PEM-Director of Exhibition Design

Peabody Essex Museum (PEM), in Salem, Massachusetts, one of the nation's largest and most dynamic art museums, seeks a visionary Director of Exhibition Design to lead its Exhibition Design Department. This role oversees the imaginative planning, design, and implementation of a wide range of projects, including long-term collection galleries, temporary exhibitions, collection rotations, and enhancements to public spaces across the Museum’s campus.

This position offers an exceptional opportunity to shape the future of PEM’s exhibitions, combining creative vision with operational excellence to create transformative and engaging visitor experiences. The role demands a leader with the ability to oversee complex logistics, manage schedules and budgets, balance competing priorities, and resolve challenges. The position requires a minimum of eight years’ experience in exhibition design for art/cultural institutions and four years of management and administration experience in a design-related capacity. The successful candidate will have substantial experience in the comprehensive design process for museum installations, including staffing and team coordination, scheduling, budgeting, and overall design phasing and document packaging.

The Director of Exhibition Design manages a $1-million annual budget specific to design costs and leads a team of seven-eight designers and fabricators, managing departmental staffing, including hiring, mentoring, and performance monitoring. The department operates as a collaborative, artful design-build function, requiring coordination to balance in-house fabrication capabilities with contract providers to achieve outstanding and timely results.

The Director will play a key role in the Museum's long-term exhibition strategy. This involves close collaboration with PEM’s curators and museum project teams to produce a robust calendar of unique and highly acclaimed special exhibitions within approximately 30,000 square feet of gallery space. Ongoing collection galleries, which rotate regularly and are often installed in thematic, multi-disciplinary presentations, span approximately 55,000 square feet. PEM is celebrated for its groundbreaking exhibitions that explore contemporary and historical themes with bold, interdisciplinary perspectives, resonating with diverse audiences.

PEM’s culture is forward-thinking and collaborative, with staff working across collections and departments, celebrating intersections, discovery, and immersive visitor experiences. The Museum's world-class collection encompasses more than 850,000 works of art and culture, architecture, and objects dating from antiquity to today, including African, Asian, American, Native American, and Oceanic art. The collection reflects the interconnected nature of global cultures and includes renowned collections of maritime art and artifacts, fashion, and textiles. The Phillips Library Collection, comprising more than 350,000 bound volumes, broadsides, maps, photographs, and ephemera, is among the oldest libraries in the United States.

With 85,000 square feet of gallery space, a $38-million annual operating budget, and an endowment exceeding $628 million, PEM attracts approximately 200,000 visitors annually.

Salary range: $100,00 - $121,000 plus a comprehensive benefits package. See www.museum-search.com/open-searches for details of the job responsibilities. To apply in confidence, submit an application online at https://rcr.li/PUXH by February 7, 2026.  Apply early: candidates are considered on a rolling basis. Nominations welcome. Questions should be directed to Ken Turino, Senior Search Consultant, Museum Search & Reference, via [email protected]. 

PEM is committed to fostering a collaborative, inclusive, and respectful environment and is committed to diversity and encourages qualified candidates from all backgrounds to apply.