What are the responsibilities and job description for the Recreation Gaming Specialist position at Johns Hopkins Medicine?
Bring play, tech, and healing together — and help patients smile.
About the role We’re hiring a Recreation Gaming Specialist to design, deliver, and support engaging, tech-driven recreational experiences for children and families in our Child Life program. You’ll lead gaming strategy, install and maintain hardware and software, train staff, run bedside and activity-center programming (including VR/AR, console gaming, filming/recording, and simple robotics), and run pilots and events that improve patient wellbeing.
Why this role matters Your creativity with technology will transform hospital stays into moments of joy, connection, and learning. You’ll collaborate with clinical teams, patients, families, volunteers, and vendors to turn ideas into safe, age-appropriate, measurable experiences.
What you’ll do (high level)
- Own recreational gaming tech: evaluate, configure, install, update, maintain, and troubleshoot systems and peripherals.
- Train and support Child Life staff and partners on gaming platforms and best practices.
- Deliver bedside, activity center, and event-based digital media and gaming experiences (traditional gaming, VR/AR, social media guidance, filming, basic robotics).
- Design and run pilots, research collaborations, and program evaluations to show impact.
- Coordinate and supervise special visitors, volunteers, and tech-focused events.
- Create individualized tech projects with patients and families to enhance care and coping.
- Help produce broadcast and multimedia programs in collaboration with multidisciplinary teams.
What we’re looking for
- Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
- At least one year working with children (ages 2–20) or equivalent experience demonstrating strong, age-appropriate interaction skills.
- Solid knowledge of current gaming hardware/software and mobile/desktop platforms (console gaming, VR/AR, iOS, Android, Windows).
- Event/project coordination experience and hospital volunteering or clinical exposure preferred.
- Certifications (Certified Recreation Therapist or Child Life Specialist) a plus.
- Basic Life Support (BLS) and AED training required.
Perks
- Work at the intersection of play, technology, and healthcare.
- Lead innovative, visible programs that directly improve patient experience.
- Collaborate across departments and grow your technical and clinical skill set.
If you love tech, games, and making a real difference in kids’ lives, this role is for you.
Salary Range: Minimum 19.02/hour - Maximum 30.44/hour. Compensation will be commensurate with equity and experience for roles of similar scope and responsibility. In cases where the range is displayed as a $0 amount, salary discussions will occur during candidate screening calls, before any subsequent compensation discussion is held between the candidate and any hiring authority.
We are committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment, where we embrace and celebrate our differences, where all employees feel valued, contribute to our mission of serving the community, and engage in equitable healthcare delivery and workforce practices.
Johns Hopkins Health System and its affiliates are drug-free workplace employers.