Associate Professor/Professor of Design

Organisation/Company UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY Research Field Architecture Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) First Stage Researcher (R1) Country Australia Application Deadline 3 Nov 2025 - 00:00 (UTC) Type of Contract Permanent Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

- Based at Camperdown Campus, Sydney, close to parks, public transport hubs and shopping districts

- Exciting opportunity for an outstanding Academic to enhance education excellence and contribute to high quality teaching

- Full-time, continuing position with an attractive remuneration package

- Be part of the Horizon Educators cohort, with access to apply for Education Focused specialist grants up to a total of AUD$30K to support education-related activities, primarily in the areas of scholarship of teaching and learning and improving current educational offerings at the University of Sydney.

About the opportunity

The University of Sydney is Australia's first university now celebrating 175 years of serving the community. It is ranked 18th in the world by QS World University Ranking for its outstanding global reputation for academic and research excellence. It employs over 9000 permanent staff and supports over 70,000 students.

Founded in 1918 as the first faculty of architecture in Australia, the School of Architecture, Design and Planning has been an internationally acknowledged centre for intellectual, scientific and aesthetic research in architecture and the built environment since its inception. As such, the program attracts the highest quality applicants in Australia and from all over the world.

Design is a rapidly growing and highly successful discipline within the school. Our design research explores the role of design in speculating on the future, envisioning, defining, and informing the societal, ecological, political and life‑centred interactions and experiences that emerge between people and technology. Pushing the boundaries of pedagogical practice in interaction and innovation, we encourage our students to critically rethink and prototype the objects, systems, experiences, and materials that shape human experience and life on the planet through the design lens. Recognising that design cannot happen in isolation, we actively collaborate across disciplines and with external partners, including industry, not‑for‑profit, government and community groups and organisations, in inclusive and place‑based ways.

Education‑focused roles are a specialised category of academic engagement reserved for talented educators with a passion for, and demonstrated excellence in, pedagogical practice and design. The successful candidate will dedicate the majority (up to 70% - or by mutual agreement 80%) of their academic workload allocation to education and educational development. We also highly value recognised expertise in higher education pedagogy.

Successful candidates will join the Sydney Horizon Educators cohort. For further insights into this exciting opportunity, we invite you to watch this video .

Your key responsibilities will be to:

- Lead, co‑ordinate and teach across our growing design programs, including Bachelor of Design (Interaction Design), Master of Design, and Master of Interaction Design and Electronic Arts.

- Contribute to the continued evolution of design programs in ADP, including curriculum planning and development, program delivery and evaluation, innovative pedagogies, and studio practice.

- Pursue opportunities to enhance the profile and reputation of Design locally, nationally, and internationally through partnerships, projects, and collaboration in teaching, research, and engagement.

- Make a significant research contribution to the School through original, high‑quality outputs that demonstrate robust disciplinary scholarship, contribute to current discipline interest areas, and offer strong teaching‑research linkages.

About you (skills, capabilities and experience)

- PhD in Design or cognate field

- A strong background in and leadership of design education and studio‑based pedagogies.

- Evidence of strong and successful strategic academic leadership and proven ability to sustain and grow research groups. This includes early and mid‑career mentoring and evidence of fostering a vibrant and engaged academic culture.

- Demonstrated success in designing, implementing, and evaluating cutting‑edge teaching and learning initiatives which inform curriculum development.

- A proven track record of original, high‑quality and independent research within the field of Design, aligned to one or more of our discipline interest areas: Interaction Design; Effective Interactions; Social and Civic Design; Urban Interfaces; and Designing with AI.

- A developing network of relationships with key academic, industry and professional institutions, partners, and stakeholders

- A collegial approach and willingness to contribute to mentoring others, academic governance, engagement, and administration.

Sponsorship / work rights for Australia

Please note: Visa sponsorship is available for this position.

Your employment is conditional upon the completion of all role required pre‑employment or background checks in terms satisfactory to the University. Similarly, your ongoing employment is conditional upon the satisfactory maintenance of all relevant clearances and background check requirements. If you do not meet these conditions, the University may take any necessary step, including the termination of your employment.

Applications (including a cover letter, CV, and any additional supporting documentation) can be submitted via the Apply button at the top of the page. Please refer to the candidate information brochure/position description for further details.

If you have any trouble downloading the Candidate Information Brochure, please email the Senior Talent Acquisition team via recruitment.seniortalent@sydney.edu.au and we will share this with you.

For employees of the University or contingent workers, please login into your Workday account and navigate to the Career icon on your Dashboard. Click on USYD Find Jobs and apply.

For a confidential discussion about the role, or if you require reasonable adjustment or any documents in alternate formats, please contact Saj Bahram, Senior Talent Partner at sajad.bahram@sydney.edu.au

The University reserves the right not to proceed with any appointment.

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