University of California, Santa Cruz · 2 months ago
Aquarium Curator
Santa Cruz County, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Entry, Mid Level
$33.01/hr - $42.66/hr
1+ years expThe University of California, Santa Cruz is a unique public university known for its innovative and experimental approach. The Aquarium Curator will be responsible for curating and maintaining live animal exhibits, overseeing animal husbandry, equipment maintenance, and budget management, while supervising student assistants.
ArtEducationUniversities
No H1B
Responsibilities
Oversee all husbandry functions related to the Marine Discovery Center
Setup, maintain, and care for aquarium exhibits, holding tanks, life-support systems
Setup, maintain, and care for aquaria in education 'wet lab' classroom
Detect, diagnose, and treat diseases in marine organisms
Develop and implement MDC animal handling policies and procedures. Procure and maintain food items for aquarium animals
Prepare animal diets
Acquire and maintain appropriate collecting permits (CDFG) and animal use permits (CARC) and ensure compliance with all relevant aquarium regulations
Build and maintain husbandry budget
Research best-practices in aquarium design, display, and visitor experiences and proactively propose upgrades
Procure new specimens for display in alignment with Seymour Center vision and visitor experience goals
Plan, design, and construct, and install wet exhibits
Design, develop and construct wet exhibits, holding tanks, and life-support systems on an on-going basis
Develop and procure wet exhibit content, including but not limited to written content, images and supplementary objects
Obtain and replace wet exhibit components when needed
Obtain and replace cleaning tools and supplies as needed
Preserve the appearance and functionality of wet exhibits
Build and maintain wet exhibit budget
Recruit, hire, train, and evaluate student employees
Recruit, hire, train, and evaluate volunteer aquarists and interns
Manage and establish priority of work assignments, and motivate aquarists to assist in the general maintenance of aquarium displays, holding tanks and other exhibits
Provide direction and leadership to instill a sense of teamwork and commitment in volunteer aquarists and interns
Develop and implement training and ongoing educational instruction for volunteer aquarists and interns
Maintain aquarist training materials and educational resources
Build and maintain staffing budget
Qualification
Required
Graduation from college with specialization in Marine Biology or related field and one year of experience in curatorial work or an equivalent combination of education and experience
Ability to work both independently and as a member of a team
Familiarity with current marine research. Demonstrated flexibility with ability to work on own initiative
Familiarity with Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and electronic imaging software
Experience collecting and handling marine fish and invertebrates
Related experience as a marine aquarist
Experience developing training materials and implementing instruction in areas of aquarium husbandry, subtidal collection, and marine biology
Demonstrated ability to use and instruct others how to operate specialized aquarist tools (siphons, pumps, etc.) and other husbandry equipment
Experience maintaining aquarium exhibits and animal health including disease diagnosis and treatment
Experience in design, planning, and construction of marine exhibits and husbandry support areas including interpretive panels
Knowledge of marine flora and fauna of the Central California Coast
Preferred
Experience with the propagation, care, and long-term maintenance of scyphozoan jellies
Scuba certification or ability to obtain certificate
Excellent organizational skills, with ability to prioritize work, meet deadlines and produce accurate work
Ability to communicate and interact effectively with diverse groups (senior citizens, students, young children) of people
Excellent group management skills
Experience supervising, training, assigning and monitoring work with ability to motivate staff to work effectively and efficiently
Benefits
Full benefits
Company
University of California, Santa Cruz
UCSC opened in 1965 with 650 students. Forty-five years later, the campus is home to nearly 15,000 undergraduates and 1,500 graduate
1001-5000 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$19.6MKey Investors
U.S. Department of AgricultureNational Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)James S. McDonnell Foundation
2023-06-21Grant· $10M
2023-01-10Grant· $0.15M
2022-02-24Grant· $0.25M
Leadership Team
Benedict Paten
Professor
Marco Rolandi
Jack Baskin Endowed Chair in Engineering
Recent News
News-Medical.Net
2025-11-24
2025-11-08
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