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Employment Opportunities

The University of Washington's Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) is hiring for the following positions:

Assistant and/or Associate Teaching Professor

Posted November 29, 2023

The Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) at the University of Washington plans to hire up to two Assistant Teaching Professors or one Associate Teaching Professor and one Assistant Teaching Professor (100% FTE, non-tenured) starting the 2024-2025 academic year. HCDE is expanding its faculty to address the growing need for professionals trained in Human Centered Design & Engineering from a multi-disciplinary perspective. HCDE is committed to being a model of diversity in the UW College of Engineering.

This position is a nine month academic year appointment as a voting member of the HCDE faculty. The rank of appointment, initial appointment duration, and compensation will be commensurate with the applicant’s qualifications and experience.

The appointment will begin in September 2024. The initial appointment is expected to be for 2–3 years. The position can be renewed, and Teaching Professors are reviewed at the end of each appointment period for reappointment consideration. Upon successful renewal, longer appointments can be considered depending on rank.

UW faculty enjoy outstanding benefits. The base salary range for this position will be $9,000-14,000 per month, commensurate with experience and qualifications, or as mandated by a U.S. Department of Labor prevailing wage determination.

University of Washington faculty engage in teaching, scholarship, and service. While Teaching Professors are primarily focused on teaching (typically 6 teaching assignments per year) and service, they also participate in the diverse scholarship  activities in the department and collaboratively across the college and university, including curriculum development, outreach activities, presenting new teaching techniques within the university and beyond, and conducting research. In addition to having voting rights in the faculty, HCDE Teaching Professors are equal partners with tenure-track faculty in the governance and leadership of the department.    

Positive factors for consideration include, but are not limited to, the following: teaching experience; individuals with demonstrated ability or potential for teaching excellence and a diverse intellectual background across engineering and design; and/or a passion for and demonstrated excellence in teaching a studio-based pedagogy and/or project-based learning approaches.

HCDE has an extensive, evolving, and growing curricular program. HCDE offers bachelors, professionally oriented masters, and doctoral degrees as well as a User-Centered Design graduate certificate program. HCDE also collaborates with other departments on campus to offer a Master of Science in Data Science (MSDS); a Master of Human Computer Interaction and Design (MHCI D); and, through the Global Innovation Exchange (GIX), a Master of Science in Technology Innovation (MSTI). HCDE faculty members may teach in one or more of these programs. All of our programs require teaching in-person in the Seattle area.

The successful candidate(s) will be expected to teach courses such as: human centered design processes, service design, product design, interaction design, game design, sustainable design, visual design, design strategy, design management, programming, ML/AI, AR/VR, information visualization, equitable engineering, physical computing, data science, collaborative systems, accessibility, and ethics.

Background Information

HCDE is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Successful candidates will join a vibrant faculty conducting interdisciplinary scholarship and research in human-computer interaction and the design of sociotechnical systems. Current faculty work in infrastructure studies, human-computer interaction, research through design, health informatics and behavior change, visualization, computer-supported cooperative work, crowd-sourcing, computer-mediated communication, engineering design, scientific collaboration, emerging communication technologies, human centered data science, visual analytics, and engineering education.

The department is the home of dynamic, collaborative faculty labs, and faculty members regularly collaborate with colleagues in Computer Science and Engineering; the Information School; and the School of Art, Art History, and Design. Faculty members also routinely engage in research projects with affiliates from the region’s high-tech industry. Seattle is home to many prominent technology companies, along with a robust startup and global health community.

Qualifications

It requires a Masters degree (or foreign equivalent) in a relevant field. A PhD (or foreign equivalent) in relevant field is also acceptable.

Application Instructions

To apply, please submit the following materials via Interfolio. Review of applications will begin February 26, 2024. 

  1. Letter of application
  2. Current CV
  3. Contact information for three references
  4. Diversity, equity, and inclusion statement *
  5. Teaching statement or teaching philosophy
  6. For applicants with prior teaching experience, a teaching portfolio that includes:
    1. Instructional materials such as sample syllabi, in-class activities, and assignments with associated evaluation and/or grading rubrics
    2. If available, course evaluations that provide both quantitative and qualitative evidence of teaching and mentoring effectiveness

 * A diversity, equity, and inclusion statement helps applicants reflect on how their approach to teaching and/or service contributes to positive social change and supports people who represent differences in gender, class, race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, national and cultural boundaries, national origin, worldview, intellectual origin, ability, and other identities. We invite you to reflect and describe your related experiences in teaching and service and also where you stand to grow with regard to issues of diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice, and your potential to mentor and educate diverse students.

For questions regarding this position or possible disability accommodations, please contact Stacia Green (greens6@uw.edu).

Apply via Interfolio


Research Assistant Professor: Sustainability and Renewable Energy Design & Innovation

Posted November 29, 2023

The Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) at the University of Washington invites applications for a full-time non-tenure-track research assistant professor position in Sustainability and Renewable Energy Design & Innovation. This is a full-time, non-tenured position (12-month service period). This position will not be sponsored for a visa or for permanent residence.

The successful candidate will be expected to engage in research in sustainability transitions, design, and innovation in renewable energy knowledge infrastructures. The ideal candidate will also have:

  • Expertise in renewable energy management and policy
  • A track record of supporting innovation in the renewable energy sector
  • An existing research program on how environmental and technological change requires knowledge infrastructures to adapt
  • Experience using methods from science and technology studies, participatory design, sustainability transitions, science and innovation studies and related fields
  • Experience using theories from science and technology studies, design studies, sustainability transitions and science and innovation studies and related fields
  • Experience developing a working group on equity in renewable energy 

Desired skills

  • Experience in qualitative research on international and large-scale research arenas
  • Success in leading large collaborative, interdisciplinary research activities and grant proposals
  • Ability to develop collaborative relationships with industry, government, and university researchers to support innovation in renewable energy in the Pacific Northwest, nationally, and internationally.
  • Effectively communicate impacts of renewable energy technologies on communities and environments, especially pertaining to equity and justice
  • Experience conducting expert interviews and policy analysis

This position will be 80% research grant-funded (i.e., soft money) and 20% department funded. The successful candidate is expected to develop a vigorous and innovative externally-funded research program that provides research opportunities for graduate students, postdoctoral research associates, and undergraduate students. Successful candidates must be able to demonstrate they have been able to successfully raise grant funds covering their salary for at least 3 years. If interested, there is a possibility of occasionally teaching courses in HCDE. 

The base salary range for this position will be $9,000-13,000/month, commensurate with experience and qualifications, or as mandated by a U.S. Department of Labor prevailing wage determination.

Our department's social justice mission leads us to invest in recruiting colleagues who in their scholarship, teaching, and service demonstrate experience with, knowledge of, and sensitivity to the needs of culturally diverse and oppressed populations. As a program with a core mission of social justice and a deeply diverse student body, we seek candidates with a demonstrated commitment to work with marginalized communities and with students holding a range of worldviews. In accord with the University’s expressed commitment to excellence and equity, contributions in scholarship and research, teaching, and service that address diversity and equal opportunity may be included among the professional and scholarly qualifications for appointment and promotion.

Qualifications

Applicants must have a Ph.D. or foreign equivalent in sustainability and renewable energy design & innovation or a related discipline by the date of appointment.

Application instructions

UW is using Interfolio's Faculty Search to conduct this search. Applicants to this position receive a free Dossier account and can send all application materials, including confidential letters of recommendation, free of charge.

Please provide pdf files for the following requested materials:

  • Cover letter
  • Curriculum vitae, which explicitly includes a section on funded research grants covering the last 3 years
  • Contact information for at least three (3) professional references
  • A statement of experience and interest in research
  • Three sample publications
  • A personal statement on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)*

*A Diversity Statement helps applicants reflect on how their approach to teaching and/or service contributes to positive social change and supports people who represent differences in gender, class, race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, national and cultural boundaries, national origin, worldview, intellectual origin, ability, and other identities. We invite you to reflect and describe your related experiences in teaching and service and also where you stand to grow with regard to issues of diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice, and your potential to mentor and educate students who will serve diverse populations.

Apply via Interfolio


Assistant Professor

Posted September 28, 2023

The Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) at the University of Washington is hiring an Assistant Professor position to provide excellence in teaching and research programs in our dynamic, interdisciplinary intellectual community in Autumn 2024. 

Background information

HCDE is a vibrant, welcoming, and engaged interdisciplinary community that incorporates a range of intellectual traditions. Successful candidates will join a dynamic faculty conducting research in the design and engineering of sociotechnical systems broadly defined. We offer BS, MS, and PhD degrees and serve as a founding contributor to three interdisciplinary graduate degrees. Candidates will teach undergraduate and graduate courses and will supervise doctoral students. The yearly teaching load is three courses (one per quarter) plus supervision of for-credit directed research groups. Teaching opportunities will be based on our current course offerings and the individual’s areas of scholarly expertise. 

The successful candidate will be expected to expand on an emerging area within the department: Equity and Engineering. We are particularly interested in scholars whose work lies at the intersection of agendas oriented toward addressing societal inequities and work in human centered design and engineering, but all qualified candidates are welcome to apply. We especially encourage candidates whose research engages Black Studies, Indigenous Studies, and related strands of decolonial thought and/or centers the intellectual genealogies of Black and Indigenous groups. Successful candidates will be expected to address the societal implications of technology.

Successful candidates are expected to develop substantial programs of research including peer-reviewed publications and external funding.

All UW faculty engage in teaching, research and service. The College of Engineering regularly sets visions for strategic research areas; current areas can be found here. Faculty members also routinely collaborate with colleagues across campus and with affiliates from the region’s noted high-tech industry. Seattle is a culturally diverse urban center with growing racial, ethnic and immigrant communities. It is also home to many prominent technology companies, along with a robust startup and global health community. The University of Washington is building a culturally diverse faculty and encourages applications from women and minority candidates.

UW faculty enjoy outstanding benefits. The base salary range for this position will be $10,000-15,000 per month, commensurate with experience and qualifications, or as mandated by a U.S. Department of Labor prevailing wage determination. Review of applications will begin November 15, 2023, with applications accepted until the position is filled. 

Qualifications

Candidates should show evidence of strong promise in teaching as well as scholarship. Applicants for this Assistant Professor (tenure-track) position should be recent or soon to graduate PhDs and must have earned a doctorate (or foreign equivalent) in a relevant field by the date of appointment. This is a 9-month, full-time appointment.

Application instructions

Appointment is expected to begin in Autumn 2024. Review of applications will begin November 15, 2023. To apply, send (1) a letter of application, (2) a current c.v., (3) a statement of research, (4) a statement of teaching goals, (5) a diversity statement*, (6) up to three representative papers and (6) contact information for at least three people from whom we may request letters of recommendation.

For questions regarding this position or possible disability accommodations, please contact Stacia Green (greens6@uw.edu).

Apply via Interfolio

Applicant FAQs

Q: Is my work close enough to the focus on equity and engineering? What department needs are you really looking to fill with this position? 
A:
We take a broad view of what constitutes a focus on equity and engineering. If you think this job is of interest to you in any way, we encourage you to apply. 

Q: Where can I learn more about the department’s long-term plans?
A:
In October 2019, we approved a revised mission, vision, guiding principles, and 5-year strategic plan for HCDE. 
 
Q: How can I learn more about research and teaching in the department to help situate my work?
A:
Helpful resources could include the department’s research areas as well as course descriptions for the BS program, MS program, and PhD program.

Q: What is your timeline?
A:
We tentatively plan to do phone interviews in December followed by campus visits in January/February.

Q: Are there page limits for the application materials?
A:
No.


Our department's social justice mission leads us to invest in recruiting colleagues who in their scholarship, teaching, and service demonstrate experience with, knowledge of, and sensitivity to the needs of culturally diverse and oppressed populations. As a program with a core mission of social justice and a deeply diverse student body, we seek candidates with a demonstrated commitment to work with marginalized communities and with students holding a range of worldviews. In accord with the University’s expressed commitment to excellence and equity, contributions in scholarship and research, teaching, and service that address diversity and equal opportunity may be included among the professional and scholarly qualifications for appointment and promotion.

*A Diversity Statement helps applicants reflect on how their approach to teaching and/or service contributes to positive social change and supports people who represent differences in gender, class, race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, national and cultural boundaries, national origin, worldview, intellectual origin, ability, and other identities. We invite you to reflect and describe your related experiences in teaching and service and also where you stand to grow with regard to issues of diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice, and your potential to mentor and educate students who will serve diverse populations.