Now Hiring: RPM Apprentice for LeMay - America's Car Museum in Tacoma, WA
March 11, 2025
Are you passionate about classic cars? Do you dream of working hands-on with some of the most iconic vehicles in automotive history? If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you. LeMay – America’s Car Museum
and the RPM Foundation are looking for a dedicated and detail-oriented Apprentice to join our Collection Team. This is more than just a job—it’s a chance to turn your love for vintage automobiles into a rewarding career.
Read the Full Job Description
What Makes This Opportunity Special?
As an Apprentice Technician, you’ll work side by side with senior experts during a two year period to preserve, restore, and maintain an extraordinary collection of historic vehicles. Whether it’s reviving a classic muscle car, fine-tuning a pre-war automobile, or ensuring our running fleet is ready for exhibitions and events, you’ll be at the heart of automotive history in action.
What You’ll Be Doing
From day one, you’ll be immersed in the world of automotive restoration and preservation. Your hands-on training will include:
- Vehicle maintenance and repair, including oil changes, brake checks, tire rotations, and diagnosing mechanical issues
- Restoration techniques, such as sanding, priming, painting, and upholstery repair
- Hands-on learning with specialized tools and diagnostic equipment
- Collections care, ensuring museum vehicles are properly maintained for display and operation
- Diagnostic and problem-solving skills for both mechanical and electrical systems in classic cars
Who We’re Looking For
The ideal candidate will:
- Be at least 18 years old with a valid driver’s license and a clean driving record
- Have completed an automotive technology-based educational program (high school or technical college)
- Be passionate about classic cars and eager to expand their knowledge of automotive history
- Have the ability to work hands-on with historic vehicles and master a variety of restoration techniques
- Be a team player who can thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment
Why Join Us?
At LeMay – America’s Car Museum, you won’t just be working on cars—you’ll be preserving history. This apprenticeship is a launchpad for your automotive career, offering:
- Hands-on training with industry experts
- Real-world experience with museum-quality vehicles
- The chance to work in one of the most renowned car museums in the country
- The starting salary is $21.66 and will be eligible, based on performance, for a salary increase every 6 months.
How to Apply
If you’re ready to jumpstart your career in automotive restoration and become part of an incredible team, please review the full job description and then apply by sending your resume and cover letter to jobs@americascarmuseum.org.
Know someone who would be perfect for this role? Share this opportunity with them!
share this
Related Articles
Related Articles
The RPM Restorer’s Award was recently presented at the Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival and the Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals. This award honors not just the car, but the craftspeople behind its restoration whose work reflects mastery, passion, hands-on skill, and a deep respect for preservation. Exhibitors may nominate the individual or shop responsible for their restoration or preservation and RPM staff and our advisors then conduct interviews to select the recipient. We place special emphasis on those who have mentored apprentices and students, ensuring the next generation is inspired and equipped. Let's meet our winners!
The RPM Foundation is proud to announce the we have wrapped production on the first episode our new docu-series, Endangered Skills . This series, being produced with the assistance of Lucky Kraken , is designed to preserve and share the rare, hands-on techniques that are vital to keeping classic cars on the road, many of which are practiced by only a handful of experts across the country. Filming for the first episode took place at LaVine Restorations in Nappanee, Indiana, and featured owner and expert Travis LaVine and RPM Apprentice Jesse Corder. LaVine Restorations is currently mentoring seven RPM Apprentices! Travis and Jesse worked together to demonstrate the essential steps in planning a professional vehicle restoration. This foundational episode sets the tone for what’s to come, giving viewers a detailed look at how expert-level restorations begin. Future episodes will dive into step-by-step instruction of specialized skills such as bending windshield glass, babbitting for bearings, and more. These are the techniques that are becoming increasingly rare, and RPM is committed to keeping them alive. Stay tuned for the release date and information about upcoming episodes. If you have a rare skill that you believe would suit our series, we'd love to hear from you! Please send us a message !
The 2025 Greenwich Concours d’Elegance, held in late May in Greenwich, CT, showcased a dazzling array of vehicles spanning vast eras and origins. Among the fantastic automobiles sat a dark green 1986 Lamborghini Countach LP5000 Quattrovalvole that forced an extended pause by any who passed by. Freshly restored for the Serafino Collection by Bruce Canepa and the Canepa team , the owners' themselves sought to recognize Bruce's master craftsmanship. They did so with a nomination for the RPM Restorer's Award, a bestowment acknowledging not just the beauty of the cars on the lawn, but the skill it takes to achieve such condition. At the event, RPM Foundation Executive Director Nick Ellis presented the award, honoring the Canepa team's abilities in all facets of restoration. Along with celebrating the artistry of restoration and preservation, special consideration is given to RPM Restorer's Award nominees who pass their skillset on to the next generation. Bruce Canepa, who discovered a love for vehicles at a young age himself, has provided mentorship to numerous up-and-coming restoration professionals. For this, and his exceptional capabilities, we applaud him! And the Countach? It is indeed quite a machine. The car underwent a full ground-up restoration at Canepa that included a few custom touches designed to feel as if they came straight from the factory. Among them, a white leather and green Alcantara interior, a tuned 5.2-liter V-12, and subtle bodywork tweaks that make the iconic wedge even sleeker. Congrats to Bruce Canepa and his team on their efforts to preserve automotive history now, and well into the future.
