Technology Fellowship at the Harvard Art Museums

Technology is an integral part of museums in the 21st century. As such, the Harvard Art Museums is seeking a Technology Fellow for two years to support and develop projects in the Lightbox Gallery, the museums public research and development environment. Projects are produced in collaboration with the Division of Academic and Public Programs and university partners. Past partners include Harvard faculty, staff, and students, including a collection visualization by metaLAB (at) Harvard, explorations into the science of light and looking with the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, an artist residency with Matt Saunders and his undergraduate animation studio, and a nine-channel installation by artist Ben Rivers. Throughout the 2017 fall semester the candidate will work with campus and community partners to assist with the technical development and installation of new projects for the Lightbox, including a collaboration with the ICA Boston exhibition Art in the Age of the Internet, 1989 to Today, artist projects, and experimental data visualizations.

Roles and Responsibilities:

  • Write code, setup virtual servers, explore open source projects, and experiment with technology as it pertains to the museums and the Lightbox.
  • Participate in and at times lead an iterative development process that includes brainstorming sessions, building functional prototypes, and running review sessions with collaborators.
  • Work with staff from the Division of Academic and Public Programs to plan the schedule of events and projects in the Lightbox.
  • Write and deploy production ready code, document projects, and provide support for projects once they are deployed.
  • Conduct research on existing and emerging technology that helps strengthen the mission to preserve, document, present, and interpret the museums’ collections and resources in the context of the Lightbox.
  • Document findings and report on which technologies are worth exploring further.
  • Collaborate with partners within the university on projects to integrate the museums more fully in to Harvard curriculum.
  • Give a talk on your work at relevant museums events and then in an expanded form at relevant conferences.

Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s degree in art history, new media, media arts, digital humanities, computer science, or a related field.
  • Experience with programming, modern web frameworks, application automation, database systems, APIs, and cloud based services like AWS and Heroku.
  • Aptitude for applying new technologies quickly and effectively
  • comfort with a diverse set of hardware and software technology
  • knowledge of The Museums System (TMS) or museum cataloguing practices is a plus
  • willingness to take apart a technology, figure out how every bit works, and then reconstruct it in the most meaningful way for the project at hand
  • flexibility, adaptability, and a collaborative demeanor; excellent writing and verbal skills
  • project management skills

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by law.

 

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