Careers at Virginia Tech

Assistant Professor, Beginning Design

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Work type: Teaching & Research Faculty
Senior management: Architecture, Arts, and Design
Department: School of Architecture
Location: Blacksburg, Virginia
Categories: Architecture / Construction / Planning, Instructional / Teaching Faculty

Job Description

The Virginia Tech School of Architecture, based in the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design, invites applications for a Tenure Track – Assistant professor position with a concentration in teaching beginning design in the five-year professional B.Arch program or graduate degree programs (M.Arch 2-year and M.Arch 3-year).

The College of Architecture, Arts, and Design at Virginia Tech, a land-grant university, affirms a collective responsibility to encourage, build, and embrace the cultural diversity of the world. We do this by acknowledging and addressing our past, recognizing our current responsibility, and acting in the interests of building and sustaining communities that are safe, supportive, and inclusive for all. We are committed to continually and proactively engaging in these efforts for the benefit of our students, staff, and faculty across the college, and the communities around the world we aim to serve, hence the University’s motto: Ut Prosim.

The School of Architecture emphasizes learning through making as well as experimentation, plus disciplinary and professional engagement combined with cross-disciplinary outreach to develop future architects who will holistically integrate diverse ideas while adeptly responding to shifting challenges within the profession of architecture. The school is large, with campuses in Blacksburg, Washington-Alexandria and Riva San Vitale, Switzerland, city labs in Chicago and Boston, and study abroad programs throughout Europe. It also has within it many degree programs and research centers.

The primary responsibilities of this position include teaching design studios for graduate or undergraduate students and required coursework in the professional degree programs. Associated service to students and school could include mentoring thesis students and serving as a liaison to professional organizations.

The search committee will look for expertise in design education and complementary areas of research, including, but not limited to, building design, material studies, fabrication, and artificial intelligence.

About Beginning Design Studios at Virginia Tech School of Architecture

The beginning design studio, Foundation Design Laboratory, at Virginia Tech fosters an environment that places the student at the center of learning. The School of Architecture has dedicated space that fully allows the students to engage the faculty through the managed balance of coordination and autonomy, planning and discovery, doing and reflecting, making and meaning.

Beginning design students explore making with representational tools in multiple media and scales via the drawing board, digital space, material scale models, and 1:1 constructions, within the studio as well as through workshops for metalwork, woodwork, digital fabrication, darkroom photography, printmaking, ceramics, and textiles.

This position is based at Virginia Tech’s campus in Blacksburg, Virginia and is a full-time nine-month appointment with an anticipated start date of August 2026.

Required Qualifications

• A terminal degree in architecture by the appointment start date

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous teaching experience (studio-based or lecture)
• A demonstrated record of academic, scholarly, and/or professional accomplishments

Application Materials

For full consideration, interested applicants are required to submit the following:

  • Current curriculum vitae
  • Brief cover letter that situates their work within the discipline and profession
  • Portfolio of creative work and/or research (may be a link to a website or pdf)
  • The names and contact information for three current references as an attachment to the application.
  • 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.

Additional materials may be requested and required from shortlisted candidates.

Overtime Status

Exempt: Not eligible for overtime

Appointment Type

Regular

Salary Information

Salary range is $80,000-90,000 per year

Hours per week

40+

Review Date

January 12, 2026

Additional Information

The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.

 

About Virginia Tech

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight undergraduate colleges, a school of medicine, a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School, and Honors CollegeThe university has a significant presence across Virginia, including Blacksburg, the greater Washington, D.C. area, the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke, sites in Newport News and Richmond, and numerous Extension offices and research institutes. A leading global research institution, Virginia Tech conducts more than $650 million in research annually.

Virginia Tech endorses and encourages participation in professional development opportunities and university shared governance.  These valuable contributions to university shared governance provide important representation and perspective, along with opportunities for unique and impactful professional development.

Virginia Tech does not discriminate against employees, students, or applicants on the basis of age, color, disability, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, ethnicity or national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, or military status, or otherwise discriminate against employees or applicants who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their compensation or the compensation of other employees or applicants, or on any other basis protected by law.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Julie Weaver at juliew19@vt.edu during regular business hours at least 10 business days prior to the event.

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