Exhibits Specialist (Mount Maker).

Smithsonian Institution; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC seeks an Exhibits Specialist (Mount Maker) to design, fabricate, install and maintain custom mounts for artifacts at the National Museum of Natural History, ensuring safe display, handling and preservation.

You will coordinate with exhibition, conservation and curatorial staff to install and deinstall objects, and create accurate models and diorama elements as required.

Qualifications

• Education in illustrative design, commercial art, fine arts, industrial design, architecture, drafting, interior design, or related fields.
• Advanced training in a vocational/technical institute related to the field.
• Specialized experience in design, modelmaking, art, taxidermy, or restoration.

Responsibilities

• Fabricate mounts/brackets for specimens from drawings or instructions.
• Design mounts and brackets with technical drawings for review/approval.
• Coordinate with staff to ensure safe handling, movement, installation and deinstallation.

Skills

Mount fabrication

Design drawings

Model making

3D printing

Rigging

Conservation collaboration

Education

Illustrative design or related field

Tools

Mills

Welding equipment

3D printers

Job description

Duties

The Exhibits Specialist (Mount Maker) is responsible for designing, fabricating, installing, and maintaining custom mounts for artifacts and museum objects at the National Museum of Natural History, ensuring their safe display, handling, preservation, and exhibition

• Fabricate mounts/brackets for specified specimens and objects from approved drawings and/or verbal instruction from the designer, curator, and conservator.
• Design mounts and brackets for museum objects, producing technical drawings and diagrams for review and approval by exhibition, curatorial, photography, publication, and conservation staff.
• Coordinate with exhibition, conservation, and collection staff to ensure the safe handling, movement, installation, and deinstallation of museum objects.
• Produce accurate castings that may require paints or intrinsic colorants, determines the best model making techniques, the appropriate materials, the correct color and a wide variety of other materials to make molds, fabricate diorama elements, lifelike models, and natural scenes to fulfill the specifications set by the exhibit designer or curator in the available time frame.
• Repair and finish fragile museum exhibit components and reproduce original exhibit parts that have been broken or damaged.
• Repair and maintains current exhibits, including the reproduction of original exhibit components that have been damaged and the repair of chipped and/or broken pieces with plaster, wood, plastic or other materials.

Requirements

• Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
• May need to complete a Probationary Period
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Conditions of Employment

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions on

Qualifications

Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- illustrative design, commercial art, fine arts, industrial design, architecture, drafting, interior design, or other fields related to the position.

Advanced training in a vocational school, technical institute, or art institute above the high school level in one of the fields listed above is creditable as general experience on a month-for-month basis.

Or

Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): Experience in the actual type of work for which application is made. Unpaid experience is creditable, provided the work done was of a quality level and demonstrated the ability required for the position. This includes work in the appropriate field, e.g., design, modelmaking, art, taxidermy, or restoration.

Experience

You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as designing and fabricating conservation-grade mounts for scientific collections and specimens; assisting with conservation treatments; repairing exhibit components; operating fabrication equipment (e.g., mills, welding equipment, and 3D printers); using lifting and rigging equipment for object handling; and creating accurate models using 3D sculpting or traditional modeling techniques.

Your resume must be no more than two (2) pages and should clearly demonstrate how your experience aligns with the responsibilities and specialized experience required for this position. Do not copy language directly from the vacancy announcement, as you will be deemed ineligible for consideration. Instead, provide detailed, descriptive information about your actual experience.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Or Education

Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related.

Or a Combination: Education and experience may be combined to meet the basic qualifications. For a full explanation of this option please see the

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Important Note

Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Your resume should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

Education

This position does have a positive education requirement.

Additional information

This position is included in the bargaining unit.

Recruitment Incentive

Recruitment incentive(s) may be authorized for this position. However, approval for incentives are contingent upon various availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require the incumbent to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a certain time period.

Note

This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid.

Selections may be made for vacancies across the Smithsonian Institution (SI).

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

The Smithsonian offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, vacation and sick leave, holidays, health/life insurance, accident insurance, and excellent retirement program options.

Please see Benefits at

• Flexible Spending Accounts -
• Health Insurance -
• Leave -
• Life Insurance -
• Long Term Care Insurance -
• Retirement Program -