On-Call Exhibit Technician/Senior Exhibit Technician

Exploratorium•San Francisco, CA

5d•$38 - $41•Hybrid

About The Position

We are hiring for either an On-Call Exhibit Technician or On-Call Senior Exhibit Technician depending on experience. The position requires both collaborative work within project teams as well as independent work with supervision. An ability to work from schematics, sketches, or verbal descriptions is required. Willingness to work within project constraints is a must. The position reports to the Exhibit Technical Group Manager, but works closely with Exhibit Developers, Exhibit Engineers, and project management. The Senior Exhibit Technician position differs from the Exhibit Technician position in its emphasis on self-direction and independent construction of high-quality exhibits.

Requirements

BA/BS degree or equivalent combination of education and experience, preferably in engineering or design.
Basic shop knowledge: wood, metal, and plastic fabrication; prototyping and fabrication of exhibits using appropriate production methods; follow safety standards.
Ability to effectively communicate ideas and concepts through hand sketching, basic drawing skills preferred.
Experience with Autodesk Inventor plus working knowledge of AutoCAD, wiki-based platforms, MS Word & Excel preferred.
Ability to collaborate as part of an effective team.
Comfortable taking direction and mentoring from senior shop staff, senior engineers, and project leadership.
Sense of value and efficiency as expressed in effectiveness of solutions, use of materials, and personal time management.
Ability to adhere to budgets and timelines for individual exhibits and projects, and to proactively communicate expected variances.
Interest in science and teaching a plus.
Minimum five years’ prior fabrication/assembly/construction experience – preferably of exhibits or experiential marketing type products.
Ability to effectively communicate ideas and concepts through hand sketching, advanced drawing skills preferred.
Talent for collaboration and effective teamwork, and demonstrated ability to work with people at all levels of an organization.
Ability to work on multiple projects and problems simultaneously with minimal supervision.
Excellent sense of value and efficiency as expressed in effectiveness of solutions, use of materials, and personal time management.
Ability to adhere to budgets and timelines for individual exhibits and projects, and to proactively communicate expected variances.

Nice To Haves

Experience with fabrication/assembly/construction of wooden exhibit components or wood furnishings/cabinetry; working knowledge of production woodworking
Experience with software/microcontroller programming; basic coding skill in Processing and Arduino or related code base; basic physical computing and circuitry skills

Responsibilities

Fabricate and maintain educational interactive exhibits.
Facilitate the construction of exhibits from initial prototypes to completed exhibits.
Maintain and improve existing exhibits.
Provide support for the installation of temporary and regular exhibitions at the museum.
Deliver high-quality exhibit construction across a number of projects under the direction of project leadership.
Implement a wide variety of practical and innovative building strategies.
Work to find creative ways to integrate appropriate technologies into our current system.
Contribute to the general museum operations, including shop maintenance, exhibit maintenance, material ordering and stocking, and equipment ordering.
Adapt to project constraints with proactive solutions.
Work comfortably and productively on a range of projects from prototypes to highly-finished, turn-key exhibits.
Make timely exhibit construction and maintenance decisions.
Show strong creative discernment and good discipline around choice of forms, materials, and processes.
Other duties as assigned.