Imaging Technician [The Menil Collection, Houston, TX]

Description

General Responsibilities:

The Imaging Technician assists with a large-scale museum-wide digitization initiative and produces high-quality digital images of collections objects, events, exhibition installations, library and archival materials, as well as videos and audio files in accordance with established standards to be reproduced. The Technician creates assets using digital cameras and film scanners, applies digital image processing techniques to adjust tone, color, scale, and cropping as well as generates derivatives. The Technician handles rare and fragile materials including rare books, photographs, archival materials, and maps. The Technician also undertakes special projects such as ARTstor contributions, Shared Shelf Commons releases, image licensing partnerships, and implementation of digital asset management software such as Shared Shelf.

Specific Imaging Duties:

1. Scan and/or photograph transparencies, negatives, slides, and documentation.
2. Assess digital image files for quality assurance purposes and identify images that need to be rescanned or photographed from their original formats.
3. Organize, maintain, and properly store all analog and digital Menil Collection assets, including transparencies, negatives, photographic prints, and video and audio files.
4. Assist with new photography of collection objects and events.
5. Maintain the Imaging Services studio space, cold storage room, and supplies.
6. Operate digital cameras and scanners.
7. Set-up camera equipment and studio lighting equipment.
8. Handle rare books and photographic and archival materials according to established guidelines.
9. Perform quality control reviews.
10. Record and report production statistics and monitor milestones.
11. Work with various museum departments (including Exhibitions, Archives, Curatorial, Advancement, Communications, and Public Programs).

Specific Cataloguing Duties:

1. Enter and update image inventory fields in the collection management database (TMS).
2. Embed image metadata into asset files and into the digital asset management software.
3. Writing technical documentation in a clear and accessible style.
4. Organize, archive, and file images in the image library.

Requirements

Qualifications:

1. A minimum of two to three years’ experience in an Imaging Technician or Photography role is highly desired, preferably at a museum, image archive, or other arts-related or non-profit organization.
2. Digital imaging experience in an Imaging studio at a museum, library, or photo archive preferred, but not required.
3. Expertise in digital preservation, imaging, and storage, and knowledge about developments in the digital field required.
4. A BA in an arts-related field such as Media Studies, Photography, Digital Archives, etc. with knowledge or appreciation of art and architecture including modern and ancient art is preferred.
5. Must be flexible, enjoy working both collaboratively and independently, and learning new technology.
6. Thorough understanding of digital still image file creation including image sizing, bit depth, color profiling, image resolution, compression, and creating derivatives.
7. Working knowledge of digital preservation and archiving standards and best practices including file naming and embedding and extracting metadata from and into digital image files according to IPTC standards and workflows.
8. Basic knowledge of The Museum System (TMS).
9. Moderate skill level with digital asset management and content management systems.
10. Advanced skill level with Photoshop and Bridge.
11. Moderate skill level with Premiere.
12. Familiarity with Microsoft Office Suite, Acrobat, Basecamp, Jira, Bulk Renaming Utility, Beyond Compare, YouTube, Soundcloud, Facebook, and Twitter.
13. Ability to work both on the Mac and PC and basic knowledge about servers and IT infrastructure.
14. Knowledge of digital cameras, monitor calibration, scanners, and lighting.