Description
SUMMARY
The Online Media (OM) group is a team of creative thinkers and
makers that designs, develops, and maintains the Exploratorium website, online
experiences, and mobile applications that support the Exploratorium’s mission
of igniting curiosity and inspiring creativity in people of all ages. As a
member of this team, the Senior Digital Specialist is responsible for design
and development of new projects and ongoing support for the Exploratorium’s
website. Responsibilities include designing and developing educational web
resources and web content. The candidate should have strong visual and UX
design abilities, advanced web content development skills, and demonstrated
proficiency with common web page markup languages. The Senior Digital
Specialist position is located in the Online Media group within the Exhibits
& Media Studio and reports directly to the Director of Online Media.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
· Execution:
o
Under minimal supervision, design, develop, and maintain digital
experiences, resources, and software for online platforms including websites
and applications, web publishing content management system customizations
(Drupal & WordPress), and mobile applications.
o
Establish design principles, style guides, and best practices in
technology and workflow.
· Idea Generation:
Contribute innovative ideas to a team creating diverse digital products.
· Iteration: Incorporate feedback
from visitors, evaluators, and other staff to improve products
· Collaboration:
Cooperatively and creatively work with scientists, artists, educators,
researchers, writers, graphic designers, web developers, project managers,
project directors, and other staff.
· Creative problem-solving: Take
an active role in addressing complex communication and information design
challenges of online media.
· Flexibility: Adapt
to project constraints with proactive solutions; work comfortably and
productively on a range of projects including grant-based work, research and
development initiatives, institutional communications, marketing, and special
exhibitions.
· Judgement: Show strong creative
discernment and good discipline in design and execution. Respond to internal
collaborators’ needs while balancing UX considerations.
· Project Management:
Manage complex web projects involving multiple stakeholders.
· Documentation:
Document project/product development and designs, and create product user
guides.
· Mentorship:
Mentor junior designer/developers.
· Other
duties as assigned.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
· Bachelor’s
degree in conceptual design, interactive multimedia, user experience design,
visual arts, or other related field, or equivalent experience.
· Minimum
8 years’ experience designing and/or developing websites or applications,
preferably in a museum or informal education environment.
· Demonstrated
proficiency developing web content including web pages and interactives with
HTML5 and CSS3.
· Experience
with server-side programming languages (PHP).
· Development
experience with Drupal, Wordpress or other content management systems.
· Experience
with common open-source Javascript frameworks and tools.
· Experience
with user-centered design methods.
· Proficiency
working with commercial and open-source APIs and software libraries.
· Proficiency
with software development processes including analysis, design, prototyping,
debugging, and testing.
· Experience
using source code control with Git and remote repository management.
· Excellent
knowledge of web browsers, cookie handling, and session management.
· Proficiency
working in a mixed platform environment with Macintosh, Windows, mobile
browsers on the client side and Unix/Linux on the server side.
· Experience
using VPNs and secure file transfer protocols.
· Excellent
documentation creation / revision skills.
· Excellent
analytical abilities.
· Talent
for collaboration and effective teamwork, and demonstrated ability to work with
people at all levels of an organization.
· Excellent
communication and interpersonal skills.
· Ability
to work on multiple projects and problems simultaneously with minimal
supervision.
· Willingness
to learn new programming languages and tools.
ADDITIONAL
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
· Competency
with SEO, web audience analytics and user survey data collection.
· Experience
developing mobile applications for iOS and/or Android.
· Experience
with dynamic data and interactive visualizations.
APPLICATION DEADLINE
This position is open until filled
HOW TO APPLY
This
is a regular, full-time (37.5 hours per week), exempt, union position
that includes benefits. Please, no phone
calls in regards to this job. To apply, please visit the Exploratorium job
page.
The Exploratorium is proud to be an
equal opportunity employer and values diversity, inclusion and respect. We welcome
and strongly encourage applicants from all backgrounds. All qualified
applicants will receive consideration for employment.