Interactive Media Developer (IT Specialist) (IS-2210-07)

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

New York, NY

Vision , Medical , Dental , Life Insurance , Retirement
Full-Time

Job Description

Description

OPEN DATE: May 2, 2024

CLOSING DATE: May 31, 2024 (This job will close once 100 applications are received which may be sooner than the closing date.)

POSITION TYPE: Trust Fund

APPOINTMENT TYPE: Temporary Not to Exceed One (1) Year

SCHEDULE: Full Time

DUTY LOCATION: New York, NY
Position sensitivity and risk: Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Open to all qualified applicants

What are Trust Fund Positions?

Trust Fund positions are unique to the Smithsonian. They are paid for from a variety of sources, including the Smithsonian endowment, revenue from our business activities, donations, grants and contracts. Trust employees are not part of the civil service, nor does trust fund employment lead to Federal status. The salary ranges for trust positions are generally the same as for federal positions and in many cases trust and federal employees work side by side. Trust employees have their own benefit program and may include Health, Dental & Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Transit/Commuter Benefits, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, Annual and Sick Leave, Family Friendly Leave, 403b Retirement Plan, Discounts for Smithsonian Memberships, Museum Stores and Restaurants, Credit Union, Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (Child Care), Flexible Spending Account (Health & Dependent Care).

Conditions of Employment

Pass Pre-employment Background Check and Subsequent Background Investigation for position designated as low risk.
Complete a Probationary Period
Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer.
The position is open to all candidates eligible to work in the United States. Proof of eligibility to work in U.S. is not required to apply.
Applicants must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

OVERVIEW

This position reports to the Director of Digital and Emerging Media, the Interactive Media Developer (IMD) oversees development, deployment, and maintenance of the museum’s public-facing digital properties and supporting technologies.

As a leading member of Cooper Hewitt’s Digital and Emerging Media team, the IMD supports the departmental mission of delivering strategic and experiential goals across all digital platforms with a focus on human-centered and empathetic design. In collaboration with the Digital and Emerging Media team, the IMD will play a key role in incubating new ideas to stimulate the visitor experience.

The IMD will serve as a key collaborator within Cooper Hewitt’s content generating departments and is essential to the successful operation of a small in-house team that develops, builds, and maintains cooperhewitt.org, collection.cooperhewitt.org, and other digital platforms, including digital signage, in-gallery interactives, and APIs.

The ideal candidate should be comfortable working their way around Unix systems, developing web applications, and have some experience working in both front-end and back-end systems. Proficiency in one is required but empathy for both is a must.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Design, develop, maintain our technical infrastructure and user interfaces.
Create innovative and novel ways of engaging with the museum’s content both online and on interactive interfaces within the museum.
Build working prototypes in code for staff to better understand larger projects/concepts.
Iterate and deploy updates in response to user research and feedback.
Communicate work through publication of Labs/Dev blog, open-source code, research papers, presentations at conferences and workshops.
The Stack
- Our back-end is mostly a LAMP stack with a dash of Python thrown in. Our front-end is built with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. All of that is hosted on Amazon Web Services and Smithsonian owned servers. We also maintain a large WordPress instance for the main cooperhewitt.org website.
- Our in-gallery technology features more Python and heaps of open Frameworks-flavored C++ (running on our snazzy 32”, 55”, and 84” multi-touch tables).
- All our code is hosted both privately and publicly on our GitHub account, which is where we do the bulk of our project management.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

The experience required for the position is as follows:

3-5 years in depth experience developing and maintaining web applications
High degree of proficiency in PHP, SQL, HTML/CSS, Javascript/jQuery
High degree of proficiency on front and back-end application development
Knowledge of Version Control Systems such as Git
Experience deploying code in a production environment
Ability to serve as an advisor and technical authority on matters relating to planning, designing, developing, and implementing complex web applications
Ability to establish productive/collaborative relationships with internal and external partners to produce work of a high quality while under tight deadlines
Ability to take initiative and ownership of project for assignments and responsibilities
Skilled at organizing work so that deadlines are met or exceeded
Capacity to quickly learn new tools and platforms
Interest/knowledge/passion in technology, are and/or design

Applicants, who wish to qualify based on education completed outside the United States, must be deemed equivalent to higher education programs of U.S. Institutions by an organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. This documentation is the responsibility of the applicant and should be included as part of your application package.

Any false statement in your application may result in your application being rejected and may also result in termination after employment begins.

The Smithsonian Institution values and seeks a diverse workforce. Join us in "Inspiring Generations through Knowledge and Discovery."

Resumes should include a description of your paid and non-paid work experience that is related to this job; starting and ending dates of job (month and year); and average number of hours worked per week.

What To Expect Next: Once the vacancy announcement closes, a review of your resume will be compared against the qualification and experience requirements related to this job. After review of applicant resumes is complete, qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager.

Relocation expenses are not paid.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The Smithsonian Institution provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation should contact ZamoraP@si,edu. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. To learn more, please review the Smithsonian’s Accommodation Procedures.

The Smithsonian Institution is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe that a workforce comprising a variety of educational, cultural, and experiential backgrounds support and enhance our daily work life and contribute to the richness of our exhibitions and programs. See Smithsonian EEO program information: www.si.edu/oeema.