Maker Education Fabricator: Prototyping and Experience Design (NYC, Part-Time)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Maker Education Fabricator: Prototyping and Experience Design

Company: NORY

Location: New York, United States

Job Type: CONTRACTOR

Category: Maker Education & Experience Design Operations

Date Posted: 2026-08-29

Experience Level: 2-5 Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Design and fabricate engaging, hands-on STEM camp projects for children aged 3-12, focusing on robotics, engineering, and woodworking.

• Develop interdisciplinary learning experiences that seamlessly integrate various educational domains, fostering holistic child development.

• Craft immersive thematic worlds and compelling narratives to enhance the educational impact and engagement of camp activities.

• Empower and train teachers across NORY campuses to effectively deliver curriculum, focusing on the safe and proficient use of tools and machinery.

• Apply deep insights into child development to tailor physical projects precisely to the developmental stages and interests of young learners.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role, while not a traditional "Revenue Operations" or "Sales Operations" role, requires a unique blend of operational execution, curriculum development, and stakeholder management that is critical to the success of NORY's educational programs. The "operations" aspect lies in the systematic design, deployment, and scaling of learning experiences and the training of educators to deliver them consistently and effectively.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Conceptualize, design, and build innovative STEM camp projects, including robotics, engineering challenges, and woodworking activities, specifically for children aged 3-12.

• Integrate diverse learning domains such as electronics, digital fabrication, and coding into unified, interdisciplinary educational experiences.

• Develop engaging thematic frameworks and storytelling elements to create immersive learning environments comparable to high-quality entertainment experiences.

• Create and disseminate clear, instructional materials, particularly video content, to ensure consistent delivery of curriculum vision by teachers across all NORY locations.

• Leverage a strong understanding of child psychology and developmental stages to ensure all fabricated projects are age-appropriate, safe, and highly engaging for the target age group.

• Conduct comprehensive training sessions for NORY teachers, equipping them with the skills to operate tools, machinery, and effectively implement the designed projects.

• Collaborate with the NORY team to gather feedback on project designs and program effectiveness, driving continuous improvement cycles.

• Maintain and manage fabrication equipment, tools, and materials, ensuring a safe and organized workshop environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The core responsibility of this role is the operationalization of educational concepts into tangible, scalable learning experiences. This involves not just creative design but also the systematic planning, testing, and deployment of these experiences, along with the critical component of training the "front-line" educators (teachers) to ensure consistent quality and impact.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a strong foundation in a relevant technical or educational field is implied, likely demonstrated through a portfolio and experience.

Experience: 2-5 years of experience in maker education, curriculum development for children, or hands-on prototyping and fabrication.

Required Skills:

• Proven ability in Prototyping and Fabrication across various mediums (electronics, woodworking, digital fabrication).

• Experience in STEM Education, with a focus on curriculum design and delivery for children aged 3-12.

• Proficiency in Robotics, Engineering, and Woodworking project design and construction.

• Familiarity with Design Thinking methodologies and their application in educational contexts.

• Hands-on experience with microcontrollers and platforms such as Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and Micro:bits.

• Experience with digital fabrication tools like 3D Printing and Laser Cutting.

• Strong Storytelling and creative narrative development skills for educational engagement.

• Excellent Teacher Training and coaching abilities, with a focus on technical skills and pedagogical approaches.

• Deep understanding of Child Development principles and their application to educational programming. Preferred Skills:

• Experience with Mechatronics and integrating mechanical, electrical, and software components.

• Proficiency in coding languages relevant to education, such as Scratch and Python.

• Experience in creating engaging video content for instructional purposes.

• Background in experience design or immersive theming.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a portfolio for this role signifies that practical demonstration of skills in electronics, digital and physical fabrication, and microcontroller programming is more critical than formal educational credentials. The "2-5 years" experience level suggests a need for candidates who have moved beyond basic hobbyist skills and can demonstrate a track record of designing and implementing educational projects for a specific audience.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio showcasing a range of maker projects, with a strong emphasis on those designed for educational purposes and children aged 3-12.

• Demonstrations of proficiency in Electronics (circuits, motors, sensors), including project design and functional implementation.

• Evidence of skills in Digital & Physical Fabrication, such as woodworking, 3D printing, and laser cutting, with examples of completed projects.

• Practical experience with microcontrollers and platforms like Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and Micro:bits, including project code and functionality.

• Examples of projects involving Coding Tools such as Scratch or Python, illustrating their integration into educational activities.

• Brief explanatory notes accompanying each portfolio piece detailing the underlying purpose, design choices, and educational potential. Process Documentation:

• While not explicitly stated as a requirement for submission, candidates are expected to articulate their process for designing, prototyping, and testing educational projects during the interview.

• The ability to document and communicate project instructions clearly for teacher training purposes will be a key aspect of the role.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio is the primary "system" for evaluating candidates. It serves as a demonstration of their ability to translate ideas into tangible, educational outputs. The "process" aspect will be evaluated during interviews, focusing on how candidates approach design challenges, problem-solve, and prepare materials for others to use.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $20.00 – $35.00 per hour (based on experience and portfolio)

Benefits:

• Not applicable (Part-Time/Seasonal)

Working Hours: This is a part-time role. The exact number of hours per week is not specified but is implied to be less than a full-time commitment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is competitive for a part-time maker educator role in NYC, with the upper end reserved for candidates demonstrating exceptional experience and a strong, relevant portfolio. The "Not applicable" for benefits is standard for contract or seasonal positions. The absence of specified working hours suggests flexibility, but candidates should expect to align with camp schedules and project deadlines.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: STEM Education, EdTech, Camps & Workshops. NORY operates within a dynamic and growing sector focused on innovative learning experiences for children.

Company Size: NORY is described as the largest STEM camp provider in NYC, serving over 4,000 campers annually. This suggests a significant operational footprint and a growing team, likely ranging from 50-200 employees, with potential for seasonal staff expansion.

Founded: The founding date is not explicitly stated, but the company is positioned as an established leader in NYC's STEM education landscape.

Team Structure:

• The role reports to a hiring manager named Peter, likely a program lead or curriculum director.

• The Maker Education Fabricator will work closely with other educators, curriculum designers, and potentially administrative staff.

• Collaboration is expected across different NORY campuses and with the teaching staff who will implement the fabricated projects. Methodology:

• Data-Informed: NORY emphasizes grounding strategic choices and assessments in logic and empirical data. This implies a data-driven approach to curriculum development and program evaluation.

• Purpose-Driven: Actions are intentional, always leading with "why" to cultivate intrinsic motivation. This suggests a focus on the educational mission and impact.

• Solution-Oriented: The team is encouraged to find how to make things work before questioning if they are possible, fostering a proactive and innovative problem-solving culture.

Company Website: https://www.nory.co/

📝 Enhancement Note: NORY positions itself as a leader in STEM education, akin to a "Disney World of STEM." This implies a high standard for creativity, engagement, and operational excellence in delivering magical and impactful learning experiences. The "Ways of Being" culture emphasizes a proactive, mission-driven, and collaborative approach, critical for success in this role.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a specialized "Fabricator" or "Maker Educator" within the operations of NORY's educational programs. It's an execution-focused role with significant creative input and direct impact on program content. It sits at an intermediate level, requiring demonstrable skills and experience rather than entry-level tasks.

Reporting Structure: The Maker Education Fabricator reports to a hiring manager (Peter) and works collaboratively with teachers and potentially other curriculum developers. This structure allows for direct contribution and feedback loops.

Operations Impact: The fabricator's work directly impacts the quality and effectiveness of NORY's STEM camps. By designing and building engaging projects and training teachers, they influence the learning experiences of thousands of campers and hundreds of educators, contributing to NORY's mission of fostering entrepreneurship, problem-solving, and leadership.

Growth Opportunities:

• Curriculum Development Specialization: Opportunity to deepen expertise in designing and fabricating STEM educational materials, potentially leading to more advanced curriculum design roles.

• Leadership in Maker Education: As NORY grows, there could be opportunities to lead fabrication efforts, manage workshop resources, or train new fabricators.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Exposure to various aspects of NORY's operations, including program management, teacher training, and experience design, offering a broad understanding of the organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: While not a traditional corporate operations role focused on revenue or sales, this role offers significant growth in the specialized field of educational program development and hands-on learning experience design. The impact is measured in educational outcomes and the successful scaling of these programs.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is based in New York City and involves hands-on work in a fabrication/workshop setting, likely within NORY's camp facilities or a dedicated maker space.

Office Location(s): New York, United States. Specific campus or workshop locations would be provided upon engagement.

Workspace Context:

• A hands-on environment requiring the use of various tools, machinery, and equipment for prototyping and fabrication.

• Opportunities for collaboration with fellow educators and direct interaction with teachers who will use the developed materials.

• A creative and dynamic space where innovative ideas for children's learning experiences are brought to life.

Work Schedule: Part-Time/Seasonal. The exact schedule is flexible but will require availability for project development and teacher training sessions, likely aligning with camp operational needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The work environment is highly practical and creative, demanding both technical skill and pedagogical understanding. It's a hands-on role where the output is directly visible and impactful on young learners.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Application & Portfolio Submission: Candidates must submit a resume, portfolio, and a note explaining their fit for the role to peter@nory.co.

• Portfolio Review: NORY will evaluate the submitted portfolio for demonstrated skills in electronics, digital/physical fabrication, and microcontroller/coding platforms. The explanatory notes are crucial for understanding the candidate's educational intent.

• Interview(s): Likely to involve discussions about the candidate's experience, design philosophy, understanding of child development, and ability to train teachers. Practical demonstrations or case studies related to project design and fabrication might be included.

• Cultural Fit Assessment: Evaluation based on NORY's "Ways of Being" to ensure alignment with the company's mission and values.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Showcase Breadth and Depth: Include examples of projects across all requested categories: electronics, digital/physical fabrication, microcontrollers, and coding.

• Highlight Educational Application: For each project, clearly articulate its purpose, the learning objectives it addresses, and how it is tailored for children aged 3-12.

• Demonstrate Design Process: Briefly explain your design choices, challenges faced, and solutions implemented. This shows problem-solving capabilities.

• Quality over Quantity: Ensure high-quality photos or videos of your work, clearly showing functionality and design.

• Concise Explanations: Use the requested "brief notes" effectively to convey the essence of each project's educational value and your innovative approach.

Challenge Preparation:

• Be prepared to discuss how you would design a specific STEM project for a given age group and learning objective.

• Consider how you would simplify complex technical concepts for young children and for teachers with varying technical backgrounds.

• Think about how you would create engaging narratives or thematic elements for a camp activity.

• Be ready to explain your approach to ensuring safety and proper tool usage in a children's workshop environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The application process is heavily weighted towards the portfolio, which serves as a primary screening tool. Candidates should focus on demonstrating not just technical skill but also pedagogical insight and the ability to communicate the educational value of their creations.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Fabrication Tools: Woodworking tools, hand tools, power tools, potentially CNC machines.

• Digital Fabrication: 3D printers, laser cutters.

• Electronics Tools: Soldering irons, multimeters, oscilloscopes, breadboards, component kits.

• Programming & Prototyping Platforms: Arduino IDE, Raspberry Pi OS, Micro:bit development environments, Scratch visual programming, Python IDEs.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not a direct analytics role, candidates will be expected to gather and interpret feedback on project effectiveness, which may involve simple data collection methods. CRM & Automation:

• Not directly applicable to this role, but communication platforms (email, video conferencing) will be essential for teacher training and collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency with a wide range of maker tools and platforms is essential. The ability to quickly learn and adapt to new tools or software used by NORY will be beneficial. The emphasis is on practical, hands-on tool usage and programming for educational outcomes.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Purpose-Driven: All actions are guided by the mission to make learning magical and impactful for children. This means prioritizing educational outcomes and engagement.

• Solution-Oriented: A proactive mindset is crucial; candidates must be eager to figure out how to achieve project goals, embracing challenges as opportunities.

• Data-Informed: Decisions and assessments should be grounded in logic and feedback, implying an iterative approach to project design and refinement based on observed results.

• Accountable: Taking ownership of project outcomes and the success of teacher training is expected.

• Growth-Minded: Embracing feedback, learning new skills, and adapting to evolving educational needs are key.

• Root-Cause Solvers: When issues arise in project design or implementation, candidates are expected to delve deep to find sustainable solutions, not just quick fixes.

• Unifiers: Fostering a collaborative and empathetic environment with fellow team members and teachers is paramount.

Collaboration Style:

• Highly collaborative, requiring close work with curriculum developers and direct engagement with teachers across multiple NORY campuses.

• Emphasis on clear communication, especially through video, to ensure consistent vision delivery.

• A culture of shared learning and continuous improvement, where feedback is actively sought and integrated.

📝 Enhancement Note: NORY's "Ways of Being" are central to their culture. Candidates must demonstrate alignment with these values, showing they are not just technically skilled but also mission-driven, collaborative, and committed to continuous improvement in the context of education.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Creativity with Scalability: Designing projects that are innovative and engaging for children while also being feasible to fabricate, deploy, and teach consistently across multiple locations.

• Adapting to Diverse Age Groups: Tailoring complex STEM concepts and fabrication techniques to be accessible and appropriate for children ranging from 3 to 12 years old.

• Effective Teacher Training: Ensuring that teachers, who may have varying technical backgrounds, can confidently and safely implement the fabricated projects and deliver the intended learning experience.

• Rapid Prototyping Cycles: Working within potentially tight timelines to develop, test, and refine projects for upcoming camp sessions.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Maker Skills: Opportunity to work with cutting-edge fabrication technologies and expand expertise in areas like mechatronics or advanced programming.

• Curriculum Design Mastery: Developing a deep understanding of educational psychology and pedagogy, and how to translate it into hands-on STEM learning experiences.

• Instructional Design & Training: Enhancing skills in creating effective training materials and methodologies for adult learners (teachers).

• Impactful Contribution: Seeing the direct, positive impact of one's creative work on thousands of children's educational journeys.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents the challenge of bridging the gap between technical creation and effective educational delivery. Success depends on not only making things but also on ensuring others can use them effectively to educate. The growth opportunities lie in deepening expertise in educational technology and program development.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you designed a hands-on STEM project for young children. What were the learning objectives, what materials did you use, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on process, educational intent, and results.)

• "How would you adapt a complex robotics project to be suitable for a 5-year-old versus a 10-year-old?" (Tests understanding of child development and project simplification.)

• "Imagine you need to train a group of teachers who have never used a 3D printer before. What would be your approach to ensure they can safely and effectively operate it for a camp activity?" (Assesses training methodology and safety focus.)

• "If a project you designed wasn't engaging children as expected, what steps would you take to diagnose and fix the issue?" (Probes problem-solving and iterative design skills.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "Why NORY specifically? What about our mission and 'Ways of Being' resonates with you?" (Requires research into NORY's values and mission.)

• "How do you embody the 'Solution-Oriented' or 'Growth-Minded' value in your work?" (Connects personal experience to NORY's cultural pillars.)

• "What is your experience working collaboratively with educators or stakeholders to implement your designs?" (Assesses teamwork and communication.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: Organize your portfolio logically, perhaps by project type or by the skills demonstrated (electronics, fabrication, coding).

• Narrative: For each project, clearly articulate the "why" (purpose/learning objective), the "what" (design/materials), and the "how" (process/outcome/impact). Use the requested "brief notes" effectively.

• Visuals: Ensure high-quality images or videos that showcase the functionality and appeal of your creations.

• Conciseness: Be prepared to walk through your portfolio efficiently, highlighting key projects that best align with the role's requirements.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating not just technical prowess but also a deep understanding of educational principles, child development, and the ability to translate technical designs into effective learning experiences for both children and educators. The portfolio is your primary tool for showcasing this.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this maker education position:

• Submit your resume, portfolio, and a note explaining your fit for this specific fabrication role to peter@nory.co.

• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features projects demonstrating skills in electronics, digital/physical fabrication, microcontrollers (Arduino, Raspberry Pi), and coding (Scratch, Python), with clear explanations of their educational intent for children aged 3-12.

• Resume Optimization: Highlight relevant experience in maker education, curriculum development, prototyping, fabrication, and teacher training. Quantify achievements where possible (e.g., "developed X projects for Y campers").

• NORY Research: Familiarize yourself with NORY's mission, "Ways of Being," and their approach to STEM education. Understand their target audience and the impact they aim to achieve.

• Prepare for Discussion: Be ready to discuss your design process, your understanding of child development, your approach to teacher training, and how your skills align with NORY's values and the specific requirements of the Maker Education Fabricator role.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.