Heritage Machinery Conservation Internship

This hands-on, entry-level internship at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester focuses on preserving, restoring, and maintaining a historic collection of working textile looms, blending practical workshop mechanics with technical research and collections care to support the museum's live demonstration programming.

Job description

Are you curious about how things work? Interested in history, engineering, conservation or making? Want to build hands-on skills while working with incredible historic machinery?

This is a unique opportunity to begin a career in heritage conservation by working with the Science and Industry Museum’s collection of historic textile looms. This internship will help preserve and restore machines that tell the story of Manchester’s industrial past, whilst developing valuable technical and conservation skills for your future career.

About the opportunity

As a Heritage Machinery Conservation Intern, you’ll work alongside experienced technicians, conservators and museum professionals to help care for and conserve historic textile machinery.

Over the course of the internship, you’ll gain practical experience in:

• Heritage conservation and collections care

• Mechanical systems and machinery maintenance

• Technical research and documentation

• Workshop and hands-on conservation practice

• Museum operations and public engagement

You’ll support the conservation and restoration of historic textile looms so they can safely operate as part of the museum’s live demonstration programme; helping bring industrial history to life for visitors.

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone at the beginning of their career who wants to explore pathways into:

• Heritage conservation

• Industrial heritage

• Engineering and technical museum work

• Collections care and museum practice

• Restoration and maintenance of historic machinery

This is a hands-on role where no two days are the same. This is not a hybrid position, so you’ll work on our museum site everyday (Monday to Friday), combining practical workshop activity with research, documentation and collaboration.

You’ll also have the chance to visit other museums and heritage organisations, attend sector meetings and conferences, and learn from professionals across the heritage and conservation sector.

Why apply?

This internship offers a rare opportunity to develop specialist skills in an exciting and growing area of heritage conservation.   

You’ll gain:

• Practical experience working with historic machinery

• Mentoring from experienced museum professionals

• Exposure to conservation and engineering practices

• Insight into careers within the heritage sector

• Opportunities to build professional networks across the industry

• Valuable technical, research and problem-solving skills

Most importantly, you’ll help preserve working industrial heritage for future generations.

About you
You do not need previous experience or specific knowledge to apply - we’ll support your learning and development throughout the placement. Instead, you’ll be someone with enthusiasm, curiosity, attention to detail, and a genuine desire to build a career in this area.

This internship is designed for someone early in their career journey. You may be studying, recently graduated, changing career direction, or simply looking for an opportunity to build experience in the heritage sector.

We’d love to hear from you if you:

• Are excited by practical, hands-on learning

• Enjoy problem-solving and figuring out how things work

• Are curious, organised and eager to learn

• Can pay attention to detail and follow processes carefully

• Enjoy working collaboratively with others

• An interest or enthusiasm for industrial history or textile machinery

• Enjoy researching, recording and sharing information

Experience with tools, workshops, mechanical equipment, engineering, museums or conservation is welcome, but not essential.