Join Our Team
Advance your career by working at The Franklin Institute!
In addition to plenty of volunteer and internship opportunities, we have part-time and full-time jobs available which are listed below.
Cover letters and resumes for part- and full-time jobs can be submitted to our Human Resources Department in a variety of ways:
- Send via Postal Mail:
- The Franklin Institute
Attn: Human Resources Department
222 North 20th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
- The Franklin Institute
- Fax to 1.215.448.1121.
- Email employment@fi.edu, supplying in the subject line the position for which you are applying.
- Deliver on-site to The Franklin Institute at the 20th Street Business entrance security desk or in the Bartol Atrium Information Desk.
If you are interested in a position but don't have a resume, you may fill out an Employment Inquiry Form.
You will be asked which job you are interested in. Please select a job from those listed below or your form will be discarded.
Provide your email address and the Employment Inquiry Form will be emailed to you immediately. Simply reply to the email and answer the questions. Your address will never be shared with anyone outside The Franklin Institute; we value your privacy.
When was the last time you had FUN at work?
The Franklin is currently seeking energetic individuals to join our team for the temporary traveling exhibit, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Exhibition. The exhibit makes its East Coast debut at The Franklin on November 28, 2008 and runs through April 19, 2009.
We are seeking dynamic individuals to join our Admissions Team. Admission staff members assist guests with their ticket purchases while delivering outstanding guest service. Interested applicants should be available to work various shifts including weekends, evenings and holidays through April. Experience in guest service is essential. Please email your resume and cover letter to employment@fi.edu. No phone calls, please.
Available Positions as of November 22, 2008
- Admissions: Sales & Service Rep
- Birthday Party Host
- Building Engineer
- Assistant Director of Development, Development Services
- Director of Exhibition Development
- Greeter I
- Greeter I
- Retail: Sales & Service Rep
- Network Engineer
- Theater Console Operator
ADMISSIONS-SALES & SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE
(part time; weekend, day, and evening shifts)
Minimum Qualifications: high school education; excellent cash handling skills; superior customer service and communication skills; demonstrated aptitude to learn; desire to work with the public. Computer skills and retail or ticketing experience preferred.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities: operate ticketing system to process visitor transactions; answer visitor inquiries and provide customer service to all museum visitors; handle cash and other forms of payment in a secure, orderly, and efficient manner; basic clerical duties, as necessary. Competitive salary.
BIRTHDAY PARTY HOST
Temporary Unscheduled Part-Time, Saturdays and Sundays, 4 hours per party between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm
Minimum Qualifications: College or education background. Demonstrated experience with elementary and middle school aged children. Ability to make appropriate decisions in a timely fashion based on the judgement of situations that may occur. Must have a positive attitude and must be able to work with a minimal amount of supervision.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities: Greet guests and escort them to various locations throughout the museum (party room, theater show, exhibit area). Set up party room, secure place belongings of attendees in a save and secure location. Coordinate any deliveries regarding the party. Conduct a science workshop, communicate and coordinate any essential information and activities with other staff members.
BUILDING ENGINEER
Full time Union (40 hours per week). Various shift work, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Tuesday through Saturday or Sunday through Thursday. Will require some night shifts (2:00 pm- 10:00 pm). Must be willing to work rentals when required.
Minimum Qualifications: Five to seven years experience in building systems operations; Class A engineer license; knowledge and experience with high voltage electrical panels and distribution systems; knowledge and experience with plumbing systems; knowledge of building fire suppression and alarm systems; ability to perform routine and advanced repairs and maintenance on building equipment using O&M manuals; Understand how to interpret building blueprints.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities:Maintain building infrastructure to include HVAC systems, boilers, and gas equipment. Daily routine preventive and corrective maintenance on all building systems. Handle other building concerns as required.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT, DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
Full-Time, Monday – Friday, 37.5 hours per week.
Minimum Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college/university with three to five years related experience in development system management; specific experience in managing a Raiser’s Edge database and supervising staff are required. Knowledge of Crystal Reports is a plus. Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to communicate instructions and complex procedures clearly is necessary. Knowledge of the museum protocol is helpful, but not required. Excellent computer skills and advanced knowledge of standard business software and development industry databases are a must. Candidate must be detail-oriented, have the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet deadlines.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities: Reporting to the to the Assistant Vice President of Development, this position provides strategic leadership for the support services of the development department, including the research and database functions; gift entry, acknowledgement and reconciliation; information and file management; and general office management. This position oversees existing and implements new processes and procedures to increase efficiency, production, quality, or degree of donor-focus in department practices. The individual is also responsible for staffing the Nominating and Board Resources Committee of the Board of Trustees.
DIRECTOR OF EXHIBITION DEVELOPMENT
The Franklin Institute is seeking a Director of Exhibition Development to be responsible for overseeing the development of new outgoing traveling exhibits the implementation of incoming temporary exhibitry. This individual will work with a number of internal departments to lead the development of outgoing traveling exhibits; ensure successful booking and installation of same; and the sale of exhibition components. The selected candidate will also provide support for the design and implementation of long-term on-site exhibitions. This position has oversight responsibility for a large number of outside vendors and in-house staff. Qualified individuals will have college degree and 5-8 years experience in professional exhibit management and design/development (museum or themed entertainment experience preferred). Proven skill in managing creative teams and large projects. Strong knowledge of educational theory and construction techniques. Good computer skills in management, graphic and exhibit design programs.
GREETER I
Unscheduled part time, 5-19 hours per week.
Minimum Qualifications: Excellent interpersonal skills; outgoing and friendly demeanor; one to two years of customer service experience. Ability to work in adverse weather conditions.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities: Provide information concerning directions, show times, and activities in or around the museum; greet school buses and assist with coat and lunch storage; check visitors for proper admission; assist with lost children and logs lost and found items; briefs school groups and summer camps on the rules and regulations of the museum; challenge inappropriate behavior; operates Sky Bike and Flight Simulator; assists with training of new employees.
RETAIL-SALES & SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE
Part time; day and evening hours, including weekends and holidays
Minimum Qualifications: high school education; excellent cash handling skills; superior customer service and communication skills; computer and retail or ticketing experience preferred; history in a retail or theater/attraction environment usually required; demonstrated aptitude to learn and desire to work with the public.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities: operate POS or ticketing system to process visitor transactions; answer visitor inquiries and provide service to all museum visitors; handle cash and other forms of payment in a secure, orderly, and efficient manner; address visitor concerns to the best of ability; balance daily drawer total to within acceptable variance level; assist in daily maintenance of work environment; assist in Admissions during peak traffic periods; become skilled in suggestive selling of museum memberships, merchandise, and programs; perform basic clerical duties as assigned, such as data entry, filing, and copying.
NETWORK ENGINEER
Full-Time, Monday – Friday, 37.5 hours per week. Desktop support one weekend every six weeks.
Minimum Qualifications:BS in Engineering, Computer Science, MIS, or related field. The ideal Candidate will have at least 7-10 years of systems engineering experience, including 5 or more years of systems and implementation engineering experience in complex large-scale IT environments. The candidate must have expertise in Linux, Windows Active Directory & Exchange environments as well as a Fibre star topology. Technology experience must be current. Current certifications in Linux or Windows Networking as well as 2007 MCSE, MCSA, Level 2 Linux LPI certification or Cisco CCNP required.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities:
60% Network based, 20% HelpDesk based, 20% project based. A combination of systems architecture, systems development, Windows, Linux and Apple NOS/OS; life cycle development, technical assessments, implementation engineering, regression process development; SAN/LAN/WAN/FIBRE support from a directory standpoint, technology scaling, server builds, migration and/or transition planning; project planning, standards validation/development, technical documentation, presentation to management, e-mail administration (Exchange, Outlook & Eudora); training and mentoring of more junior staff, and troubleshooting and problem resolution. May require heavy lifting computers or related items. Other duties include: active directory design, GPO’s, forest, tree, domain and OU design principles, Linux maintenance, Clustering & VMWare, DHCP implementation, DNS design/implementation, Enterprise Server Build; documentation and presentation using PowerPoint & Visio; Linux & Windows 2003, 2005 & 2008 server design and support; technical writing/documentation, domain administration for Linux & Windows, 1st hand server-class hardware build, performance tuning of Windows machines, nightly backups, thorough understanding of Microsoft Exchange, Ghost and SQL Server, Fibre networks, VLAN’s and ISP connections; experience with systems monitoring.
THEATER CONSOLE OPERATOR
Temporary. Unscheduled part-time, working weekends, evenings, holidays, and as scheduled for special events and rentals
Minimum Qualifications: Experience or interest in working in a theater environment, preferably in an Omni and/or Planetarium theater; some knowledge of audio-visual laser disk players and sound systems; customer service experience; ability to work under stressful conditions and handle emergency situations; good eyesight and hearing for working with equipment in low light situations with varying audio levels.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities: Operate the console computer system and audio visual equipment in the Omniverse and Planetarium theaters; preset theater consoles, tape decks and AV equipment to perform shows on a regularly scheduled basis; monitor presentations, audio levels, and crowd control as necessary; make announcements welcoming guests and visitors; explain chamber policies and procedures; implement chamber evacuation procedures when required during emergency situations.
WORKSHOP FACILITATOR
Unscheduled part time (days as scheduled by manager)
Minimum Qualifications:High school diploma. Extensive walking, climbing stairs, standing for long periods of time may be necessary. Lifting up to 50 lbs possible. Ability to present science clearly in terms appropriate to students' grade level. Customer Service aptitude, desire to work with the public, interest in informal science education are significant qualities in relation to this position. The schedule is at least one day a week 8:45AM to 5:15pm plus holidays when open.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities: Assist in coordinating, setting up and facilitating hands-on workshops for school groups ages ranging from 3rd grade to 12th grade. The hands-on workshops include using science equipment and tools. The Workshop Facilitator will lead groups of 60 students through a 20-25 minute science topic and activity. Post workshop clean-up and supply checking is also required. This position may also include presenting special floor programs as assigned and present formal and informal advanced demonstrations in exhibit areas and theater spaces; assist visitors in way-finding throughout the museum; answer visitor questions and challenge inappropriate visitor behavior; keep the museum clean and make the visitors happy; other duties as assigned.