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SEAL Grant Writing Internship Description 

 

Organization:  

Sensors, Energy, and Automation Laboratory (SEAL) of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) of the University of Washington (UW), Seattle  

 

About Us: 

The Sensors, Energy, and Automation Laboratory conducts research in the areas of medical device design, non-destructive testing, energy, avionics, and plasma flow, especially for public health, national security, energy, and transportation. The team works under the director of SEAL, Professor Alex Mamishev, at UW’s Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. 

 

What We Need: 

Our lab needs passionate writers and editors who can help us prepare research and development (R&D) grant proposals, write persuasive reports, secure funding for meaningful research, edit publications and dissertations, and support the development of a wide variety of fascinating research projects. This is an unpaid position. 

 

Title of Internship:  

Grant Writing Intern (Unpaid) 

 

Location of Internship:    

  • Routine online availability is expected.
  • Optionally, we may hold in-person meetings in the greater Seattle area, but attendance is not required.

 

Expected Experience: 

  • People of any experience level can apply.
  • Must be 18 years or older.
  • Must be skilled in English, communications, writing, and manuscript editing.

 

General Expectations:  

This is an unpaid, online position where you will work from home to assist with the generation of research and development (R&D) grant proposals, technical reports, publications, and other documents related to the needs of an active research lab.  

  • Tasks are assigned digitally over communications software (Slack) and video conferencing (Zoom).
  • A minimum availability of 8 to 12 hours per week.
  • It is preferred that you are available for a portion of time on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 12:00 PM PST to 8 PM PST, although this is not required.

There is an orientation period of 2 weeks to see if the position is a good fit and mutually beneficial. This internship is expected to be a longer-term commitment (at least one year). 

The internship starts immediately—we invite people to join our lab on a rolling basis; apply now! 

 

How to Apply / Contact Us 

Send a 1-page resume and a 2-page cover letter introducing yourself (Do not stress this! Just tell us about yourself, prior experience, what career(s) you are interested in, and what you hope to get out of the position) to SealUWTeam@gmail.com.   

We will process your application within 2 weeks, or earlier.  

 

 

Characteristics of the Intern:    

We are seeking passionate writers who want to learn how to create impactful and persuasive research and development (R&D) grant proposals. This position will train you in every stage of the grant proposal development process to secure project funding. Our lab is a great place to get involved in life-changing research, to get promising biomedical projects funded, and to assist engineers with designing new technologies that help our local community, even while you are practicing self-isolation or social distancing.   

We need from you a willingness to learn, a commitment to being available and dependable, and excellent time management and communication skills. Given this is an online position, you will need to be proactive, reach out for new tasks when you are finished with your current tasks, and stay involved in the end-to-end R&D grant proposal process. There are a lot of steps to learn, and many of these steps are timely. You need to be willing to handle tight deadlines and stressful situations.  

You must be at least 18 years old, and you must have an expert command of the written English language. You must also have reliable access to the Internet, email, and modern Microsoft Office (2016+) software. Although we know you have other commitments, it is expected that you will check online at least once daily, to make sure that there are no urgent tasks. Finally, although we do not expect you to be experienced with grant writing, we do hope that you have some experience with persuasive and/or professional writing. 

 

Specific Duties and Tasks:  

  • Work closely with subject matter experts, professors, and staff to assist with the development of grants.
  • Maintain software tools that organize and sequence the grant writing process.
  • Review online websites and training materials to learn how to write for different technical audiences.
  • Work with the team to identify manuscript weaknesses and areas for improvement.
  • Learn how to write, edit, polish, and then submit research and development grant proposals.
  • Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the team and provide recommendations for how the team can be more successful with the grant writing process.
  • Check lab communication tools at least once a day to stay in touch and to make sure urgent tasks are completed in a timely fashion.
  • Reach out to subject matter experts to coordinate the document development process.
  • Attend tech sessions and join in our active writing sessions.
  • Work with the social media team to assist with lab outreach.

 

Training and Prior Experience:  

We have an extensive online training program that will walk you through all of the stages of developing a grant proposal. We also have a highly dedicated team of writers and engineers who can mentor you on this process. The initial commitment is an orientation period of 5 weeks to see if the position is a good fit. Interns receive on-the-job training and have access to a number of subject matter experts to answer questions.  

 

Benefits of the Position:  

This is not a paid position. However, you will be given the opportunity to practice leadership skills, coordinating meaningful projects in a real-world setting, and learning to write and edit for academic and industry audiences. You will be taught how to create research and development grant proposals, and you will be given opportunities to learn how to bring technologies to market. Upon completion of the internship, contingent on strong and reliable performance, we will provide you with a professional reference and personal introductions in the field. We also may be able to elevate you to a paid position upon the completion of training. All paid position associates in the group started with and initially unpaid position; you will be able to interact with them and study their pathways. 

 

What You Can Learn:  

  • How to collaborate in small and large teams.
  • How to lead projects from start to finish.
  • How to write compelling documents for highly specific audiences.
  • How to utilize software tools to improve expediency and efficiency.
  • How to give presentations.
  • How to reach out to external subject matter experts, doctors, lawyers, and community leaders.
  • How to network and grow a list of contacts.
  • How to market biomedical technologies.
  • How a fast-pace laboratory that develops life-changing biomedical technologies operates.