Career Center

Department of Design Tech - Assistant or Associate Professors in Design & Technology

Department of Design Tech

Assistant or Associate Professors in Design & Technology

As part of a unique Radical Collaboration hiring initiative, the new multicollege Department of Design Tech at Cornell University invites applications for one or more full-time, open-rank tenure-track faculty positions in design & technology beginning July 1, 2024, based in Ithaca, NY. Design Tech at Cornell is a leader in design + materials, design + environments, and design + interactions, including new forms of intelligence and living materials and interfaces. We seek design candidates who can engage in the full breadth of the Design Tech curriculum with focused interests and demonstrable expertise in design research areas including AI, Data, and Design; Computational Design and Robotics; Bio-inspired Design; Interaction Design; Digital, Spatial, and Immersive Environments; Responsive Programmable Materials; and Digital Media Design. We are particularly interested in candidates with intersecting expertise in design and emerging technologies.

Recognizing design's integral role in the development of technologies to address complex societal problems and reshaping our environments, we seek candidates who engage in convergence research and transdisciplinary design to develop hybrid thinking in design and emerging technologies, across multiple fields. The multicollege Department of Design Tech seeks to bridge and enhance design and technology across disciplines to address pressing societal needs and to complement and build upon strengths in the design focused disciplines in arts, architecture, science, and engineering as well as the design professions. Design Tech believes that synergizing advancements in design and technology is not only imperative to design education, but also critical for preparing the next generation of designers, engineers, scientists, technologists, and creatives to take on some of the most complex challenges of our time. This requires a radical departure from traditional education and research models in design and science, with a move towards hybrid, transdisciplinary concepts, and new models for pedagogy and collaborative research.

As a collaborative, connected, and concentrated unit with a focus on design and emerging technologies, the multicollege department is composed of a multi-disciplinary faculty in design, science, and engineering, who co-teach transdisciplinary design courses, studios, and seminars, and engage in collaborative research and workshops by sharing resources and moving beyond existing barriers. Design Tech faculty are designers, scientists, engineers, architects, artists, urbanists, and humanists whose work demonstrates how experimental, nonlinear, design-driven philosophies and practices emanating from 3D spatial biology, materials science, human computer interaction, engineering, and generative design can result in radical advances in both scientific and design research and applied practice. The department's first degree offering is an interdisciplinary 2-year Master's in Design Technology that will launch in the 2024-25 academic year.

The new M.S. degree in Design Technology and the state-of-the-art facilities -- including the soon to be completed Design Tech spaces at AAP Ithaca and Cornell Tech in NYC -- reflect both a continuing commitment to excellence and an ongoing investment in design education at Cornell.

A professional degree in either architecture, design arts, engineering design, materials science and design, computer science, computational design, or a PhD in a design-adjacent field where the PhD is the terminal degree is required. Candidate qualifications must include evidence of exceptional strength in design studio teaching as well as visionary practice and/or research work related to design and technology. Faculty responsibilities will include teaching design studios, seminars, and lectures at the graduate and undergraduate levels, mentoring and supervising students, advising masters and doctoral students (in a future PhD program), conducting original scholarly or design research, advising thesis students, and contributions to service and shaping the culture and environment of Design Tech, the collaborating departments, and the university.

The rank and pay range for this position is $90,000 - $140,000, based on selected candidate's qualifications. A generous benefit package includes start-up research funds, educational benefits, access to wellness programs, employee discounts, health care options, generous paid leave provisions and excellent retirement contributions. Cornell has been nationally recognized as an award-winning workplace for health, wellbeing, sustainability, and diversity initiatives.

The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning at Cornell University (Cornell AAP) is home to nearly 1,000 students, 120 faculty, and 65 staff members who come together from around the world to take up some of today's most urgent challenges and advance research, inquiry, and approaches to designing, making, and doing that build a more just and sustainable future.

A vital college at one of the nation's foremost research universities, Cornell AAP bridges fields and faculty with five departments, 21 degree programs, 18 faculty-led labs, and the Cornell Mui Ho Center for Cities, a platform for building partnerships that make change in our cities and communities nationally and internationally.

Cornell AAP's departments include Architecture, Art, and Planning, as well as the new multicollege Paul Rubacha Department of Real Estate, jointly led by the S.C. Johnson College of Business; and the multicollege Department of Design Tech, administered by Cornell AAP in partnership with Cornell Bowers CIS; Cornell Engineering; the College of Human Ecology; and Cornell Tech. The college is housed across three locations -- Ithaca, NY; New York City, NY; and Rome, Italy -- each with world-class facilities and cutting-edge technologies.

Cornell AAP is about acts of transformation. We are committed to building a caring, inclusive, and rigorous community around our shared priorities -- Creative + Critical Practices; Sustainability + Social Impact; Design + Emerging Technologies; and the Future of Cities + Development -- that enable us to reimagine and reshape the world in radically new ways, every day.

Required application materials: (to be submitted digitally)

1. One-page letter of application including a brief statement outlining teaching and practice/research objectives and how the candidate's skills and experiences align with the required qualifications and search criteria.

2. A full CV that highlights notable achievements.

3. One portfolio of design practice/or research, pedagogical materials, and student work. A selection of peer reviewed papers and publications are also strongly encouraged.

4. List of three references with telephone and mailing/email addresses. (Information about references must be provided at the time of application, but referees will not be contacted without notifying the applicant in advance.)

5. We ask applicants for all faculty positions to share their experiences and/or approaches (past, current, or future) to fostering learning, research service, and/or outreach in a diverse community. Applicants may choose to submit a stand-alone statement or embed the information in other parts of their application materials.

For questions and additional information, please contact:

Design Technology Search Committee

Department of Design Tech

College of Architecture, Art, and Planning

129 Sibley Dome, Cornell University

Ithaca, NY 14853-7301

607.255.1123

designtech_chair@cornell.edu

Review of applications will begin on January 1, 2024, and continue until the positions are filled for a start date of July 1, 2024.

For more information about the department, the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, and Cornell University, please visit:

Pay Range:

Pay Ranges:

The hiring rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined considering the following criteria:

• Prior relevant work or industry experience.

• Education level to the extent education is relevant to the position.

• Academic Discipline (faculty pay ranges reflects 9-month annual salary)

• Unique applicable skills.

Employment Assistance:

Notice to Applicants:

EEO Statement:

Diversity and Inclusion are a part of Cornell University's heritage. We are a recognized employer and educator valuing AA/EEO, and we do not tolerate discrimination based on any protected characteristic, including race, ethnic or national origin, citizenship and immigration status, color, sex/gender, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, age, creed, religion, actual or perceived disability (including persons associated with such a person), arrest and/or conviction record, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender expression and/or identity, an individual's genetic information, domestic violence victim status, familial status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. We also recognize a lawful preference in employment practices for Native Americans living on or near Indian reservations in accordance with applicable law.

Cornell University embraces diversity and seeks candidates who will contribute to a climate that supports students, faculty, and staff to all identities and backgrounds. We encourage individuals from underrepresented and/or marginalized identities to apply.