Conservator

Conservator, IS-1001-11

Final date to receive applications: 9 June 2026

Department: National Air and Space Museum

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Chantilly, VA

Reporting To: Supervisory Conservator

Compensation: $85,447 - $96,843 / year

OPEN DATE: June 2, 2026

CLOSING DATE: June 9, 2026

POSITION TYPE: Trust Fund

APPOINTMENT TYPE: Indefinite

SCHEDULE: Full Time

DUTY

LOCATION:

Chantilly, VA

Position sensitivity and risk: Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Who May Apply: SI Only

Trust Fund positions are unique to the Smithsonian. They are paid for from a variety of sources, including the Smithsonian endowment, revenue from our business activities, donations, grants and contracts. Trust employees are not part of the civil service, nor does trust fund employment lead to Federal status. The salary ranges for trust positions are generally the same as for federal positions and in many cases trust and federal employees work side by side.

Trust employees have their own benefit program, which may include Health, Dental & Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Transit/Commuter Benefits, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, Annual and Sick Leave, Family Friendly Leave, 403b Retirement Plan, Discounts for Smithsonian Memberships, Museum Stores and Restaurants, Credit Union, Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (Child Care), Flexible Spending Account (Health & Dependent Care).

• Pass Pre-employment Background Check and Subsequent Background Investigation for position designated.
• Complete a Probationary Period.
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer.
• The position is open to all candidates eligible to work in the United States. Proof of eligibility to work in U.S. is not required to apply.
• Applicants must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

The National Air and Space Museum (NASM), Conservation Unit, is seeking to fill a museum conservator position with a specialty in textiles
. We are seeking individuals with a diverse range of material experience and skills to support the examination, documentation, and treatment of a variety of textile objects in the NASM collection. The collection features artifacts from the 18th century to the present and represents a full range of historic, textile materials relating to the history of aviation and space exploration. The Emil Buehler Conservation Laboratory has a range of testing and analytical capabilities and partners with other Smithsonian museums to enable access to a wide variety of analytical equipment.

• Specify preservation and archival quality materials to use in exhibitions, transport, handling, and storage of artifacts.
• Identify and share exhibition guidelines regarding textile display to include exhibition environmental parameters, mount and case specifications, and provide support for team and special projects.
• Review exhibition parameters and standard facility reports, mounts, design technical drawings, or case specifications for exhibit, display, and loan, while providing solutions to the registrars, exhibition team, and curators.
• Experience in creating mannequins and textile mounts for safe display and presentation, and provide designers and exhibition planners, with alternatives and options to achieve exhibition goals while keeping preservation of the collection paramount.
• Responsible for independently designing, proposing, documenting, and completing appropriate conservation treatments on a wide variety of textile materials within the NASM collection.
• Apply conservation treatments using chemical solvents, resins, and adhesives in accordance with prescribed treatment plans and established procedures.
• Produce timely written treatment proposals and condition reports corresponding to textile conservation treatments for a wide range of materials and condition issues.
• Perform technical examination and analysis of textile materials to assess condition issues and propose and execute appropriate conservation, preservation methods, and procedures in consultation with curators to meet project timelines.
• Knowledge of laboratory safety within museums and a conservation laboratory setting is required.

Education and Experience: The ideal candidate will have completed graduate level training in museum conservation, with a specialty in textiles. Skills in materials science, conservation treatment, chemistry, or related subjects in addition to digital photography and technical writing are required. Professional status in the American Institute for Conservation or working toward this level is desired. Qualifications will need to be met at the IS-1001-11 level.

Education completed outside the United States must be deemed equivalent to higher education programs of U.S. Institutions by an organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. This documentation is the…