Digital Imaging Assistant

The Museum of the City of New York fosters understanding of the distinctive nature of urban life in the world’s most influential metropolis. It engages visitors by celebrating, documenting, and interpreting the city’s past, present, and future. Founded in 1923, the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) showcases the city’s unique stories and cultural treasures. The country’s first and largest city museum, MCNY presents immersive exhibitions and programs at the intersection of history, popular culture, and art to 200,000 people annually, including 30,000 students and educators, fostering shared identity, civic pride and engagement, and social cohesion for New Yorkers. MCNY has been recognized as one of the leading museums in New York City by publications such as Condé Nast Traveler and the New York Times, with Time Out New York awarding MCNY “Best Museum” in New York in 2021.

The Digital Imaging Assistant (Temporary) will primarily be responsible for producing high‑quality digital images of collection materials, preparing and organizing digital files, generating basic metadata, and ensuring that digitized assets meet institutional standards for preservation and public access. Working closely with the collections team, the Digital Imaging Assistant will help expand the Museum’s digital holdings and enhance discoverability for researchers, educators, and the public. This position supports an ongoing collections project and will report directly to the Collections Photographer & Digital Asset Manager.

This is a part-time, temporary position working 2 days per week, flexible scheduling within standard business hours. The position will run through June 30, 2026, with the possibility of extension depending on project needs and funding.

Role and Responsibilities:

Photograph or scan collection materials according to institutional guidelines and cultural heritage imaging standards.
Set up, maintain, and operate imaging equipment (e.g., DSLR cameras, copy stands, scanners, lighting).
Perform color correction, cropping, and basic image adjustments within approved parameters.
Generate multiple file derivatives following internal workflows.
Organize, name, and store digital files in accordance with established file‑naming conventions and directory structures.
Check files for quality, consistency, and completeness before submission to the Collections Photographer & Digital Asset Manager.
Assist in preparing files for upload into the museum’s collection database.
Document imaging workflows and maintain logs of digitized objects.
Communicate any issues or discrepancies to Collections Photographer & Digital Asset Manager.
Assist with related project tasks as needed.

A successful candidate will have:

Bachelor’s degree in photography (or equivalent technical training / experience).
Minimum 2 years’ experience in high volume digital imaging.
Experience in Adobe Photoshop, Phocus and/or CaptureOne, Adobe Bridge and batch actions.
Experience with a Hasselblad Flextight film scanner.
Experience handling art objects.
Demonstrated attention to detail, highly organized, and ability to work collaboratively.

Physical Requirements & Work Environment:

Must be able to remain in a stationary position 95% of the time and able to traverse through office and museum gallery environment. Sedentary work. Requires the ability to operate standard office equipment including computers and keyboards for extended periods of time. Regular standing, adjusting equipment, and handling objects for photography. Extended periods of computer-based work for image processing and metadata entry. Ability to lift and move objects up to 25 lbs. for imaging setup. Work may occur in both studio and collections storage environments. Exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects. Repetitive motion. Substantial movements (motions) of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers. The worker is required to have close visual acuity to perform an activity including but not limited to, preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color and peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee with or without accommodation, to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Benefits

This position is paid at $35.00 per hour, 2 days per week, not to exceed 29 hours per week. We provide Sick Leave on an accrual basis to all employees. Your employment relationship with the Museum qualifies you for free or discounted admission to other participating cultural institutions.

The Museum of the City of New York is committed to fostering a collaborative and respectful work environment with a staff as diverse as New York City and the audiences who are curious about learning more about its history and engaging in contemporary urban issues. Our staff members are dedicated to working towards a common goal: creating the most dynamic and inspiring city museum in the world.

The Museum of the City of New York is an equal opportunity employer. As such, the museum provides equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants without unlawful discrimination with respect to age, citizenship status, color, creed, disability, ethnicity, gender identification or expression, marital status, military status or veteran, national origin, political association, political/personal convictions, predisposing genetic characteristics, race (including traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and style), religion (including attire, clothing or facial hair worn in accordance with religious requirements), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions and transgender status), sexual orientation, socio-economic status, geographic location, philosophies, or any other classification protected by federal, state or local laws, in all employment decisions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, training, compensation, promotion, demotion, transfer, lay-off, and termination, and all other terms and conditions of employment. The Museum complies with applicable state and local law governing nondiscrimination in employment which prohibits discrimination and harassment against any employees, applicants for employment or interns, as well as contractors, subcontractors, vendors, consultants, other individuals providing services in the workplace or their employees in every location in which the Museum has facilities.

Apply for this job

First name

Last name

Email address

Location

Phone number

Resume

Attach resume

Attach another file

Attach file

What is your Linkedin Profile URL?

Attach your Cover Letter - or:

Attach Cover Letter

Cut and Paste your Cover Letter below:

Are you authorized to work in the United States?

Will you now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g. H-1B status)?

Are you 18 years of age or older?

Do you have any professional qualifications (PMP, MCSE)?

Why are you interested in working at the Museum of the City of New York?

Please provide the names and contact information of 2-3 professional references (preferably current or past supervisors).

We invite you to complete the optional self-identification questions below used for compliance with government regulations and record-keeping guidelines. Any self-identification information provided will not be considered in the selection process.

GENDER

VETERAN STATUS Learn more about veteran statuses

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by selecting the appropriate category(ies). The hiring employer is subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended by the Jobs for Veterans Act of 2002, 38 U.S.C. 4212 (VEVRAA) and requests this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts it undertakes pursuant to VEVRAA.

DISABILITY STATUS Learn more about disability statuses

We are required by law to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We are also required to measure our progress toward having at least 7% of our workforce be individuals with disabilities. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had a disability. Because a person may become disabled at any time, we ask all of our employees to update their information at least every five years.

Identifying yourself as an individual with a disability is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer will be maintained confidentially and not be seen by selecting officials or anyone else involved in making personnel decisions. Completing the form will not negatively impact you in any way, regardless of whether you have self-identified in the past. For more information about this form or the equal employment obligations of federal contractors under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.