Job Summary

Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies seeks a Digital Imaging Specialist. The successful candidate will join the Digital Programs team, Purdue Libraries’ in-house digitization unit. This is an exciting opportunity to lead the digital reformatting portion of the Neal A. Armstrong papers digitization project.

The purpose of this position is to collaborate on a five-year project to digitize the Neil A. Armstrong papers and ensure the project goals are met within its timeframe. The Armstrong papers contain over 200 cubic feet of personal papers of renowned astronaut and Purdue alumnus, Neil A. Armstrong, best known for his role in the Gemini and Apollo space programs as well as being the first person to step foot on the moon.

This position will report to the Senior Operations Manager for Digital Programs. In addition to other members of the Digital Programs team, the Digital Imaging Specialist will collaborate with project stakeholders including the Archivists for Flight and Space Exploration, Digital Preservation, and Metadata and Discovery.

The Digital Imaging Specialist will collaborate with colleagues and build on existing digitization workflows to improve and streamline digital collections production practices and strategies. The Specialist will produce high-quality digital images suitable for the Libraries’ collection management and digital preservation systems.

Through these actions the specialist will increase accessibility to important archival materials to be used in graduate and undergraduate instruction and international scholarly research.

This is a 5 year limited term position.

A cover letter is required to be considered.  Salary is $43,600 - $60,600 per annum.

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About Us:

When you join Purdue University, you join a community that keeps moving forward. For more than 150 years, we’ve been known for not only our groundbreaking work in STEM research, but also for our collective imagination, ingenuity and innovation. 

What We Are Looking For :

Education and Experience

Qualified candidates will need:

• Bachelor’s degree in photography or equivalent experience (2-3 years) digitizing cultural heritage collection materials or in commercial photography.

Skills needed:

• Demonstrated experience operating digitization equipment, especially digital medium format camera systems such as a copy stand and PhaseOne setup.
• Knowledge of studio lighting equipment and techniques.
• Experience with tethered capture and RAW workflow software such as Capture One or Lightroom.
• Experience evaluating image quality using Golden Thread or similar software.
• Experience calibrating and profiling digitization systems.
• Knowledge of relevant imaging guidelines such as FADGI or ISO 19264.
• Strong eye for color, composition, and visual accuracy.
• Knowledge of copyright issues related to digitization.
• Meticulous attention to detail.

Responsibilities:

• Determine and implement best methods for digitally photographing various Armstrong collection material types.
• Digitally photograph Armstrong collection materials.
• Post-process digital images, including cropping and rotating, stitching images of oversized materials, and inverting and enhancing negative images.
• Ensure digital image files undergo established quality control procedures.
• Identify and safely route materials in need of conservation to collections conservator.
• Identify and recommend improvements to digitization workflows and quality control procedures.
• Adhere to production schedule and contribute to production reports.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

What We Want You to Know :

Purdue University will not sponsor employment authorization for this position  
A background check will be required for employment in this position
FLSA: Non-Exempt (Eligible for Over-time)
Retirement Eligibility:  Non-Exempt Defined Contribution Waiting Plan
Benefit Statement: Purdue University offers a substantial Benefit Package including medical, dental, and vision insurance as well as a generous paid time off package for sick and vacation days
All applications must be held the first 5 business days due to our Equal Opportunity Employment policy

Career Stream

Professional 2
Pay Band S055
Job Code #20003611
Link to Purdue University's Compensation Guidelines: https://www.purdue.edu/hr/mngcareer/compguidelines/index.php 

EA / EO:
Purdue University is an EA/EO employer.