{"schemaVersion":"jobsearcher.job.v1","id":"78af845f2382efb0cf15a07d","url":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/78af845f2382efb0cf15a07d","canonicalUrl":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/78af845f2382efb0cf15a07d","title":"Associate Director, Creative Technology","description":"About the California Academy of Sciences\r\nFounded in 1853, the California Academy of Sciences is a globally renowned, AZA-accredited non-profit scientific and cultural institution located in the heart of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Home to a world-class planetarium, aquarium, rainforest, research institute, and natural history museum—all under one living roof—our mission is to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration.\r\nOur living collection reflects Earth’s vast biodiversity, consisting of nearly 60,000 animals representing over 800 species. Our research collections are the largest west of the Mississippi, spanning nearly 46 million plants, animals, fossils, and cultural artifacts from across the globe and throughout history. Our diverse team includes leading biodiversity scientists, educators, storytellers, designers, and communicators who are passionate about advancing knowledge and catalyzing action through science and storytelling.\r\nWhether you're conducting research behind the scenes or engaging the public on the museum floor, your work will help connect people to the natural world and empower them to protect it.\r\nOrganizational Culture\r\nWhen you join the California Academy of Sciences, you become part of a mission-driven community that values curiosity, collaboration, and innovation, and celebrates its accomplishments together. Staff share a commitment to executing a new strategic plan that will strengthen the organization’s financial foundations, cultivate a vibrant internal culture, and foster smart growth to secure the Academy’s future.\r\nWe hope you are inspired by what we do and are motivated to contribute to our mission. The Academy is looking for candidates who do great work, and we know they may come from a number of different backgrounds and experiences. We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every qualification for the position.\r\nThis position is based in San Francisco, California. The specific onsite/hybrid schedule for this position is listed below.\r\nPosition Summary\r\nThe Associate Director, Creative Technology will help shape the future of museum experiences at the California Academy of Sciences. Leading the Experience Studio’s Creative Technology function, they will set the creative and technical vision for bold new experiences—from groundbreaking immersive exhibitions and interactive environments to new experiences in the Morrison Planetarium.\r\nThis is an opportunity to shape a next‑generation museum: responsive, playful, transformative, and deeply connected to the natural world. The role will focus heavily on innovation, using creative coding, AI, physical computing, real‑time media, projection, spatial audio, and emerging technologies to turn ambitious ideas into unforgettable visitor experiences.\r\nReporting to the Senior Director of Experience, the Associate Director will build and lead a talented multidisciplinary team and partner with a broad network of technology partners. They will bring together the Academy’s deep expertise with new capabilities, collaborators, and ways of working to create a new generation of visitor experiences, while ensuring systems remain reliable, sustainable, and ready to evolve.\r\nWhat You’ll Get to Build\r\nAt the California Academy of Sciences, the Creative Technology team invents experiences that have never existed before, such as:\r\nImmersive and interactive installations where visitors explore phenomena from ocean ecosystems to microscopic worlds through computer vision, motion tracking, sensing technologies, and physical computing.\r\nMorrison Planetarium experiences that combine large‑format projection, real‑time visualization, spatial audio, media playback, and show‑control systems.\r\nReal‑time generative media and physical‑digital hybrids combining lighting, projection, sound, software, and mechanical systems.\r\nExperimental prototypes and reusable technology platforms that test new forms of science storytelling before scaling into full exhibitions.\r\nWith more than a million visitors each year, the Academy serves as a living laboratory for building, testing, operating, and refining immersive science experiences.\r\nHow We Work\r\nThe Experience Studio operates like a creative lab. Our team prototypes early, tests ideas with visitors, and iterates quickly, combining in‑house engineering and development expertise with a curated network of creative technology collaborators.\r\nThis role has the freedom and responsibility to explore new tools, shape the technical direction of major visitor experiences, and establish the systems and practices that keep them working over time. The Associate Director is both a strategist and a maker–equally comfortable setting a multi‑year technology roadmap, guiding a large‑scale installation, reviewing a planetarium systems plan, and diving into code, sensors, controls, or real‑time media experiments.\r\nPosition Duties and Responsbilities\r\nNew Experience Development – Primary Focus\r\nServe as Creative Technology Lead on major exhibition, immersive, interactive, and planetarium initiatives from early visioning and technical concepting through development, integration, installation, commissioning, launch, and operational handoff.\r\nDrive velocity and team ambition by collaborating with colleagues during early exhibit discovery and ideation, producing proof‑of‑concept examples, rapid hardware/software sketches, and helping to inspire new thinking about exhibit possibilities, helping risks to be understood by the broader team long before design decisions become fixed.\r\nLead hands‑on prototyping, iterative development, and visitor testing to ensure experiences are engaging, accessible, high‑performing, maintainable, and durable in a high‑volume public environment.\r\nForeground emerging technologies, including computer vision, projection mapping, touchless interaction, generative AI, AR/VR/XR, and physical computing, with a critical, audience‑centered focus on advancing the Academy’s mission.\r\nOversee technical deliverables—including system architectures, specifications, interaction flows, network requirements, commissioning plans, and operational documentation—and direct specialized studios, contractors, integrators, and vendors from scope development and proposal evaluation through performance management and delivery.\r\nEngage with subject matter experts in the sciences to develop novel experience technologies for the Academy which help make knowledge about our natural world exciting and accessible to a general audience.\r\nOther duties as assigned.\r\nStrategic Leadership & Team Management\r\nLead the Creative Technology function within the Experience Studio, setting its vision, priorities, and ways of working; partner across planetarium, exhibitions, science, and operations to deliver a cohesive, ambitious visitor experience vision as the accountable strategic lead for public‑facing technology.\r\nDevelop and maintain a multi‑year technology roadmap integrating new experience development, system lifecycle needs, capital planning, and institutional priorities; clearly communicate opportunities, risks, tradeoffs, budgets, and investment recommendations to leadership and non‑technical stakeholders.\r\nManage, coach, and develop a multidisciplinary team of creative technologists, electronic engineers, and planetarium engineers, balancing capacity between ambitious new work and the reliable operation of existing systems.\r\nFoster a culture of experimentation, creative risk‑taking, technical excellence, accountability, and continuous learning.\r\nPublic Experience Systems & Lifecycle Management\r\nOversee the technology portfolio supporting public experiences, providing strategic leadership for systems across exhibition interactives and Morrison Planetarium—including projection, visualization, immersive media, sensors, and supporting infrastructure—to ensure reliable daily operation.\r\nEstablish standards and practices for preventive maintenance, monitoring, troubleshooting, incident response, documentation, backups, spares, configuration management, testing, commissioning, and operational handoff.\r\nAssess condition, obsolescence, cybersecurity dependencies, vendor support, and technical risk; develop prioritized multi‑year upgrade, replacement, and capital‑investment plans that minimize visitor impact and are fully supportable in daily operations.\r\nMaintain effective service relationships and support agreements with vendors, integrators, fabricators, and specialized contractors; track reliability, maintenance performance, system health, and readiness to inform priorities and investment decisions.\r\nFollow Academy safety regulations and institutional policies, and perform other duties as assigned.\r\nQualifications\r\nExperience and/or Education:\r\nRequired and Preferred:\r\nProfessional Experience & Leadership:10+ years in creative technology and immersive media, including 3–5 years in technical leadership; proven ability to deliver complex, large‑scale public experiences—such as museum exhibitions or planetariums—utilizing real‑time media, interactive environments, and physical computing through full project lifecycles.\r\nEducation: Bachelor’s degree in a relevant technical or design field required; advanced degree preferred.\r\nSkills and Abilities\r\nRequired and Preferred:\r\nInnovation & Emerging Technology:Demonstrated experience developing and implementing innovative experiences, including immersive and emerging technology formats, across the visitor journey—from pre‑visit engagement through the on‑site experience and post‑visit connection.\r\nStrategic Leadership & Lifecycle Management:Drive creative technology strategy and team culture while leading the full lifecycle of complex initiatives— from roadmaps, budgets, and risk assessment to maintenance, upgrades, and operational handoff.\r\nIndustry Relationships and Resource Development:Demonstrated ability to develop collaborator networks across multiple industries and areas of research, always seeking to identify new opportunities for innovation in Academy experiences and tools.\r\nCommunication and Collaboration:Proven ability to facilitate productive, efficient collaboration across diverse roles including administration, data science, creative, physical/natural science, engineering architecture and fabrication disciplines, both internally and externally.\r\nTechnical Expertise:Demonstrate deep knowledge of real‑time development (e.g., Unity, Unreal, TouchDesigner), interactive systems, physical computing, generative AI, and AV/projection integration, with familiarity in planetarium environments.\r\nTechnical Proficiency:Possess fluency in modern programming languages (e.g., Python, C++, JS) and essential collaboration software (e.g., Asana, Google Workspace).\r\nPhysical Environment\r\nTo perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.\r\nAbility to transport up to 30 lbs, stand or walk exhibit floors, review installations, and participate in on‑site fabrication and installation activities as needed.\r\nFrequent use of a computer and participation in in‑person and virtual meetings.\r\nCompensation and Benefits\r\nThe salary range for this position is $150,000 - 165,000. Actual compensation will be commensurate with the final candidate's qualifications and experience, including skills, knowledge, relevant education, certifications and aligned with the internal peer group. We believe in fair and equitable compensation practices and are committed to providing competitive salaries within the industry and market standards. The Academy offers a total compensation package that emphasizes both base salary and comprehensive benefits based on the hours per week worked. Further details regarding compensation and benefits will be discussed during the interview process.\r\nHybrid, 3 days / week onsite, 40 hours per week\r\nThe California Academy of Sciences will give full consideration for employment to all qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of theSan Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance(SF Police Code, Article 49).#J-18808-Ljbffr","company":"Socketdev","rawCompany":"socketdev","city":"Millbrae","state":"CA","isRemote":false,"isActive":false,"createdAt":"2026-09-16T01:08:06.413Z","occupations":[{"code":"11-9121.00","title":"Natural Sciences Managers","slug":"natural-sciences-managers"},{"code":"11-3021.00","title":"Computer and Information Systems Managers","slug":"computer-and-information-systems-managers"},{"code":"15-1221.00","title":"Computer and Information Research Scientists","slug":"computer-and-information-research-scientists"}],"industries":[{"code":"541715","title":"Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)","slug":"research-and-development-in-the-physical-engineering-and-life-sciences-except-nanotechnology-and-biotechnology"},{"code":"712110","title":"Museums","slug":"museums"},{"code":"611310","title":"Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools","slug":"colleges-universities-and-professional-schools"}],"jobPosting":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"JobPosting","title":"Associate Director, Creative Technology","description":"About the California Academy of Sciences\r\nFounded in 1853, the California Academy of Sciences is a globally renowned, AZA-accredited non-profit scientific and cultural institution located in the heart of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Home to a world-class planetarium, aquarium, rainforest, research institute, and natural history museum—all under one living roof—our mission is to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration.\r\nOur living collection reflects Earth’s vast biodiversity, consisting of nearly 60,000 animals representing over 800 species. Our research collections are the largest west of the Mississippi, spanning nearly 46 million plants, animals, fossils, and cultural artifacts from across the globe and throughout history. Our diverse team includes leading biodiversity scientists, educators, storytellers, designers, and communicators who are passionate about advancing knowledge and catalyzing action through science and storytelling.\r\nWhether you're conducting research behind the scenes or engaging the public on the museum floor, your work will help connect people to the natural world and empower them to protect it.\r\nOrganizational Culture\r\nWhen you join the California Academy of Sciences, you become part of a mission-driven community that values curiosity, collaboration, and innovation, and celebrates its accomplishments together. Staff share a commitment to executing a new strategic plan that will strengthen the organization’s financial foundations, cultivate a vibrant internal culture, and foster smart growth to secure the Academy’s future.\r\nWe hope you are inspired by what we do and are motivated to contribute to our mission. The Academy is looking for candidates who do great work, and we know they may come from a number of different backgrounds and experiences. We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every qualification for the position.\r\nThis position is based in San Francisco, California. The specific onsite/hybrid schedule for this position is listed below.\r\nPosition Summary\r\nThe Associate Director, Creative Technology will help shape the future of museum experiences at the California Academy of Sciences. Leading the Experience Studio’s Creative Technology function, they will set the creative and technical vision for bold new experiences—from groundbreaking immersive exhibitions and interactive environments to new experiences in the Morrison Planetarium.\r\nThis is an opportunity to shape a next‑generation museum: responsive, playful, transformative, and deeply connected to the natural world. The role will focus heavily on innovation, using creative coding, AI, physical computing, real‑time media, projection, spatial audio, and emerging technologies to turn ambitious ideas into unforgettable visitor experiences.\r\nReporting to the Senior Director of Experience, the Associate Director will build and lead a talented multidisciplinary team and partner with a broad network of technology partners. They will bring together the Academy’s deep expertise with new capabilities, collaborators, and ways of working to create a new generation of visitor experiences, while ensuring systems remain reliable, sustainable, and ready to evolve.\r\nWhat You’ll Get to Build\r\nAt the California Academy of Sciences, the Creative Technology team invents experiences that have never existed before, such as:\r\nImmersive and interactive installations where visitors explore phenomena from ocean ecosystems to microscopic worlds through computer vision, motion tracking, sensing technologies, and physical computing.\r\nMorrison Planetarium experiences that combine large‑format projection, real‑time visualization, spatial audio, media playback, and show‑control systems.\r\nReal‑time generative media and physical‑digital hybrids combining lighting, projection, sound, software, and mechanical systems.\r\nExperimental prototypes and reusable technology platforms that test new forms of science storytelling before scaling into full exhibitions.\r\nWith more than a million visitors each year, the Academy serves as a living laboratory for building, testing, operating, and refining immersive science experiences.\r\nHow We Work\r\nThe Experience Studio operates like a creative lab. Our team prototypes early, tests ideas with visitors, and iterates quickly, combining in‑house engineering and development expertise with a curated network of creative technology collaborators.\r\nThis role has the freedom and responsibility to explore new tools, shape the technical direction of major visitor experiences, and establish the systems and practices that keep them working over time. The Associate Director is both a strategist and a maker–equally comfortable setting a multi‑year technology roadmap, guiding a large‑scale installation, reviewing a planetarium systems plan, and diving into code, sensors, controls, or real‑time media experiments.\r\nPosition Duties and Responsbilities\r\nNew Experience Development – Primary Focus\r\nServe as Creative Technology Lead on major exhibition, immersive, interactive, and planetarium initiatives from early visioning and technical concepting through development, integration, installation, commissioning, launch, and operational handoff.\r\nDrive velocity and team ambition by collaborating with colleagues during early exhibit discovery and ideation, producing proof‑of‑concept examples, rapid hardware/software sketches, and helping to inspire new thinking about exhibit possibilities, helping risks to be understood by the broader team long before design decisions become fixed.\r\nLead hands‑on prototyping, iterative development, and visitor testing to ensure experiences are engaging, accessible, high‑performing, maintainable, and durable in a high‑volume public environment.\r\nForeground emerging technologies, including computer vision, projection mapping, touchless interaction, generative AI, AR/VR/XR, and physical computing, with a critical, audience‑centered focus on advancing the Academy’s mission.\r\nOversee technical deliverables—including system architectures, specifications, interaction flows, network requirements, commissioning plans, and operational documentation—and direct specialized studios, contractors, integrators, and vendors from scope development and proposal evaluation through performance management and delivery.\r\nEngage with subject matter experts in the sciences to develop novel experience technologies for the Academy which help make knowledge about our natural world exciting and accessible to a general audience.\r\nOther duties as assigned.\r\nStrategic Leadership & Team Management\r\nLead the Creative Technology function within the Experience Studio, setting its vision, priorities, and ways of working; partner across planetarium, exhibitions, science, and operations to deliver a cohesive, ambitious visitor experience vision as the accountable strategic lead for public‑facing technology.\r\nDevelop and maintain a multi‑year technology roadmap integrating new experience development, system lifecycle needs, capital planning, and institutional priorities; clearly communicate opportunities, risks, tradeoffs, budgets, and investment recommendations to leadership and non‑technical stakeholders.\r\nManage, coach, and develop a multidisciplinary team of creative technologists, electronic engineers, and planetarium engineers, balancing capacity between ambitious new work and the reliable operation of existing systems.\r\nFoster a culture of experimentation, creative risk‑taking, technical excellence, accountability, and continuous learning.\r\nPublic Experience Systems & Lifecycle Management\r\nOversee the technology portfolio supporting public experiences, providing strategic leadership for systems across exhibition interactives and Morrison Planetarium—including projection, visualization, immersive media, sensors, and supporting infrastructure—to ensure reliable daily operation.\r\nEstablish standards and practices for preventive maintenance, monitoring, troubleshooting, incident response, documentation, backups, spares, configuration management, testing, commissioning, and operational handoff.\r\nAssess condition, obsolescence, cybersecurity dependencies, vendor support, and technical risk; develop prioritized multi‑year upgrade, replacement, and capital‑investment plans that minimize visitor impact and are fully supportable in daily operations.\r\nMaintain effective service relationships and support agreements with vendors, integrators, fabricators, and specialized contractors; track reliability, maintenance performance, system health, and readiness to inform priorities and investment decisions.\r\nFollow Academy safety regulations and institutional policies, and perform other duties as assigned.\r\nQualifications\r\nExperience and/or Education:\r\nRequired and Preferred:\r\nProfessional Experience & Leadership:10+ years in creative technology and immersive media, including 3–5 years in technical leadership; proven ability to deliver complex, large‑scale public experiences—such as museum exhibitions or planetariums—utilizing real‑time media, interactive environments, and physical computing through full project lifecycles.\r\nEducation: Bachelor’s degree in a relevant technical or design field required; advanced degree preferred.\r\nSkills and Abilities\r\nRequired and Preferred:\r\nInnovation & Emerging Technology:Demonstrated experience developing and implementing innovative experiences, including immersive and emerging technology formats, across the visitor journey—from pre‑visit engagement through the on‑site experience and post‑visit connection.\r\nStrategic Leadership & Lifecycle Management:Drive creative technology strategy and team culture while leading the full lifecycle of complex initiatives— from roadmaps, budgets, and risk assessment to maintenance, upgrades, and operational handoff.\r\nIndustry Relationships and Resource Development:Demonstrated ability to develop collaborator networks across multiple industries and areas of research, always seeking to identify new opportunities for innovation in Academy experiences and tools.\r\nCommunication and Collaboration:Proven ability to facilitate productive, efficient collaboration across diverse roles including administration, data science, creative, physical/natural science, engineering architecture and fabrication disciplines, both internally and externally.\r\nTechnical Expertise:Demonstrate deep knowledge of real‑time development (e.g., Unity, Unreal, TouchDesigner), interactive systems, physical computing, generative AI, and AV/projection integration, with familiarity in planetarium environments.\r\nTechnical Proficiency:Possess fluency in modern programming languages (e.g., Python, C++, JS) and essential collaboration software (e.g., Asana, Google Workspace).\r\nPhysical Environment\r\nTo perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.\r\nAbility to transport up to 30 lbs, stand or walk exhibit floors, review installations, and participate in on‑site fabrication and installation activities as needed.\r\nFrequent use of a computer and participation in in‑person and virtual meetings.\r\nCompensation and Benefits\r\nThe salary range for this position is $150,000 - 165,000. Actual compensation will be commensurate with the final candidate's qualifications and experience, including skills, knowledge, relevant education, certifications and aligned with the internal peer group. We believe in fair and equitable compensation practices and are committed to providing competitive salaries within the industry and market standards. The Academy offers a total compensation package that emphasizes both base salary and comprehensive benefits based on the hours per week worked. Further details regarding compensation and benefits will be discussed during the interview process.\r\nHybrid, 3 days / week onsite, 40 hours per week\r\nThe California Academy of Sciences will give full consideration for employment to all qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of theSan Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance(SF Police Code, Article 49).#J-18808-Ljbffr","datePosted":"2026-09-16T01:08:06.413Z","dateModified":"2026-09-16T01:08:06.413Z","hiringOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Socketdev","sameAs":"https://jobsearcher.com"},"jobLocation":{"@type":"Place","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","addressLocality":"Millbrae","addressRegion":"CA","addressCountry":"US"}},"identifier":{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"JobSearcher","value":"78af845f2382efb0cf15a07d"},"url":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/78af845f2382efb0cf15a07d"}}