Assistant Professor - Computation and Design Methods - Department of Architecture

Job title

Assistant Professor - Computation and Design Methods - Department of Architecture

Position overview

Salary range: The current salary range for this position is $84,100-$132,900 (9-month academic year salary), however, off-scale salary and other components of pay, which would yield compensation that is higher than this range, are offered to meet competitive conditions.

Anticipated start: July 1, 2027

Application window

Open date: July 31, 2026

Next review date: Thursday, Oct 15, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)

Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Thursday, Oct 15, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)

Position description

The Department of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, invites applications for a full-time tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor in Computation and Design Methods. Berkeley's Department of Architecture sits within the College of Environmental Design, a leader in cross-disciplinary environmental design education since 1959, and is uniquely positioned in the Bay Area, where design practice, technological innovation, and critical inquiry converge in uncommon proximity; for more information, visit UC Berkeley's Department of Architecture.

We seek candidates whose work examines and/or demonstrates promise in applying computation as a creative, social, and technical force in architectural design, connecting systems, tools, and intelligent environments to questions of authorship, agency, governance, participation, and the changing responsibilities of design. 'Computation and Design Methods' names a broad area of inquiry concerned with how tools, systems, data, media, and methods shape architectural design, representation, research, and practice. Its primary concern is the study and making of socio-technical systems through which design activity is organized, coordinated, and governed, and design artifacts are generated, represented, and evaluated. Possible areas of focus include technically-oriented subjects such as building information modeling, digital twins, spatial data systems, and urban information systems; methodological inquiry such as feedback systems, human-building interaction, participation, distributed agency, and self-regulating processes; and sociotechnical and critical research such as platform studies, civic data, public-interest technology, and built-environment science and technology studies. Across these areas, the field asks how computation operates in architectural design as means, as material, and as media, ultimately shaping how the built environment is experienced and inhabited over time. That is: as a way of making and evaluating design work, as a technical substrate shaped and incorporated into designed artifacts, and as a system that acts back on design practice and culture.

This search responds to a moment in which computation is rapidly reshaping design knowledge, pedagogy, and practice. As data-rich, automated, and intelligent systems transform how buildings are conceived, coordinated, evaluated, and inhabited, the need for critical frameworks has never been more pressing. Artificial intelligence, as much a cultural force as a technical one, has generated expectations, anxieties, and professional reorganizations that now bear directly on how architecture is taught, practiced, and understood. The College of Environmental Design's foundational work on "wicked problems," feedback, participation, patterns, and design-as-argumentation offers an urgently needed foundation for preparing designers to act responsibly within this transformed landscape, recognizing that technical decisions are inseparable from their human, social, and environmental consequences.

As the position is situated within a broad and pluralistic field, work in this role may span research, practice, making, criticism, and scholarship across theoretical, applied, experimental, and industry-facing modes. The position carries responsibility for teaching computation both as an instrument of design and as a cultural actor with social, technical, and political consequences. The position involves advising and/or leading design studios and foundational representation courses, helping students connect computational tools and methods to questions of participation, governance, and human experience. Teaching duties include broad undergraduate lecture courses, among them large-format courses introducing students to computation on both a theoretical and practical level, as well as advanced graduate seminars shaped by the faculty member's expertise

This position may include opportunities to build collaborations across Berkeley's campus with units such as computing, data science, information science, engineering, building technology, new media, design innovation, and science and technology studies. Through such partnerships, the appointed faculty member may advise students across colleges and degree programs, develop shared computational resources, and contribute to a range of curricular sequences. The position also includes opportunities to develop funded research and partnerships with industry or public-sector organizations, connecting students to emerging professional workflows and extending the department's reach beyond architectural practice. Service to the department, college, university, profession, and broader community is an essential component of the appointment and includes advising at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

The department is committed to addressing the family needs of faculty, including dual career couples and single parents. We are also interested in candidates who have had non-traditional career paths or who have taken time off for family reasons, or who have achieved excellence in careers outside academia. For information about potential relocation to Berkeley, or career needs of accompanying partners and spouses, please visit the Office for Faculty Equity and Welfare's website.

Department :

Qualifications

Basic qualifications (required at time of application)

Bachelor's degree or equivalent international degree at the time of application.

Preferred qualifications

One or both of the following by the start date of the position:

1) a professional degree in architecture, design, or a related field, such as an M.Arch, B.Arch, or equivalent international degree; OR

2) a Ph.D. or equivalent international degree in a related field.

Candidates should demonstrate excellence in architecture, design, computation, design methods, or a related field through formal scholarship, technical production, creative practice, professional leadership, public engagement, or other forms of dissemination and impact. Relevant evidence is understood broadly. It may include practice-based contributions such as design work, project-delivery systems, community-engaged research, prototypes, or spatial visualizations; technical contributions such as software tools, computational workflows, or civic data platforms; and critical contributions such as methodological frameworks, historical or theoretical scholarship, policy research, or platform critique. Whatever form it takes, evidence must show rigor, influence, and relevance to the production of architectural design knowledge.
We especially welcome candidates who can connect technical inquiry, critical history, and creative pedagogy across multiple scales, audiences, and forms of practice.

Application Requirements

Document requirements

• Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated CV or resume.

• Statement of Interest - A 2-3 page statement of interest specifying the relevance of the applicant's experience to the department. The statement should address research, service, and teaching: describing the applicant's research agenda, technical work, and creative or professional practice; prior and proposed contributions to their institution, profession, or broader community; and teaching experience, approach, and plans to support the success of all students

• Selected Work, Research, and Practice Samples - Representative materials documenting the applicant's work relevant to Computation and Design Methods. Materials may include design work, technical projects, software or computational workflows, published or unpublished research, scholarly writing, professional work, prototypes, visualizations, platforms, public-facing projects, or other evidence of research, technical, creative, or professional accomplishment. The file must be 50MB or smaller in size.

• Teaching Portfolio - A digital portfolio of teaching material, syllabi, student work, assignments, course descriptions, teaching evaluations, or any other supplementary information relevant to teaching. The file must be 50MB or smaller in size.

• Additional Space - Selected Work, Research, and Practice Samples - In case files need to be split. The file must be 50MB or smaller in size.
  (Optional)

• Additional Space - Teaching Portfolio - In case files need to be split. The file must be 50MB or smaller in size.
  (Optional)

Reference requirements

• 3-5 required (contact information only)

Letters of Reference will be requested if the candidate advances beyond the initial stages of review.

Apply link: 05463

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