Senior Manager, Exhibition Interactives

Department: Exhibitions Reports to: Senior Director, AV, Lighting and Interactives Job Type: Full Time–Regular Job Classification: Salaried (Exempt) Workplace Location: Los Angeles – Academy Museum

Summary/Objective: The Senior Manager, Exhibition Interactives oversees project management workflows and budgets, serves as a central voice in project evaluations, and creates in-gallery interactive experiences. Working closely with curators, exhibition designers, and technical partners, this role defines visitor journeys, interactions, and experiences that bring clarity and delight to every touchpoint. The ideal candidate brings a balance of strategic curiosity and craft excellence, with the ability to make complex ideas feel simple and intuitive.

Essential Functions of the Job:

• Project manage interactive experiences that enhance visitor engagement, including in-person digital and analog interactives, online interactive experiences, and AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality), and MR (Mixed Reality) experiences.
• Research and stay current with emerging technologies and trends in the sector to innovate visitor experience. Evaluate current trends regarding their efficacy and impact on audiences.
• Collaborate with exhibition teams, curators, exhibition designers, IT, and educators to integrate interactive projects cohesively into exhibitions and across public spaces at the museum.
• Create and manage project timelines, setting key milestones to ensure projects stay on track and align with exhibition deadlines.
• Manage project budgets, including estimating costs, tracking expenses, and ensuring projects stay within a given budget.
• Manage contracts with vendors, developers, and independent contractors, ensuring clear deliverables and timelines. Oversee relationships with the above coordinating payments and all deliverables.
• Lead evaluation efforts of analog and digital projects to assess impact and inform future projects. Assess effective methods for evaluations, develop recommendations for evaluation methods, implement workflows and timelines, and create summary reports and analysis.
• Make minor technical updates as needed, including editing content in a CMS, adjusting HTML/CSS for web-based interactives, or troubleshooting small functionality issues.
• Ensure accessibility and inclusivity in all interactive experiences, aligning with best practices and institutional standards.
• Train and support staff in the use and overall maintenance of interactive experiences.
• Help grow and inspire audiences, making museum visits more dynamic and memorable for visitors of all types.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Competencies:

• At least 5 years of experience in In-gallery Interactives or related field.
• At least 3 years of work at a museum, gallery, artist studio, or related field.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team.
• Working knowledge of a wide variety of digital interactive hardware used for exhibitions.
• Proficient with PC and Mac OS.
• Knowledge of film and media arts history and technology, including various video and sound formats.
• High fluency in content-related data and analysis through Sprout Social, Google Analytics, and Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Experience pulling and presenting performance reports, deriving actionable insights, and monitoring and optimizing based on key learnings.
• Technical fluency with digital media systems and back-end production processes; ability to troubleshoot, coordinate, guide, and maintain development as needed.
• Ability to prioritize and compartmentalize duties.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Enthusiasm, commitment, open­ mindedness, and integrity.
• The capacity to work quickly, precisely, and efficiently under deadlines.
• Availability with varying schedules, including nights, weekends, and holidays.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain accuracy and attention to detail in a fast-paced environment, including the ability to identify issues and communicate them clearly to a supervisor.
• Experience with networking, Media Servers, hosting sites, and associated software.
• Ability to create clear and compelling UX documentation, including user flows and interactive prototypes.
• Ability to leverage analytics, user testing, and customer insights to inform, validate, and refine design decisions.
• Ability to guide the user experience direction for a broad audience, advocating for user needs throughout the project lifecycle.
• Ability to iterate on designs rapidly based on feedback, research, and evolving project needs.

Physical Demands:

• Ability to safely climb and work on ladders.
• Ability to move throughout the work area as needed to perform the essential functions of the position.
• Ability to work with paints, cleansers, and other similar products.
• Ability to work in environments where dust may be present.
• Ability to work safely in a variety of work conditions, including an active construction site.

Required Vaccination: Full vaccination against COVID-19 is required, including any booster vaccinations as applicable. Exception: Medical and religious accommodations approved by the Office of People & Culture.

Compensation: The base salary range for this role is $85,000.00 - $88,000.00. The actual base pay offered will be determined by factors such as experience, skills, training, location, certifications, education, and other factors permitted by law. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Our Benefits:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• 15 days of PTO, plus company-paid holidays.
• Additional time off, including summer hours, winter hours, and a cultural floating holiday.
• Paid sick leave
• Paid parental leave
• 401k retirement plan with a company match.
• Clean Air Commuter Program
• Employee Assistance Program through CompPsych Guidance Resources.
• Wellness benefits through Cigna Healthcare.
• Free access to 16,000+ online courses through LinkedIn Learning.
• Free Academy membership screenings.
• Free tickets and screenings at the Academy Museum.
• Employee discounts through LifeMart and Working Advantage.

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