Job Description
Museum Curator IS-1015-11
Application Deadline: 29 June 2026
Department: National Museum of the American Latino
Employment Type: Full Time
Location: Washington, DC
Reporting To: Associate Director for Content & Interpretation
Compensation: $85,447 - $133,142 / year
OPEN DATE: May 29, 2026
CLOSING DATE: June 29, 2026 (This job will close when the first 500 applications are received which may be sooner than the closing date).
POSITION TYPE: Trust Fund
APPOINTMENT TYPE: Temporary Trust, NTE 4 years
SCHEDULE: Full Time
DUTY LOCATION: Washington, DC
Position sensitivity and risk: Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Open to all qualified applicants
This is a career ladder opportunity with promotion potential to grade 12. Promotion to the next higher grade, up to IS-12, may occur at management’s discretion upon the supervisor’s recommendation, subject to the availability of funds, classification requirements, satisfactory performance, and the employee's qualifications.
What are Trust Fund Positions?
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).
Conditions of Employment
- 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.
This position is located organizationally in Content and Interpretation, National Museum of the American Latino (NMAL), Under Secretary for Museums and Culture, Smithsonian Institution (SI).
SI is a diverse museum and research complex dedicated to the increase and diffusion of knowledge. NMAL connects with audiences both online and in-person as a national museum dedicated to enriching the appreciation of America’s Latino heritage, sharing the experiences and perspectives of Latinos across history and deepen our shared understanding of what it means to be American.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino (NMAL) seeks an enthusiastic, experienced and innovative museum curator who applies an interdisciplinary lens of history, cultural studies and current U.S. and world societies, to further the collection’s holdings and foster its stewardship. The employee will deploy historical and contemporary understanding, subject matter and collections expertise and imaginative commitment to collaboration within and beyond the Museum’s walls to creatively engage public audiences and stakeholders bridging the power of the past and our contemporary moment. This position will:
- Advances the Museum’s strategic and interpretive plans by pursuing work that supports the Museum’s mission, interpretive program and philosophy of community-centered engagement.
- Studies Latino contributions to U.S. history, culture, and science and demonstrates interdisciplinary and creative approaches to the field.
- Helps to identify possible acquisitions and researches the same. Develops and carries out gallery exhibitions, online digital exhibitions, books, articles, live public programs, podcasts, blogs etc.
- Works to extend the ability of the collections to tell inclusive and revealing stories of the past and present; maintain standards of physical care and intellectual control of the collections; extends public access to the wealth of knowledge the collections represent.
- Uses primary research and scholarship to understand and deploy the Museum’s collections. Contributes documentation and historical context essential to collections records and collaborates with collections management staff to help monitor conservation and storage needs and to determine digitization priorities.
- Contributes generously to advancing the effectiveness of Museum operations
- Demonstrates ability and willingness to work collaboratively with all museum departments including curatorial, collections, education, digital, exhibit design teams as well as interns and fellows, colleagues and communities.
ADDITIONAL POSITION FACTORS
- Ability to communicate in written and spoken English and Spanish is preferred.
- Travel may be required.
- Work during the evenings and weekends may be necessary.
- Requires ability to stand for long periods of time.
- Requires ability to lift objects up to 50 pounds, unassisted.
- Requires dexterity to manipulate delicate, intricate equipment and objects.
QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
Basic Education Requirement:
A) Degree: museum work; or in an applicable subject-matter field.
OR
B) Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience (described below) or additional education.
OR
C) Four years of experience (described below) that provided knowledge comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of the 4-year course of study as shown in A above.
Experience:
To qualify at the IS-11 level, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the IS-9 level in the Federal service or comparable experience outside the Federal government. Specialized experience is defined as experience such as:
- Scholarly knowledge within the context and historiographies of Latino contributions to U.S. art, history, culture and science. This position requires an advanced degree in interdisciplinary studies with multiple areas of subdisciplines such as: History, Foodways, Art (Contemporary and Traditional), or Cultural Studies.
- Knowledge of American Latino history and familiarity with different facets and points of view.
- Ability to conduct primary and community-based research
- Experience in developing exhibition scripts, supporting elements and public programming projects
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 responsibility of the applicant and should be included as part of your application package.
Any false statement in your application may result in rejection of your application and may also result in termination after employment begins.
Join us in "Inspiring Generations through Knowledge and Discovery."
Resumes should include a description of your paid and non-paid work experience that is related to this job; starting and ending dates of job (month and year); and average number of hours worked per week.
What To Expect Next: Once the vacancy announcement closes, a review of your resume will be compared against the qualification and experience requirements related to this job. After review of applicant resumes is complete, qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager.
Relocation expenses are not paid.
The Smithsonian Institution provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation should contact
youmansc@si.edu Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. To learn more, please review the Smithsonian’s
Accommodation Procedures The Smithsonian Institution is an
Equal Opportunity Employer To review The Smithsonian's EEO program information, please click the following:
https://www.si.edu/oeo
