Senior Technical Manager

The Metropolitan Museum of Art•The Met Fifth Avenue, NY

11d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Technical Manager, Production Operations is a senior operational leader within Audio Visual & Media Services (AVMS), responsible for overseeing museum-wide event production operations, production staffing strategy, technical standards, and workforce coordination. This position leads the planning, staffing, and execution of the AVMS portfolio across hundreds of events annually at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, including Met Live Arts performances, lectures, symposia, educational programs, donor events, Board of Trustees meetings, screenings, institutional meetings, and special events. Working closely with AVMS leadership, Technical Managers, union technicians, museum stakeholders, and external vendors, the Senior Technical Manager ensures that AVMS operates through documented systems, consistent standards, and sustainable staffing models while maintaining compliance with Museum policies, labor agreements, and safety requirements.

Requirements

8-10+ years of progressively responsible experience in live event production, performing arts production, audiovisual services, museum operations, or related fields.
3-5 years of supervisory or management experience.
Expert knowledge of professional audio, video, projection, lighting, livestreaming, presentation, and event-production technologies, including troubleshooting, system integration, signal flow, and live-event operations.
Demonstrated experience leading technical teams and managing complex production operations.
Experience working within unionized environments and collective bargaining frameworks.
Experience with event scheduling, resource planning, and workforce management.
Strong organizational and operational planning skills.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to manage multiple high-priority projects simultaneously.
Availability for frequent evening and weekend work as operational needs require.

Nice To Haves

Experience in museums, performing arts organizations, cultural institutions, or higher education preferred.
Experience with Artifax, Lasso, Workday, Microsoft 365, AutoCAD, QLab, and production-management software preferred.
Budgeting, procurement, and vendor management experience preferred.
Experience developing operational procedures and service-delivery standards preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead assigned production portfolios including Met Live Arts, Musical Instruments, film screenings, high-profile initiatives, and other museum-wide productions, serving as the senior technical authority from planning through post-event reconciliation.
Provide technical leadership and oversight for complex productions, including audio, video, projection, lighting, livestreaming, networking, show control, and presentation technologies.
Evaluate and approve technical designs, system configurations, signal flows, equipment deployment, and production approaches.
Oversee production operations and execution, ensuring appropriate staffing, technical planning, documentation, run-of-show development, risk management, troubleshooting, and adherence to AVMS standards and museum best practices.
Provide operational leadership and escalation support to Technical Managers and production teams, resolving complex technical, staffing, stakeholder, and service-delivery challenges while ensuring successful outcomes for high-profile and high-risk events.
Lead workforce and staffing management for assigned portfolios, including staffing strategy, scheduling, hiring, onboarding, training, payroll review, performance management, workload balancing, and effective use of Outlook, Lasso, Artifax, Workday, and related operational systems.
Ensure labor, HR, and regulatory compliance by applying Collective Bargaining Agreements, organizational policies, and HR procedures, partnering with HR as necessary.
Oversee operational systems, documentation, and controls, ensuring event records, staffing information, production documentation, metrics, and reporting are complete and accurate.
Manage financial and administrative operations including procurement, vendor relationships, event expenses, quotes, invoices, budgets, etc. while providing operational input into equipment lifecycle planning, capital projects, technology roadmaps, and infrastructure modernization.
Drive technical and operational improvement by identifying opportunities to enhance AV infrastructure, production workflows, staffing models, equipment standards, and service delivery.
Build strong cross-functional partnerships and stakeholder relationships with Audience Engagement, Education, Met Live Arts, Curatorial, Special Events, Security, Facilities and more as needed.

Benefits

Medical, dental, vision and life insurance
403(b) basic retirement plan and optional matching retirement plan with an outstanding employer match
Considerable paid time off, including annual leave, sick leave, and 13 Museum holidays
Long-term disability coverage
Flexible Spending Accounts & Health Savings Account (pre-tax income for eligible health care expenses)
Commuter benefits (pre-tax income for parking or mass transit expenses)
Free financial-planning services
Financial assistance for relevant coursework, seminars, and training programs
25% discount for staff in Museum shops
A subsidized staff cafeteria
Access to the Museums Council pass, which grants free admission to various museums and cultural institutions