Book Production & Design Assistant

The University of Texas at Austin; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 39,000 - 47,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Texas at Austin is seeking a Production & Composition Assistant on the UT Main Campus. This role supports art evaluation, book composition, and printing workflows to ensure high-quality publishing outputs.

You will work with InDesign for typesetting, coordinate project schedules, assist in budgeting, and supervise student staff, contributing to a busy academic publishing environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; proficient in Photoshop, InDesign, Word and Excel.
• Excellent eye for detail and commitment to producing high-quality books.
• Highly organized, able to manage multiple ongoing projects, and communicate effectively.

Responsibilities

• Art Evaluations: Log and organize images in Filemaker database. Rename all image files using UT Press naming conventions, making adjustments/corrections to art, optimizing images for printing, and any other issues pertaining to art programs.
• Book Composition and Typesetting: Use InDesign to typeset books from manuscript to first pages; present sample pages; typeset books based on press templates; input page corrections; typeset new material for revised or updated editions; adapt jacket mechanicals to paperback reprints; and make corrections to covers and interiors as needed.
• General Responsibilities: Process invoices, create purchase orders, and contribute to production plans; pack and ship materials; update business cards and office stationery; participate in the training and supervision of student employees and/or fellows; contribute to related department functions as assigned by supervisor.
• Project Management: Create cast-offs to estimate the final page count on books after typesetting; monitor and update schedules in FileMaker database; send books out for typesetting based on press templates; present sample page designs; and communicate with authors, designers, vendors, and printers as needed in coordination with other staff. Archive files and submit invoices when projects are complete.
• Managing approximately 25 e-books annually. Including sending materials to conversion vendors and quality-checking results. Archiving materials on Box. Processing approximately 65 print-on-demand titles per year.

Skills

Attention to detail

Highly organized

Self-motivated

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Photoshop

InDesign

Word

Excel

Job description

The University of Texas at Austin is seeking a Production & Composition Assistant on the UT Main Campus. This role supports art evaluation, book composition, and printing workflows to ensure high-quality publishing outputs.

You will work with InDesign for typesetting, coordinate project schedules, assist in budgeting, and supervise student staff, contributing to a busy academic publishing environment.