Now Hiring · LTCC Students

Makerspace Technician

Become a founding student leader at The Atrium — South Lake Tahoe's new makerspace. Earn a paid wage, real teaching and leadership experience, and hands-on skills that are hard to find anywhere else.

Temporary, part-time, non-exempt paid internship

$20/hr pay ~10 hrs/week hours Oct 1, 2026 start date

What is The Atrium?

The Atrium is a brand-new makerspace — a hands-on prototyping space where you learn to turn an idea into something real, serving all grades 9-12 learners in South Lake Tahoe. It's located off campus, in our newly renovated building at 970 Lodi Ave.

Think of it as a hub for creatives of all kinds. It's primarily an afterschool resource where students drop in, learn to use real tools, and build whatever they're into. Stations include:

  • —Full wood shop
  • —Metal shop — fiber laser, welding, sheet-metal bending
  • —Digital fabrication — laser cutter, 3D printers
  • —Textiles and sewing
  • —Electronics & robotics
  • —Photography & podcast studio
  • —Cardboard engineering, button pressing, and more
  • —Bike & snow-sports repair

Where we are right now

The Atrium is under construction and set to open in 2027. In the meantime, we've already begun engaging STHS and Mt. Tallac High School regularly, bringing our mobile makerspace (a truck and trailer) to classes and one-off events.

What you'd actually do

As a founding technician, you're helping us build the plane as we fly it. We'll be straight with you: in these early days, we can't tell you exactly what every week will look like. We need people who find that exciting rather than stressful. Once the space is fully operational, schedules, expectations, and duties become much more defined — and you'll be the one who helped get us there.

Before we open (now until opening)

  • Getting good with the tools and tech. You'll get intensive, hands-on training operating the equipment, keeping them maintained, and the safety protocols that go with them. You are not expected to walk in knowing this stuff.
  • Build stuff. Put your new fabrication skills to work building out our certification pathway, class kits, and demo projects.
  • Grow into teaching certification workshops. This is the heart of the role — and honestly the hardest part. Getting comfortable teaching in front of your peers takes time, but it's the most rewarding thing you'll build here.
  • Help us set up shop. Setting up equipment, building storage and organization systems, dialing in stations.

Once we're open (2027 onward)

  • You are the friendly, approachable face of the space.
  • You'll float between stations helping students mid-project — coaching them toward their own solution rather than doing it for them. We only step in to direct when something is unsafe; otherwise we give people the freedom to tinker and figure it out.
  • You'll uphold safety and the rules — confidently stepping in, with students or adults, when someone is using a machine improperly or unsafely.
  • You'll open and close the space and keep it in good shape.

We're hiring for a kind of person, not a skill set. In fact, we'd rather you didn't show up an expert — we want people open to learning new approaches.

Who thrives here

  • ✓Self-directed go-getters — you can take a big, open-ended task, break it down, and see it through, asking for help when you’re genuinely stuck.
  • ✓Reliable — you show up, follow through, and people can count on you.
  • ✓Socially mature leaders — you can handle awkward moments (telling someone their project won’t work, reining in a patron, enforcing a rule) without needing to show off.
  • ✓Patient communicators — you connect with people of all ages and all walks of life, including students with disabilities.
  • ✓Excited to teach and lead — willing to become the person who sets the example.

This probably isn't for you if…

  • ✕You can’t confidently commit to staying in the role through at least Summer quarter 2027.
  • ✕You don’t have a reliable way to get to 970 Lodi Ave and STHS — transportation isn’t provided.
  • ✕You can’t reliably make the required hours (see below).
  • ✕You want a quiet shift where someone hands you a task list.
  • ✕The idea of public speaking or teaching your peers is a hard no.
  • ✕You need a predictable, repeating schedule with a discrete set of tasks.

Majors like the arts, education, and social sciences thrive here just as much as engineering and physics. Bilingual (English/Spanish) is a nice-to-have, not a requirement.

The hours

$20/hr, averaging about ~10 hours/week over the quarter.

Before we open: Expect a loose baseline schedule with one-off asks (helping with a class, Saturday event, miscellaneous foundation project). Weekday morning and afternoon preferred. Some Saturday availability may be required.

Once we're open (2027 onward): our operating hours will be Tue–Sat, 1:00–6:30 PM. Protecting your availability for that window is part of the commitment — you'll be responsible for managing your course schedule accordingly.

What you'll get

  • — Paid, hourly. This is a paid position at $20/hour, averaging about ~10 hours/week.
  • — Real, high-level skills and certifications across tools most people never get to touch.
  • — A portfolio of what you built, taught, and led — plus mentorship from people who've built makerspaces before. Great for a résumé, a transfer application, or a trade path.
  • — A founding role — you'll help shape how this space works from day one, leaving a permanent impact on the community of South Lake Tahoe.

How to apply

Eligibility: Current LTCC students enrolled in credit-bearing coursework only. Applicants must be at least 18 years old by the position's start date. Position is contingent upon completion of required fingerprinting, background-check requirements, and mandated-reporter training.

Commitment: We're looking for founding members who can stay through at least Summer quarter 2027 — and the longer the better, so you're still here when the space you helped build opens. Appointments run one quarter at a time and may be renewed each quarter based on performance, availability, and program needs. Technicians "graduate out" of the role when they leave LTCC.

Start date: October 1st, 2026.

How the process works:

  1. Submit the online application.
  2. Phone interview (~15 minutes). We'll call promising applicants for a quick conversation to better know you. This is your chance to ask us anything!
  3. In-person interview. Some candidates will be invited to meet a couple of us and participate in a hands-on, think-out-loud problem-solving exercise — we hand you an object and ask you to design something for it. There's no right answer, and we're not testing what tools you know or how much experience you have. We just want to hear how you think through a problem!
  4. Offer.

We review applications and schedule interviews on a rolling basis, so the earlier you apply, the better.

Apply Now

Questions? Reach out to Joseph Minnich at joseph@marcellafoundation.org with any questions about the role or the application process.

Equal opportunity & non-discrimination

The Marcella Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, age, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition, genetic information, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply. We're committed to an accessible and inclusive hiring process — if you need a reasonable accommodation at any point in the application or interview, contact Joseph Minnich.