑sharing;
Number of awards managed: 30‑35
Dollar amount of awards managed: $6M direct cost, $2.3M indirect cost for extramural awards.
Percentage of award types: 50% or more standard federal, sub‑award, cost‑sharing, Program Project, Center Grant, LSAs and Contracts;
Post‑award reporting complexity varies depending on the funding agency such as Federal; DARPA, DOD, NIH, NSF and State as well as private and international and University funding type such as agency and/or conference accounts and service agreements.
Number of PIs supported: 10‑15
Additional Complexity/Workload Responsibilities
UCPath funding entry; faculty with joint appointments in Health Sciences; Scripps Institute of Oceanography; Division of Social & Physical Sciences; Jacobs School of Engineering, Physics; proposal submission for faculty appointments held within the above units or Chancellor or VC areas.
For more information, please visit https://www.sdsc.edu/
QUALIFICATIONS
Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training.
Ability to perform complex financial analysis and customized reporting. Experience using Oracle financial or other types of financial reporting applications.
Demonstrated competence in the use of spreadsheet and database software in financial analysis, fiscal management and financial reports. Ability to read and understand the UCSD general ledger produced by General Accounting to interpret into local reports, knowledge of University accounting and purchasing policies and procedures to support the Center's financial structure; knowledge and skill in the use of Oracle financial systems for inquiry and data entry information on purchase orders, travel, and UCPATH on‑line subsystems. Ability to train support staff on these systems.
Ability to review and analyze budgets for funds and appropriateness of expenses against agency regulations. Knowledge of budgeting, accounting principles and bookkeeping to maintain department financial records and produce reports and reconcile discrepancies.
Thorough understanding of research administration guidelines of Federal and non‑Federal sponsors supporting research and educational activities, preferably in a university environment.
Experienced with all types of award mechanisms, including grants, contracts, subcontracts, and cooperative agreements. Maintains current knowledge of compliance regulations in all areas of research administration.
Thorough knowledge of contractual document or proposal formats and requirements of federal, state, and private agencies. Demonstrated skill in collecting cost data for large proposals, including salary information, large equipment acquisition and sub‑award data. Preparing multi‑year proposals with these elements.
Ability to manage significant volume of transactions. Ability to work in a fast‑paced environment with overlapping deadlines and short lead times and maintain a high level of attention to detail, and ability to work with a high degree of accuracy. Ability to identify problems and recommend actions to present to central campus and senior management. Effective problem‑solving skills.
SPECIAL CONDITIONS
Job offer is contingent upon satisfactory clearance based on Background Check results.
Position will be represented by the UAW‑RPSP union.
Pay Transparency Act
Annual Full Pay Range: Unclassified – No data available (will be prorated if the appointment percentage is less than 100%)
Hourly Equivalent: Unclassified – No data available
Factors in determining the appropriate compensation for a role include experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. The hiring pay scale referenced in the job posting is the budgeted salary or hourly range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position. The annual full pay range may be broader than what the University anticipates to pay for this position, based on internal equity, budget, and collective bargaining agreements (when applicable).
To foster the best possible working and learning environment, UC San Diego strives to cultivate a rich and diverse environment, inclusive and supportive of all students, faculty, staff and visitors. For more information, please visit UC San Diego Principles of Community.
The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.
The University of California's Anti-Discrimination Policy, available at https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/Anti-Discrimination
UC San Diego is a smoke and tobacco free environment. Please visit smokefree.ucsd.edu for more information.
Misconduct Disclosure Requirement:
As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts an offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of substantiated misconduct with a previous employer.
a. "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, or discrimination, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC's policies addressing some forms of misconduct:
UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
UC Anti-Discrimination Policy
Abusive Conduct in the Workplace
#J-18808-Ljbffr