Associate Director - Experience Strategy

About the California Academy of Sciences

Founded in 1853, the California Academy of Sciences is a globally renowned, AZA-accredited non-profit scientific and cultural institution located in the heart of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Home to a world-class planetarium, aquarium, rainforest, research institute, and natural history museum—all under one living roof—our mission is to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration.

Our living collection reflects Earth’s vast biodiversity, consisting of nearly 60,000 animals representing over 800 species. Our research collections are the largest west of the Mississippi,  spanning nearly 46 million plants, animals, fossils, and cultural artifacts from across the globe and throughout history. Our diverse team includes leading biodiversity scientists, educators, storytellers, designers, and communicators who are passionate about advancing knowledge and catalyzing action through science and storytelling.

Whether you're conducting research behind the scenes or engaging the public on the museum floor, your work will help connect people to the natural world and empower them to protect it.

About the Opportunity

The Associate Director of Experience Strategy shapes the overall vision, narrative design, and comprehensive visitor journey at the California Academy of Sciences. Working closely with the Senior Director of Experience and cross-functional partners, this role develops new approaches to visitor engagement that blend storytelling, design, imagination, and science.

Creating experiences that are cohesive, emotionally resonant, and relevant to audiences—while advancing the Academy’s mission—is central to this role. Drawing on deep experience with immersive and emerging formats, the Associate Director establishes the creative and narrative frameworks that guide new experiences and inspire future possibilities.

The Associate Director ensures this vision is brought to life across spatial environments, interactive systems, immersive media, and experimental activations. Their work connects individual moments into a compelling whole, ensuring every new experience contributes to a distinctive and meaningful Academy journey.

Organizational Culture

When you join the California Academy of Sciences, you become part of a mission-driven community that values curiosity, collaboration, and innovation, and celebrates its accomplishments together. Staff share a commitment to executing a new strategic plan that will strengthen the organization's financial foundations, cultivate a vibrant internal culture, and foster smart growth to secure the Academy’s future.

We hope you are inspired by what we do and are motivated to contribute to our mission. The Academy is looking for candidates who do great work, and we know they may come from a number of different backgrounds and experiences. We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every qualification for the position.

This position is based in San Francisco, California. The specific onsite/hybrid schedule for this position is listed below.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Supervisory & Leadership Responsibilities

• Lead and manage staff responsible for experience strategy, visitor journey design, and audience experience insights.
• Partner closely with the Senior Director of Experience to define the conceptual direction and storytelling strategy for the Experience Studio.
• Establish frameworks and processes for narrative development, concept creation, and visitor insight integration across projects.
• Collaborate with Associate Directors of Experience Design and Experience Production to ensure strong alignment between narrative vision, creative design, and project realization.
• Foster a culture of experimentation, research, and audience-centered thinking within the Experience Studio.
• Oversee relationships with external consultants as required

Experience Strategy Responsibilities

• Lead the development of new experience concepts, story worlds, and holistic visitor journeys
• Define the narrative architecture and conceptual frameworks that guide immersive exhibitions and visitor experiences.
• Collaborate with the Web Product Manager to ensure that the overall Academy visitor journey is personalized, clear, and cohesive
• Develop storyboards, and conceptual documentation that support design and production teams.
• Develop strategies that integrate storytelling with spatial design, interactive media, and visitor participation.
• Ensure continuity within and across experiences so that the Academy’s exhibitions tell a cohesive story about science and the natural world.
• Other duties as assigned.

Audience Experience & Insights

• Lead audience research that reveals how visitors move through, engage with, and respond to new experience formats.
• Establish frameworks for assessing the strength of the visitor journey, including engagement, emotional impact, relevance, and memorability.
• Translate visitor behavior and feedback into strategic direction for experience concepts, narrative design, and iterative development.
• Partner with institutional research teams to connect experience-level insights with broader audience priorities.
• Use research to identify emerging visitor needs, test new approaches, and shape the future direction of the Experience Studio portfolio.

QUALIFICATIONS

Experience and/or Education

Required and Preferred:

• 8–10+ years of experience developing narrative-driven experiences in experiential/immersive design, themed entertainment, museums, media production, or related industries.
• Demonstrated experience shaping the conceptual and storytelling frameworks of complex immersive and tech-forward public experiences.
• Experience working with multidisciplinary teams including designers, producers, technologists, scientists, and educators.
• Bachelor’s degree in visual and interactive storytelling, experience design, communications, media studies, or related field required; advanced degree preferred.

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Required and Preferred:

• Demonstrated track record of concepting and developing narrative storylines for new immersive experiences, connecting them to spatial, digital, and interactive components.
• Ability to translate complex scientific or educational topics into compelling immersive and interactive experiences.
• Knowledge of audience insight methodologies used to understand immersive and emerging technology experiences.
• Strong conceptual thinking and ability to develop original experience ideas and story worlds.
• Strong communication and presentation skills; ability to articulate narrative concepts to leadership and creative teams.
• Experience working with multidisciplinary creative teams in collaborative development processes.
• Familiarity with collaborative tools and software such as Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, and digital collaboration platforms.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

• Ability to transport up to 30 lbs.
• Ability to stand, walk exhibit floors, observe visitor interactions, and participate in on-site evaluations as needed.
• Frequent use of computers and participation in both in-person and virtual meetings.
• Regular on-site presence for visitor research activities, collaborative workshops, and project development sessions.

Compensation and Benefits:The salary range for this position is $140,000 - 150,000. Actual compensation will be commensurate with the final candidate's qualifications and experience, including skills, knowledge, relevant education, certifications and aligned with the internal peer group. We believe in fair and equitable compensation practices and are committed to providing competitive salaries within the industry and market standards. The Academy offers a total compensation package that emphasizes both base salary and comprehensive benefits based on the hours per week worked. Further details regarding compensation and benefits will be discussed during the interview process.

Schedule: Full-Time, 40 hours per week, 3 days per week on site

How to Apply:  Interested candidates should submit a resume and application through our Careers Page portal.

The California Academy of Sciences will give full consideration for employment to all qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of theSan Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance (SF Police Code, Article 49).