Job Description
The School of Design at Virginia Tech invites applications for an Assistant Professor of Practice in Industrial Design. This is a full-time, 9-month, non-tenure track position with an initial term of three years and the possibility of renewal and promotion.
Virginia Tech’s Industrial Design program is a vibrant, future-focused community where students learn to design products, services, and systems that address real-world challenges at the intersection of technology, ethics, and culture. With approximately 140 undergraduate majors and 10 dedicated faculty members, the program emphasizes hands-on learning, collaborative studio culture, and experiential design practice. We equip builders to solve meaningful problems with emerging technologies.
Students work daily in our outstanding studios and maker spaces, experimenting with materials, processes, and concepts. Together, our faculty and students prototype using robots, drawings, and models, and engage in collaborative reviews that foster growth and innovation. The program also encourages strong relationships with professional designers and industry partners, preparing students to solve multifaceted problems through design.
Position Overview
We are seeking a design professional with strong industry experience and a passion for mentoring students in their journey toward professional success. The ideal candidate will bring current industry knowledge into the studio and classroom, helping students build both technical expertise and transferable skills essential for a wide range of design careers. Growth areas include emerging technologies, enterprise tech, consumer packaging, design management, service and systems design, energy, health, and transportation.
The Assistant Professor of Practice series at Virginia Tech are faculty who are successful professionals and effective teachers in their field. They bring current industry and field knowledge into the classroom, helping students gain the practical and transferrable skills needed to succeed in their discipline and the future of the design practice. Professors of Practice are expected to remain professionally active through teaching, consulting, outreach, and participation in professional societies and associations.
Responsibilities
- Teach undergraduate design studios across the curriculum, integrating contemporary methods into studio teaching.
- Maintain current course content that reflects industry trends, advances experiential learning, and engages emerging technologies.
- Contribute to student success through mentorship, review of portfolios, direction of design-build projects, generation of industry partnerships.
- Demonstrate industry practice: how designers work with companies, production, design constraints, etc., implementation.
- Practice in the creative industries or otherwise advance the profession through meaningful engagement with external stakeholders.
- Contribute to the growth of our program through active participation in a collaborative, cross-disciplinary work environment.
- Participate in service at school/college/university levels and in community/industry partnerships aligned with Virginia Tech’s Ut Prosim mission.
- Travel occasionally for conferences and meetings.
About the School and University
Notable for its studio and maker spaces, the Industrial Design program shares space and synergy with programs like architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, and fashion merchandising and design, as well as various graduate programs in design and planning in the School of Design. The school resides in the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design with schools of architecture, visual arts, and performing arts. As an R1 land-grant university, Virginia Tech is uniquely positioned to incorporate the creative industries into a comprehensive university ecosystem for a holistic approach to research, creative achievement, and outreach, to the benefit of student success and community wellness.
Required Qualifications
- Graduate or professional degree in Industrial Design or related discipline and/or significant professional experience
- Established leadership in the design industry and an ability to bring deep, real-world experience and a passion for bridging industry and academia.
- Expertise in a core design discipline, complemented by a strong appreciation for interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation.
- Proven ability to teach, mentor, or guide emerging designers, whether in academic settings or professional environments.
Preferred Qualifications
- Collaborative in nature and growth mindset, recognition for leadership and systems thinking.
- Experience shaping design education, including curriculum development and program planning.
Materials Submission
For full consideration, interested applicants are asked to submit the following:
- Letter of intent that includes the candidate's proven experience, the potential capacity to fulfill duties and responsibilities, including both the required and preferred qualifications above.
- Curriculum Vitae.
- A one-page personal statement of teaching philosophy including the candidate's ideas for supporting an educational environment consistent with the Virginia Tech Principles of Community.
- Up to 20 examples of professional work (consider including process artifacts and evaluation).
- Up to 20 examples of student work (optional).
- Three professional references (names, emails, and phone numbers).
Salary Information
Salary range is $65,000 - $75,000 per year
Review Date
February 15, 2026