Our Organization
Protohaven is a nonprofit design and fabrication school built to serve the public good. Our mission is to engage people in the process of making things to enrich individual lives, build thriving communities, and contribute to a vibrant, sustainable society. As an organization we aim to use our expertise in design and fabrication to help meaningfully address racial inequality, gender inequality, and other long-standing social, economic, and environmental issues in the region.
Our approach mixes new technology with traditional techniques to help students and members from all walks of life create amazing projects – from innovative technology to business-building products to inspiring works of art.
Shop Techs
Protohaven’s Shop Tech program is a one-year co-development program where participants build their design, fabrication, interpersonal, and shop management skills while helping shape and support our community. It is ideal for individuals who are enthusiastic about design, fabrication, and helping to lead a clean, welcoming, and functional community shop.
As a team, Shop Techs represent our maintenance and member support corps at Protohaven—this support comes in the form of greeting and helping members, maintaining and repairing equipment, keeping the shop clean and tidy, and being representative of our Community Guidelines and Shop Rules.
As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic we are focusing our Shop Tech program on reconvening and growing our community in a way that emphasizes inclusion, togetherness, mutual support, and social engagement.
Responsibilities
- Weekly Shop Shifts: Serve a regularly-scheduled weekly (4pm – 10pm on a weekday evening) or bi-weekly (10am – 6pm on either Saturday or Sunday, every other weekend) on-site shift to ensure the shop is a safe, clean, and welcoming place to work. Enforce Community Guidelines and Shop Rules. Perform shop tasks like cleaning, organizing, performing regular maintenance, and supporting members.
- Monthly On-site Session: Regularly scheduled once a month for group training and demonstrations
- Ongoing Community Engagement: Actively engage with the #techs and #maintenance channels on our community Discord server throughout the week to keep up with ongoing shop operations and community updates.
Qualifications
- Responsible, empathetic, conscientious, and friendly
- Experience collaborating with diverse groups of creative people to accomplish common goals
- Ability to represent and communicate our Shop Rules and Community Guidelines with accuracy and clarity
- Enthusiasm for workspaces that are safe, clean, organized, and functional
- Skills in technical troubleshooting, problem solving, and critical thinking
- Ability to use and/or learn email, Google Apps, and Discord
Benefits and Details
- 1 year General Membership
- Free access to Protohaven’s public design and fabrication classes
- Dedicated maintenance, facilitation, and first aid/CPR training.
- Participants qualify as volunteers, and benefits are non-taxable (educational benefits and no-additional cost services)
- Participants may work with children and PA Child Abuse History, PA criminal background, and FBI criminal background clearances may be required
- Protohaven is committed to serving the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities, and members of these communities are enthusiastically encouraged to apply.