The Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS) is in the midst of a major initiative to ignite a digital transformation as part of a multi-year campaign to build a new History Center, scheduled to open in fall 2026. The exhibits and programming being planned for the Center rely heavily on digital collections, digital learning, and virtual programs, all based in the Center, while the digital content will allow a broad audience from across the state to connect with the Society’s collections and participate in events, lectures, community engagement, workshops and interactive research.

This transformation requires modernization of the Society’s equipment, systems, workflows, and building capacity within the Society’s Digital Services and IT teams. This position is part of a triumvirate that will provide leadership during this transition and help shape our digital strategy for the future. When ultimately realized, the Society’s digital strategy will enable the Society to connect communities across the state and nation to museum programs, ensure broad accessibility and preservation of the Society’s rich collections, and facilitate discovery of freely available digital content for national and international audiences.

The Digital Production Manager will be responsible for strategically managing digitization projects, staffing, and the specialized equipment and resources for the operation of the Digital Services Labs (Audiovisual, Digital, Microfilm). The Digital Production Manager has oversight of projects and staff in the areas of imaging, quality control, audiovisual reformatting, captioning/transcription, optical character recognition, and metadata (technical, structural). Working closely with internal and external stakeholders, the Digital Production Manger ensures an appropriate flow of materials, manages digitization processes and services, advises stakeholders on technical specifications, and makes project level decisions collaboratively with team members.