VOLUNTEER STAFF POSITION BOARD
Have you volunteered for MAGFest before? Do you have an understanding of how we run but want to do more? Check out what departments need to see if your skills or interests match!
When responding to a listing please include:
what you love about MAGFest
an overview of your interests for this particular position
where you've worked in MAGFest before (department and year)
a department head or manager who might recommend you (if applicable)
As a reminder these are unpaid volunteer positions. It is possible to earn rooming with 30 hours worked, along with a badge and access to the Staff Suite. For the full list of volunteer perks for Super MAGFest 2026, please review our Staff Perks.
The positions here are not representative of all needs at MAGFest. Please reach out to Staffing Operations at stops@magfest.org with questions about how to get involved with other departments or areas.
Finally, all applicants will be considered but acceptance is not guaranteed. Thank you for your interest!
ARCADE
Help run one of the world’s largest arcades for 4 days straight.
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The Help Desk Manager manages the help desk area in the arcade.
Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Checking volunteers in and out for shifts
Helping attendees with questions
Maintaining the Repair Log and contacting collectors about needed repairs
Explaining expectations and on-shift tasks to volunteers
Escalating larger issues to Manager on Call.
Requirements: You must have staffed the arcade for 2 out of the past 3 years to be eligible for this role.
Contact: Arcade-heads@magfest.org
Arena
MAGFest mobile and physical panels need a space to stretch their wings, and MAGMoves is it!
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Arena Managers help Moves presenters get set up for their sessions, and keep the show going smoothly.
Background: Experience with soundboards & projectors is helpful but not required.
Duties:
Set up and manage mics and sound inputs before/during performances
Assist in distribution and cleanup of equipment for participation-based activities
Contact: magmoves@magfest.org
CHIPSPACE
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Responsibilities:
Program the light board (on Wednesday before Super begins)
You will NOT need to climb ladders or install lights yourself.
Conduct a walkthrough with one of the Department Heads and conduct a stream test.
Program a simple safety blue we can keep on when the stage is not in use.
You may take on other duties in Chipspace as your schedule and interests allow.
Experience:
Must have experience and knowledge in programming light boards, specifically in concert/stage settings.
Ability to suggest equipment rentals for the space.
Contact: chipspace@magfest.org
Jampods
Jampods are MAG-sanctioned spaces for anyone (and we mean anyone) to set up and play music! We need help managing those spaces and enforcing jampod rules about time and volume.
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Help maintain order in the halls by monitoring the various Jampods throughout the Gaylord and enforcing the rules for each set.
Background: No experience needed, but a strong will and confident demeanor are highly recommended.
Responsibilities: The volunteer will patrol between Jampod locations, enforcing MAG and Jampod specific rules and reporting any issues that need to be escalated to the Department Head, Manager on shift and/or the Security Team.
Contact: jampods@magfest.org
Logistics
Logistics is the mover and shaker of MAGFest. They’re responsible for moving gear between our warehouse in north DC to the Gaylord, and then packing it all up a week later to take back!
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MAGFest's load in and load out are hectic times, and we need people who are able to drive our rented 26-foot box trucks.
Background: Prior experience with driving large vehicles or packing and strapping down pallets. Warehouse experience preferred.
Responsibilities: Truck drivers will assist with the loading and unloading of their assigned vehicle, and will be responsible for ensuring that pallets are properly secured for transport. They will drive between our warehouse located in Beltsville, MD, on local roads and highways to the Gaylord, and will need to back the truck to a loading dock. They'll also need to be able to do this in reverse once the event is over!
Contact: logistics@magfest.org
MAGFest Power MAG'zine
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Responsibilities:
Using Adobe InDesign:
Assist in creating templates for editorial staff to import their content.
Assist in final file production - importing completed content from editorial staff, exporting print-ready files.
Experience: Required proficiency with Adobe InDesign
Contact: magfestpower@magfest.org
Mediatron
Mediatron are the eyes and ears of MAGFest: they record, stream, photograph, and archive each panel and concert.
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Mediatron records all Panels content that happens at the event, which is then uploaded to YouTube. The objective of this job is to ensure that each individual panel is recorded properly so that they are viewable for anyone to watch afterward.
Background: No experience required, Mediatron gear is very easy to use, and training will be provided.
Responsibilities: Manage the camera recording in each panel room for the duration of each Panels event. This includes starting/stopping the recording before/after each Panel, framing the shot so that relevant content and details on the stage are easy to see, making sure audio is being captured properly in-camera, and swapping out memory cards before they fill up.
Contact: mediatron-heads@magfest.org
PC Gaming Events (LAN)
Our LAN room runs dozens of tournaments and seats over five hundred.
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Tournament Admins help run all of the tournaments in the LAN Room. We run almost 2 dozen tournaments each year and are hoping to expand to even more tournaments, both at event and online.
Responsibilities:
Help direct attendees in the signup process
Make and maintain tournament brackets
Ensure the tournaments run smoothly and in a timely manner
Coordinate with the LAN Theater if their tournament is being livestreamed
Background: No special knowledge is required, just a love of competitive PC Gaming. The software we use is fairly simple. The ability to work under pressure and work with the public are definitely necessary.
Contact: lan@magfest.org
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Tournament Casters are the backbone of the LAN Theater, a room connected to the LAN Room where some of our larger tournaments are livestreamed to Twitch.TV with live commentary. The room also provides space for a live audience to watch, as well.
Responsibilities:
Provide live commentary
Ensure the livestream is up and running smoothly
Interact with the online chat audience
Interact with the live audience
Background: While not required, a deep knowledge about one or more of the games we livestream is a huge plus. Also, some experience streaming on Twitch or some other streaming platform is a big help. This is very much a ‘performance’ position (we do it live) and the more prepared you are, the better.
We are especially in need of people with a deep knowledge of:
CS:GO
Hearthstone
Warcraft 3
Starcraft 2
Heroes of the Storm
DotA 2
Contact: lan@magfest.org
Public Safety
Help keep MAGFest safe for everyone! The Public Safety department assists attendees, guests and staff with medical and safety issues 24 hours a day, before, during and after the event.
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We provide basic first aid (at the skill and comfort level of both the provider and recipient) on a walk-in basis, and also roam the entire event space to respond to safety incidents and proactively look for potential issues. We also serve as the main liaison between MAGFest and our contracted onsite medical responders.
Background: Skills or background in emergency response, medical/healthcare, first aid and/or counseling are highly preferred, but not a requirement. Above all, our volunteers need to be able to keep a cool head, be respectful of people's right to privacy, and willing to encounter and assist with medical emergencies. Must be able to be on one’s feet for long periods of time.
New volunteers will be assigned a trainer for one or more shifts in order to assess their skill level and ensure they have adequate skills and experience to work on their own.
Responsibilities:
Work in a team of two and roam the entire event space looking for safety issues and people in need of assistance.
Provide assistance when possible, radio for additional help if necessary.
Respond to incidents when dispatched via radio.
Contact: publicsafety@magfest.org
ROCK ISLAND
Rock Island helps the artists from Main Stage, Guests, and all side stages by selling and managing their merch throughout the event.
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As the Manager/Cashier, your primary role is to staff the register and assist customers with purchases. We use Square for all sales. You may also be tasked with leading and managing volunteers for side projects (set-up for Meet & Greets, stock merch displays, etc.).
Responsibilities:
Assist Shift Lead with tasks and directing volunteers.
Operate Square, run credit card information (chip, strip, and typing in CC info), and handle cash transactions.
Must complete the cash handling policy document (link will be emailed).
Read supplied Square how-to, if not familiar with Square.
Know how to do returns and manage inventory in Square.
Be familiar with how band merch is organized (this changes every year).
Be familiar with band performance schedules list (this will be posted).
Ensure band merch is stocked/labeled properly .
Keep staff area and merch displays clean/organized.
Experience:
Must be current MAGFest staff or prior staff with any Department
Square experience preferred but not required
Must be able to work with cash (trusted status preferred)
Strong organizational skills preferred
Contact: rockisland-heads@magfest.org
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The Trolley Manager takes performer merch to our deployed locations (Belvedere, XP Stage, Arena, Autographs, etc.) and sell those Guests’ merch during their sessions. Your main task will be to manage sales through Square at the deployed location.
Responsibilities:
Prepare merch for scheduled trolley deployment
Take trolley to performance location 15 minutes prior to performance start and set-up on site at provided table
Sell merch during/after performance and direct fans to Rock Island if stock runs out
Operate Square, run credit card information (chip, strip, and typing in CC info), and handle cash transactions.
Must complete the cash handling policy document (link will be emailed).
Read supplied Square how-to, if not familiar with Square
If no performances are scheduled during your shift, work at Rock Island as Manager/Sales Associate
Experience:
Must be current MAGFest staff or prior staff with any Department
Square experience preferred but not required
Must be able to work with cash (trusted status preferred)
Strong organizational skills preferred
Contact: rockisland-heads@magfest.org
Staffing Operations
Staffing Operations (STOPS) is the first and last line for any volunteer needs before, during, and after a MAGFest event. Since MAGFest is a volunteer run event, this is a ton of work!
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At event, STOPS runs a help desk where volunteers can go to ask questions about their schedules, perks, and about the event in general. We need additional folks who are able to step up and help us run this space!
Background: No hard skill requirements. Problem solving skills will be beneficial. Knowing how to search online resources such as Knowledge Portals or Slack strongly preferred. Be capable of finding an answer to a question you may not know, or at least finding the person who can answer a question.
Responsibilities:
Monitor slack and STOPS emails for volunteer needs and questions
Remain attentive to departmental needs in order to allocate on-call resources
Organize and distribute volunteer swag and event stores of office supplies
Answer in-person questions as best as you can, or escalate to someone who can (either internal to STOPS or in the relevant section)
SWADGES
MAGFest's Swadges are our electronic festival swag-badges. This team helps to create them and design games/features for each year’s Swadge.
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The Digital Artist will work as a part of the Swadge team to create sprites, backgrounds, and other assets for the games and modes.
Responsibilities:
Work with the game designers to create concept art and final assets for Swadge games
Follow timelines set by Swadge leadership
Participate in occasional team meetings
Background: The Swadge team is for all skill levels, but experience with sprite design and pixel art is encouraged.
Contact: circuitboards@magfest.org
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The Hardware Designer will work as a part of the Swadge team to do electrical design and hardware layout of the Swadge PCB and accessories.
Responsibilities:
Specification of electronics components
PCB layout and design review
Mechanical design of cases and accessories
Follow timelines set by Swadge leadership
Participate in occasional team meetings.
Requires pre-event virtual work starting 6-8 months prior to Super.
Requirements: The Swadge team is for all skill levels, but experience with electrical design, PCB layout, or 3D design is encouraged. Experience in KiCAD or other PCB design softwares and/or Fusion360 and other CAD software is preferred.
Contact: circuitboards@magfest.org
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The Game/Mode Designer will work as a part of the Swadge team to create games and other modes for the Swadge.
Responsibilities:
Work independently and with a team on a Swadge mode
Perform programming and playtesting tasks
Follow timelines set by Swadge leadership
Participate in occasional team meetings.
Requires pre-event virtual work starting 6-8 months prior to Super.
Requirements: The Swadge team is for all skill levels, but experience with C/C++, ESP-IDF, writing firmware for microcontrollers, and other programming skills are encouraged.
Contact: circuitboards@magfest.org
Non-Departmental Roles
This is the place for roles that don’t quite fit into a particular department!
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We’re looking for someone to help us develop our internal volunteer-management tool, called Tuber! We need someone who is skilled at front-end design to help guide our back-end developers on how to properly design interfaces for our volunteer coordinators. Repo is open source and available to view here!
Responsibilities:
Based on stakeholder feedback, produce mocks-up of layouts
Implementation of front-end code is desirable, but not mandatory for the role.
Requirements:
Be familiar with CSS and Javascript, Vue3 framework
Be able to communicate with a variety of people in differing roles and be able to translate their feedback into decipherable designs for developers.