Assistant Curator, Technology | Full time | 35 hours | 12 months fixed term
Salary: £34,368 to £37,189 per annum
Hours: 35 hours per week
Location: National Museum of Scotland | Hybrid
National Museums Scotland is one of the leading museum groups in Europe with one of the largest and most diverse collections in the world.
As an organisation our values are Creative, Inclusive, Collaborative and Forward-thinking.
We are looking for enthusiastic, passionate, honest, service-driven individuals to join our Science and Technology team.
Benefits of joining us as our Assistant Curator, Technology will include:
- Annually alongside your salary, National Museums Scotland contributes 28.97% of this towards you being a member of the Civil Service Pension Scheme
- A generous annual leave of 28.5 days – rising to 33.5 after 5 years, plus an additional 8 paid days public holidays.
- Free access to national (and international) museums and exhibitions
- A range of wellbeing benefits including Employee Assistance Programme 24/7
- Access to all the above and more from day one of employment.
About the Assistant Curator, Technology role:
Based at the National Museum of Scotland, with collections across all venues, this is a fixed-term full-time post for, for 12 months whilst the substantive post holder is covering a maternity leave post. This is an exciting opportunity to work at the heart of the Science & Technology Department, which is responsible for one of the most important collections of its kind in Europe. The Technology Section is a dynamic team that cares for and interprets a wide range of engineering, industrial and domestic technologies; road, rail, sea and air transport collections; and communications technologies, from print and telegraph to television and mobile phones.
As an Assistant Curator, Technology at National Museums Scotland you will:
- Support the work of the Technology section, and the Science and Technology department, as required
- Provide subject-specific expert knowledge to assist with the curatorial management and development of the Technology collections to National Museums’ standards
- Care for a broad range of collections using best practice, including in object handling, movement and cleaning
- Enable public access to the collections
- Respond to enquiries relating to a range of Technology topics, including but not limited to transport, communications, industry and engineering
Skills and experience we’re looking for in our Assistant Curator, Technology:
- A relevant first degree is essential, a postgraduate qualification in Museum Studies, Heritage Management or equivalent is desirable
- Knowledge of, an interest in, or enthusiasm about a subject relevant to the Technology collections
- Knowledge of and commitment to best practice standards in collections management
- Proven experience in paid or unpaid work in museums or similar environment
- Experience of undertaking simple research, for dealing with museum objects, documentation or enquiries is desirable
- Some experience of dealing with public enquiries, visitors and volunteers is desirable
Hiring the right person for the right job is everything to us. We want to encourage you to apply if you think this is the role for you.
Please be sure to view relevant attachments for this role (available on our Careers Portal: careers.nms.ac.uk) for full details of the position.
The closing date for this role is 06/09/2026 (6 September 2026). The Selection Event is likely to take place week beginning 21/09/2026 (21 September 2026).
