Careers — Working at Film Preservation Lab

Today

No active openings — but we read every email.

The lab runs lean. There’s no role open today, and the next hire is probably 6 — 12 months out depending on volume. That said, we’d rather keep notes on people we’d genuinely want to work with than scramble through job boards when capacity finally requires it.

If your background fits the kinds of roles in section 03 below — even loosely — send a short note about who you are, what you’d want to do, and a portfolio or work sample if you have one. We file the good ones and reach out when the next role opens.

hello@filmpreservationlab.com

01 / How we think about hiring

Four principles.

Stated plainly so you can decide if it sounds like the right place. These also apply to anyone we already work with.

Principle 01

Small on purpose

FPL is a single-lab operation by design. Growth is deliberate — every hire changes how the work feels and what the standard looks like, so we add carefully and only when capacity actually requires it. If that means saying no to scaling we could otherwise pursue, that’s fine.

Principle 02

Hands-on, not handed-off

Everyone here touches actual film at some point in the day. There’s no role that exists purely to manage other roles. The founder still inspects reels and answers customer email; everyone else does the same kind of thing in their part of the workflow.

Principle 03

Hold the standard

The lab’s reason to exist is the gap between conversion services and preservation labs. Holding that standard at consumer scale is the entire job. We hire people who care about the difference and would rather miss a deadline than ship something they’re not proud of.

Principle 04

Honest with customers

Every customer gets a real condition report, transparent pricing, and a written explanation if anything goes sideways. We hire for that posture, not just the technical skills. If you’d rather smooth a problem over than name it, this isn’t the right place.

02 / What it's like to work here

Honest about the shape of the work.

So you can tell whether it sounds right for you before either of us spends a lot of time on it.

You touch real film

Every role at FPL involves hands-on contact with customer collections — inspecting reels, repairing splices, threading the scanner, checking captures, packing returns. There’s no purely-administrative seat.

You write

Condition reports, customer email, project briefs, occasional blog or doc writing. We’re a writing-heavy operation because that’s how the brand standard gets enforced. If you don’t enjoy writing, this would feel like friction.

Slow growth, real benefits

The lab grows ~1 — 2 roles per year. Compensation is competitive for archival-industry roles in the U.S., with full benefits, profit-sharing once profitable, and meaningful equity for senior hires. We don’t compete with mid-stage tech salaries.

Remote-friendly with caveats

Customer-side and technical writing roles can be fully remote. Film handler / scanner operator and lab tech roles are on-site at the lab. We say which is which when a role actually opens.

You’ll see customer outcomes

Because the lab is small, you’ll know which family’s wedding film you scanned this morning and what they wrote when the files arrived. The work isn’t abstract.

You’ll be told no sometimes

We say no to projects, hires, and revenue when accepting them would degrade the standard. That posture applies internally too. If a process you propose isn’t the right call, you’ll hear that and the reason — directly, not after a long roundabout.

03 / Roles we're always interested in

Even when no specific role is open.

If your background fits one of these and we don't have an active opening, send a note anyway. We file good ones and reach out when capacity opens up.

Role 01

Film handler / scanner operator

Someone with hands-on time on a Lasergraphics ScanStation or comparable preservation-class scanner. Comfortable with damaged film, sprocketless transport, and frame-by-frame QC. Either consumer or institutional background.

Role 02

Colorist / post-production

Working knowledge of DaVinci Resolve, scene-by-scene grading, and color recovery on faded film stock (Eastman Color, Ektachrome). Bonus for ACES or Log C pipeline experience and grant-funded archive projects.

Role 03

Customer experience

You write well, answer email like a human, and can explain technical preservation concepts in plain language. Comfort with grant-funded institutional sales cycles is a plus, but consumer-side warmth matters more.

Role 04

Production / lab tech

Mechanical comfort, hand splicer experience, conservation-grade hand cleaning, archival packaging. The role that quietly determines whether scans actually work the day they’re supposed to.

Don’t see your role? Send a note anyway. The lab will eventually need adjacent skills — operations, preservation policy, institutional sales, content — and we’d rather have a list of people we already know than start cold when the time comes.

04 / How to apply

Send a short, direct email.

We don’t use an applicant tracking system. There’s no form to fill, no portal to register for. Just an email that explains who you are and what you’d want to do.