Overview:    SUMMARY

The Exploratorium produces and maintains exhibits for its San Francisco campus and for partner institutions around the world. The Director, Exhibit Production is responsible for the overarching operations, administration, and supervision of exhibit and exhibition production - including production specialist staff and Exploratorium facilities / amenities related to exhibit development, production, and maintenance. This position works with project leadership across the institution to integrate exhibit production with development, design, project management, and finance. This position reports to the Senior Director of Exhibits. 

Qualifications:    MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• BA/BS degree or equivalent combination of education and experience in operations management, engineering, manufacturing, construction management, or similar

• Ten years of experience in high mix, low volume manufacturing - specific experience in the field of interactive exhibit / exhibition production a plus

• Five years progressively responsible experience managing and directing the work of others

• Strong understanding of production management best practices across a variety of fields

• Ability to read technical drawings including fabrication, mechanical assembly, and electrical schematics

• Demonstrated experience with use of machine shop equipment, assembly, installation, & electronics

• Demonstrated proficiency with business systems such as Google Workspace, Confluence, Jira, FilemakerPro, Basecamp, and MS Office as well as CAD (Autodesk Inventor, Sketchup), Adobe CS, and web browsing

• Strong ability to work both independently and in a group

• Excellent communication and presentation skills

• Excellent administrative, managerial, and organizational skills 

Job Responsibilities:    ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Oversee production efforts for all exhibit-based projects; continually evolve systems and relationships for efficient production of a fluctuating volume of exhibits and exhibitions for external sales, grant-funded projects, and internal initiatives.

• Track quarterly KPI’s for the Exhibits group, including exhibits produced, staff count, maintenance and refurbishment efforts, and shop operations budget statistics.

• Build and oversee building of estimates for prospective exhibit and exhibition projects using a variety of metrics, including developing and regularly revisiting estimation benchmarks.

• Work with the Senior Director of Exhibits and other department leadership on the allocation of shared resources (e.g. staff, assembly spaces), and the integration of exhibit development and production schedules across projects.

• Develop and oversee production systems and processes, including work orders, purchasing, inventory, logistics, materials storage, data systems, and best practice/standards documentation.

• Supervise senior production support staff, including Production Group Managers and Shop Manager.

• Working with the Senior Director of Exhibits, develop and present shop-specific planning and analysis to institutional stakeholders and upper management.

• With other Exhibits group and project leadership, contribute to outsourced exhibit production efforts, including contract review, production management standards, etc..

• In partnership with the Shop Manager, lead professional development for external clients / partners around the creation of exhibit development shops, including layout and tool selection.

• Possible travel in the US and internationally to help vet vendor partnerships, oversee outsourced production, or participate in exhibition installations.

• Additional duties as assigned.