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Antarctica is one of the most remote and inhospitable places on Earth—and, therefore, it’s somewhere you absolutely don’t want to get stuck. Scientists at McMurdo Station, the main American research station on the continent, rely on a fleet of snowmobiles, trucks, and aircraft to get around. And they need mechanics to keep those vehicles running.
Amentum, a government contractor that helps staff McMurdo Station, currently has a number of job openings for mechanics at the remote site. A typical one, for a light-vehicle and snowmobile mechanic, requires a minimum two years’ experience in vehicle maintenance and repair, although technical-school training, ASE certification, and experience working at a dealership and/or in a polar environment are preferred.
Because you’ll be part of one of the most isolated communities on the planet, responsibilities will extend beyond wrenching. Mechanics also must pitch in with chores and cleaning up around the station, which is manned year-round and serves as the main gateway for U.S.-backed expeditions to the South Pole and other parts of the Antarctic interior. Below-zero temperatures make for challenging operating conditions for vehicles, and combine with months-long cycles of continuous daytime or nighttime to make things extra difficult for humans.
Good social skills are likely a plus as well. The only direct connections to the outside world are via a 2,440-mile flight to New Zealand’s Christchurch Airport and the occasional resupply ship. McMurdo boasts the world’s southernmost harbor, but it usually requires an icebreaker to reach. And even those specially-designed ships can’t always make it through.
If none of that is a dealbreaker, you’ll need to pass a company drug screening and background check, as well as a second background check and a physical for the federal government’s National Science Foundation (NSF), which operates McMurdo Station as part of the United States Antarctic Program (USAP).
In spite (or perhaps because) of the harsh climate, Antarctica has attracted its share of vehicular adventurers. Just last year the Transglobal Car Expedition crossed the continent as part of a circumnavigation of the globe in modified Ford Super Duty trucks. One of those trucks stalled 700 miles from the South Pole, but the crew eventually got it going again. The crew of the Snow Cruiser, a purpose-built exploration vehicle sent to Antarctica in 1939, wasn’t so lucky. They were forced to abandon it to the ice.
Stephen has always been passionate about cars, and managed to turn that passion into a career as a freelance automotive journalist. When he’s not covering all things tech for The Drive, you can find him looking for a new book to read.
