The Lab

2948 16th St San Francisco, CA, 94103

(415) 864-8855

The Lab is a nonprofit experimental art and performance space located in the Mission District of San Francisco.

Technical Director

November 11, 2026  /  The Lab SF

Compensation: $82,000/yr Salaried, F/T, Exempt Position
Posted 11/11/2026

The Lab is seeking a Technical Director to oversee the production of over 60 events annually, including music, dance, performance, screenings, and readings. In addition, the Technical Director will play an important role supporting our Living Wage Residency program, and will play a collaborative role in ensuring the success of The Lab’s exhibition programming.

The Technical Director is a new position intended to expand the organization’s capability to provide support for artists and their work, inform the technical development of the organization after a historic expansion and renovation of our 6,700 sq. ft. space, and increase our venue rental capacity and income to better support the financial stability of the organization. This position will oversee a collaborative team of part-time sound engineers and technicians; lead an expansion of the technical team including sound, lighting, and documentation professionals; and will work closely with the Executive Director to execute The Lab’s multidisciplinary programming at a time of substantial growth. 

The right candidate will approach each project with curiosity, resourcefulness, and a problem-solving mindset, allowing artists to lead the creative process while providing the technical collaboration needed to translate ambitious, unconventional, or seemingly impossible ideas into material works that fully animate the artist’s ideas. An ideal candidate will have a high level of professionalism and technical expertise alongside a deep appreciation for the DIY, artist-run cultural spaces and ecosystems that The Lab remains rooted in.

The Lab is a nonprofit multidisciplinary art space, founded in 1984 by art students from San Francisco State University. With a home in the historic Main Auditorium of the San Francisco Labor Temple, the organization operates a 6,700 sq. ft. space for performance and exhibitions. The Lab is outfitted with a full-range Meyer Sound system in its primary 450-person capacity performance space, with plans to install a permanent symmetrical quadraphonic system courtesy of Meyer Sound in early 2027.

Working Conditions & Compensation

This position is primarily on-site, with the potential for hybrid work for administrative tasks. Regular evening and weekend work is required. The Lab observes a flex time policy for salaried employees for work outside of standard hours.

All employees of The Lab receive paid sick leave and automatic enrollment in our 401k plan with a generous employer match. Full-time employees are eligible for vacation and medical benefits offered through The Lab including Health and Dependent Care Flexible Savings Accounts. The Lab offers generous vacation benefits with extensive observed holidays and flex time during periods of lower activity for the organization. 

Application Instructions

We will consider applications on a rolling basis, with a priority for applications received before our initial round of review on December 1, 2026. In addition to a cover letter and 1-2 page resume outlining history of employment and education, you may optionally provide examples of 1-3 projects that best illustrate the kind of work you do. The Lab will not be screening applications with AI language models, and we appreciate hearing from you as a human accordingly.

Please email materials as attachments to jobs@thelab.org with “Technical Director Application” in the subject line.

Summary of Duties

  • Lead the advance planning, scheduling, and production-related artist communication for over 60 events annually, including experimental music, dance, performance, screenings, and readings. Lead the production of select high-priority or high-complexity live events, scheduling additional staff as required.

  • Provide ongoing, deep technical support for The Lab’s residency program, including collaboration and feedback in the development of residents’ works as they are informed by the possibilities and constraints of the organization and venue, on-site support for artists throughout their residency periods, and lead production of final residency outcomes.

  • Collaborate on building a roster of sound engineers and support staff, including conducting trainings for junior engineers on an ongoing basis, and building a pipeline for the career growth of early-stage technicians working with The Lab.

  • Lead The Lab’s plans for rigging projection and lighting systems. Develop training documentation to inform the work of other production staff.

  • Provide on-site tours to prospective rental clients, and communicate with clients about their advance needs. Schedule technical staff for rental events per the needs of clients.

  • Maintain The Lab’s equipment, organizing storage and ensuring that microphones, instruments, and other equipment are stored and organized securely and safely. Note and replace broken equipment on an ongoing basis.

  • Lead documentation efforts at The Lab, including multichannel recording to effectively capture acoustic sources for later mixing and potential release. Coordinate on the prioritization and scheduling of additional documentation staff and contractors as needed.

Primary Qualifications

  • Educational background, professional certifications, OSHA trainings, rigging certifications, and other formal training will all be valued in the application process.

  • Experience working with professional-level sound and lighting systems, including live sound reinforcement for quieter acoustic sources and complex setups with multiple monitor mixes and expanded multichannel diffusion systems. Experience installing and configuring professional-level lighting and projection systems is a significant bonus.

  • Experience managing staff or contract engineers, training others, and scheduling staff is highly important.

  • Experience with a range of experimental sound practices, unconventional installation architectures, complex routing and live processing, and multichannel audio systems and is highly important. Experience with the installation and configuration of similar systems is a significant benefit.

  • Experience with visual art exhibition or installation-based programming is helpful.

  • Experience with Qlab or other theatrical cue systems is helpful.

About The Lab

Founded in 1984 by five art students from San Francisco State University, The Lab is a nonprofit arts organization rooted in San Francisco’s Mission District, historically a hub for labor rights and cultural activism. Over the last four decades, The Lab has been a home for interdisciplinary work bridging exhibition, performance, experimental sound practices, film and moving image, and writing. At the core of The Lab’s programming is a belief in equitable compensation for artists, exemplified through the organization’s Living Wage Residency program, and the power of artists to transform not just what we do, but how we operate. The Lab hosts over 50 live events and multiple exhibitions annually, with an active calendar listed at thelab.org.