None - Not included in the union (Yale Union Group)
Time Type
Full time
Duration Type
Regular
Compensation Grade
Galleries & Museums
Compensation Grade Profile
Senior Preparator, Yale Peabody Museum (24)
Wage Ranges
Click here to see our Wage Ranges
Searchable Job Family
Museum/Curatorial
Total # of hours to be worked:
40
Work Week
Standard (M-F equal number of hours per day)
Work Location
Central Campus
Worksite Address
900 A21 Collections West Campus Drive
West Haven, CT 06516
Work Model
On-site
Position Focus
Reporting to the Curator-in-Charge, supports research in Vertebrate Paleontology (VP) at the Yale Peabody Museum (YPM). Executes work on fossil preparation, conservation, and collecting fossils in the field and advises on specimen storage and use. Supervises and trains students, preparation staff, and volunteers. Liaises with YPM Public Programs to support exhibition, education, and outreach.
Essential Duties
Performs all aspects of manual, mechanical, chemical, and digital fossil preparation, including molding and casting, painting, conserving, labeling, housing, mounting, imaging/scanning, digital segmentation, and 3-D printing of fossils. Documents preparation, conservation treatments, and condition assessments using YPM digital infrastructure. 2. Supervises, uses, and maintains micro- and macro-preparation labs and associated facilities, including tools, supplies, and instruments, as well as executing and/or advising on labeling, housing, and mounting fossils. Assists with budget development and ensures compliance with established laboratory health and safety standards. Trains and supervises facility and equipment users. 3. Operates cameras, microscopes, and other instruments and software to image fossils, including surface- and CT-scanners and photogrammetry. Uses micro-CT scanning and digital-segmentation software for fossil preparation planning. Trains users on equipment and software. 4. Performs condition assessments on fossils, conducts materials research, and develops treatment plans in consultation with curators, staff, and others for preserving fossils and their associated data. 5. Assists with collection growth by planning, supporting, and supervising fossil-collecting expeditions, including prospecting localities, exploring novel collecting approaches, and safely packing, transporting, and shipping fossils from the field. 6. Trains students, postdocs, volunteers, and curatorial affiliates in field techniques while ensuring compliance with fieldwork health and safety standards. 7. Collaborates on the safe handling, display, mounting, storage, transport, and loan of fossils. Reviews destructive sampling requests and provides feedback on the use of proposed materials, tools, and methods. 8. Consults with collection users to achieve research goals using preparation techniques that maximize access to anatomical information without compromising the integrity of the fossil and its enclosing sediments. 9. Leads tours, contributes to special events, participates in YPM committee service, and engages in public outreach. 10. Collaborates in writing collection and fieldwork grants, including proposal drafting and submission, to support the long-term care and use of collections. Assumes Principal Investigator status as appropriate. 11. Advises on specimen preservation and storage protocols and procedures to maximize information derivable from the fossils and their associated sediments. 12. Supervises and trains staff, students, postdocs, visitors, interns, volunteers, and curatorial affiliates in the lab and field ensuring health and safety compliance. 13. Pursues professional development by staying current with fossil preparation, conservation, and field work through the literature, as well as societies, conferences, workshops, and publication. 14. Provides specimen-based support for teaching and public lectures. 15. Keeps abreast of research activities and course needs of curators and others. 16. Performs additional duties as assigned.
Required Education And Experience
Master’s Degree in a related field and three years of preparation experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Required Skill/Ability 1
A deep well of patience, demonstrated ability to enable careful and methodical attention to all aspects of fossil collecting, preparation, handling, and safe transport in the lab, field, collections, exhibits, and classroom.
Required Skill/Ability 2
Working knowledge of vertebrate skeletal anatomy, taxonomy, phylogeny, conservation principles, sedimentology, and the geological time scale.
Required Skill/Ability 3
Excellent communication, time management, problem-solving, critical thinking, and creative skills. Enjoys working as part of a team.
Required Skill/Ability 4
Must have the ability & willingness to fully engage with all aspects of fieldwork, including but not limited to hiking considerable distances over broken ground carrying field gear, readily handling picks/hovels during field excavation, victual a field camp, sleep in a tent in all weather, & tolerate adverse conditions that may be encountered in the field.
Required Skill/Ability 5
Proficient use of materials, tools, and techniques to collect, prepare, and conserve vertebrate fossils (e.g., pneumatic tools, air-abrasive units, fume hoods, dust extractors, microscopy, rock saws, organic solvents, adhesives, plaster, silicone rubber, resins, and paints, etc.).
Preferred Education, Experience And Skills
Master’s Degree in a related field and three years of preparation experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Five years of fossil preparation and field experience and a B.A. or B.S. degree in a related field.
Required Licenses Or Certifications
Maintains a valid driver’s license. Willingness to complete annual training as needed.
Physical Requirements
Must be able to lift 40 pounds. Must be comfortable on ladders and elevated platforms and operate industrial moving equipment (e.g., pallet jack, mobile elevated work platform).
Preferred Licenses Or Certifications
Maintains a valid driver's license. Willingness to complete annual trainings as needed.
Drug Screen
No
Health Screening
No
Background Check Requirements
All candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle, DOT certification, drug testing and credit checks based on the position description and job requirements. All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of the background check. For additional information on the background check requirements and process visit "Learn about background checks" under the Applicant Support Resources section of Careers on the It's Your Yale website.
COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement
Required
The University maintains policies pertaining to COVID-19. All faculty, staff, students, and trainees are required to comply with these policies, which may be found here:
https://covid19.yale.edu/health-guidelines
Additional Background Or Health Screening Requirements
Selected incumbent must have successful completion of a DMV check, a valid driver’s license and a car available.
Posting Disclaimer
The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the essential functions that will be required of the position and should not be construed as a declaration of specific duties and responsibilities of the particular position. Employees will be assigned specific job-related duties through their hiring departments.
EEO Statement
University policy is committed to affirmative action under law in employment of women, minority group members, individuals with disabilities, and protected veterans. Additionally, in accordance with Yale’s Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment, and as delineated by federal and Connecticut law, Yale does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs, or employment against any individual on account of that individual’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, disability, status as a special disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam era or other covered veteran.
Inquiries concerning Yale’s Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment may be referred to the Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility (OIEA).
Note
Yale University is a tobacco-free campus
Seniority level
Mid-Senior level
Employment type
Full-time
Job function
Design, Art/Creative, and Information Technology
Industries
Higher Education
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