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About the Role

The Associate Director, Creative Technology will shape the future of museum experiences by leading the Experience Studio’s Creative Technology function. This role involves setting the creative and technical vision for new experiences, focusing on innovation through creative coding, AI, physical computing, real-time media, projection, spatial audio, and emerging technologies to create unforgettable visitor experiences.

Responsibilities

Serve as Creative Technology Lead on major exhibition, immersive, interactive, and planetarium initiatives from concept through operational handoff.
Collaborate with colleagues during exhibit discovery and ideation, producing proof-of-concept examples and rapid hardware/software sketches.
Lead hands-on prototyping, iterative development, and visitor testing to ensure experiences are engaging, accessible, high-performing, maintainable, and durable.
Foreground emerging technologies, including computer vision, projection mapping, touchless interaction, generative AI, AR/VR/XR, and physical computing, with a critical, audience-centered focus.
Oversee technical deliverables, including system architectures, specifications, and commissioning plans, and direct specialized studios, contractors, integrators, and vendors.
Engage with subject matter experts in the sciences to develop novel experience technologies that make knowledge about our natural world exciting and accessible.
Lead 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.
Develop and maintain a multi-year technology roadmap integrating new experience development, system lifecycle needs, capital planning, and institutional priorities.
Communicate opportunities, risks, tradeoffs, budgets, and investment recommendations to leadership and non-technical stakeholders.
Manage, coach, and develop a multidisciplinary team of creative technologists, electronic engineers, and planetarium engineers.
Foster a culture of experimentation, creative risk-taking, technical excellence, accountability, and continuous learning.
Oversee the technology portfolio supporting public experiences, providing strategic leadership for systems across exhibition interactives and Morrison Planetarium.
Establish standards and practices for preventive maintenance, monitoring, troubleshooting, incident response, documentation, and operational handoff.
Assess condition, obsolescence, cybersecurity dependencies, vendor support, and technical risk.
Develop prioritized multi-year upgrade, replacement, and capital-investment plans.
Maintain effective service relationships and support agreements with vendors, integrators, fabricators, and specialized contractors.
Follow Academy safety regulations and institutional policies.

Requirements

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.
Ability to transport up to 30 lbs, stand or walk exhibit floors, review installations, and participate in on-site fabrication and installation activities as needed.
Frequent use of a computer and participation in in-person and virtual meetings.

Skills

Creative coding
AI
Physical computing
Real-time media
Projection
Spatial audio
Emerging technologies
Computer vision
Motion tracking
Sensing technologies
Projection mapping
Touchless interaction
Generative AI
AR/VR/XR
Real-time development (e.g., Unity, Unreal, TouchDesigner)
Interactive systems
AV/projection integration
Planetarium environments
Modern programming languages (e.g., Python, C++, JS)
Collaboration software (e.g., Asana, Google Workspace)

Location

San Francisco, California

Work Type

Hybrid
Onsite (3 days/week)
40 hours per week

Experience Level

Associate Director
10+ years professional experience
3-5 years technical leadership

Education Level

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant technical or design field required
Advanced degree preferred

Salary/Compensations

$150,000 - $165,000

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits package

About the Company

Founded in 1853, the California Academy of Sciences is a globally renowned, AZA-accredited non-profit scientific and cultural institution located in 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.
Mission: to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration.
Possesses a living collection of nearly 60,000 animals representing over 800 species.
Research collections are the largest west of the Mississippi, spanning nearly 46 million plants, animals, fossils, and cultural artifacts.
Diverse team includes leading biodiversity scientists, educators, storytellers, designers, and communicators.
Organizational culture values curiosity, collaboration, and innovation.
Staff share a commitment to executing a new strategic plan to strengthen financial foundations, cultivate a vibrant internal culture, and foster smart growth.

Equal Opportunity

The 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 the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance (SF Police Code, Article 49).