Summary

Are you a team-player, builder, explorer, listener, or maker? Tinkering School is looking for Collaborators (After School and Summer Camp Counselors) to join our team! Our Collaborators can curate and shape an environment that tilts us all towards engagement, but follows a child’s lead as they explore that environment.

We are looking for candidates with experience in open-ended learning environments and the challenges they present. Kids across ages hang out all day and during every activity. Ideally you can hold space for a 7-year-old’s unbelievably fascinating tangential story and talk to an eleven-year-old with the adult tone they crave and deserve. We can teach you how to use tools and you can learn to build along side the kids, but it is essential that you firmly believe children are already whole people with important things to say. Are you ready to admit you don't know what to do, then ask questions and do what a 8 year old suggests? Does the mystery of a project soon-to-be designed by kids excite you!?

We are as eager to talk to bombastic college students as we are to talk to educators with 35 years of experience. We are as eager to talk to master storytellers that can handle a crowd as we are to talk to quiet listeners that will take the time to hear the tiniest voice of the shyest camper. We seek to create a well-rounded group full of Collaborators that children of all inclinations can relate to, build relationships with, and trust. What really matters is a focus on the kids.

Open Positions

Summer Camp Program Manager (Temp)

Learn more about the position here.

Summer Collaborators (Seasonal)

Learn more about the position here.

Who We Are Looking For

Candidates will say "That's me!" to any combination of the following skills:

We are seeking experienced kid wranglers and makers who possess a blend of technical, engineering, art, or play-based skills, along with experience with school-age children. You’re our ideal candidate if you are any of the following:

A Developmental Expert: Specialized in either the early years (6–10), navigating the "edge of possibility," or adolescence (11–16), providing a platform for those seeking to be seen and heard.
A Technical Mentor: Master of the shop floor who can command a drill press while safely empowering a six-year-old on a chop saw.
A Field Architect: A "big games" specialist who uses large-scale play to build community and sportsmanship across all ages.
A Narrative Leader: A storyteller who uses craft to anchor the day, focus the group, and build a cohesive "tribe" through shared mythology.
A Provocation Crafter: An educator who designs open-ended invitations that prioritize creative momentum over rigid end-results.
An Empathetic Observer: A professional listener with the "radar" to find the quietest kids and integrate them into the heart of the action.

If you balance professional craft with a genuine sense of curiosity and wonder, you’ve found your people.

Work Hours and Dates:

2026 Summer Camp Dates: Tinkering School will be in operation from June 15, 2026, until July 31, 2026. We hope that you will work the whole summer, but we will also consider hiring partial-summer staff.

Training Week - June 15-19

Session 1 - June 22-26

Session 2 - June 29-July 3

Session 3 - July 6-10

Session 4 - July 13-17

Session 5 - July 20- July 24

Session 6 - July 27 - July 31

Reset Week - August 3-7

Program Hours: Mon-Fri 8:45 am - 5:30 pm

FT and PT opportunities are available.

How to Apply

Click on the position and apply via our candidate portal.

Summer Camp Manager Summer Collaborator

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship for an employment-based visa at this time.

Tinkering School is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions based on merit. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex (including gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender, pregnancy, and breastfeeding), sexual orientation (including heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality), national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, marital status, age, medical condition, genetic characteristics or information, military and veteran status, and physical or mental disability, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state or local laws.

Join our team!