Professor, Robotics (SAV)

Professor, Robotics (SAV)

As a robotics professor, you will join a dedicated, award-winning faculty in the School of Creative Technology. You will play a key role in shaping a progressive curriculum and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration across SCAD locations, fostering connections with related disciplines such as industrial design, mechanical engineering, interaction design, animation, and immersive media. You will prepare talented students for rapidly evolving careers at the intersection of robotics, design, and human experience — guiding them to build systems that are not only intelligent and expressive, but physically realized and structurally sound. You will do so through professional, positive, and engaging courses that cultivate curiosity and critical thinking, empowering students to work across the full arc of robotic creation: from mechanical design and fabrication to behavior, character, and social responsiveness. Areas of exploration include kinetic systems, soft robotics, wearable mechanisms, biomimicry, animatronics, and physically embodied storytelling. In this position, you will anchor the Body pillar of the robotics curriculum — the physical, mechanical, and fabrication foundations that give robotic systems their form and physical integrity. You will guide students through the translation of character and behavioral concepts into structurally sound, manufacturable robotic platforms, including mechanisms, drive systems, linkages, material selection, and iterative build processes. You will work in close collaboration with faculty across software, simulation, AI, and ethics to deliver a fully integrated robotics education. You will advocate for interdisciplinary collaboration and foster an environment that encourages diverse perspectives and innovation to create robotic systems that are functional, expressive, emotionally resonant, and socially responsive. Responsibilities include adherence to all duties and expectations outlined in the SCAD Faculty Handbook, which encompasses coursework preparation, syllabus design and approval, office hours, midterm grade reviews, and more. Among other responsibilities, you will provide students with extra help sessions, extended learning opportunities, and field trips outside of regular class hours. In this role, you will model professionalism, fulfill all grading and academic documentation requirements, and record attendance. You will assist with all academic assessment and institutional effectiveness efforts. Occasionally, you may support departmental and university-wide initiatives by attending both in-person and virtual events, such as faculty councils, admission activities, accreditation support, curriculum development, and exhibitions, among other duties. Professors must fulfill teaching assignments determined by contact hours as specified in the Employment Agreement. The ideal candidate is passionate about teaching in higher education and brings deep expertise in mechanical design, mechatronics, and physical fabrication alongside a strong understanding of robotics development, human-centered design principles, and behavioral systems. They are equally fluent in building a robot body as they are in discussing how that body moves, communicates, and exists in the world alongside people. They are adept at guiding diverse groups of students through hands-on, studio-based learning that integrates mechanical design with electronics, embedded systems, and character-driven inquiry. The candidate demonstrates strong project management, organization, and curriculum-building skills to prepare students for real-world challenges — from animatronic characters to autonomous platforms to wearable systems. To succeed in this role, the candidate must be forward-thinking and able to thrive in an environment that values collaboration, creativity, and experimentation. They possess a strong understanding of form, mechanism, and interaction design — and can help students understand that the physical body of a robot is itself a design decision with expressive, functional, and ethical dimensions. They are also interested in speculative, critical, or future-oriented approaches to robotics and human-machine interaction.

Minimum qualifications:

• Terminal degree in robotics, mechanical engineering, mechatronics, industrial design, or a relevant field
• Academic and professional credentials to teach in robotics or a related discipline
• Two or more years of professional experience in robotics, physical computing, mechanical design, or interactive systems — or equivalent post-secondary teaching experience
• Demonstrated expertise in mechanical design and fabrication, including experience with CNC machining, additive manufacturing, casting, or comparable physical production methods
• Hands-on experience building and iterating on physical robotic platforms, including mechanisms, actuators, drive systems, and structural assemblies
• Background in electronics, sensors, embedded systems, and the integration of hardware and software in physically embodied systems
• Cross-disciplinary design experience or collaboration across industrial design, UX, animation, computation, or media arts
• Background in studio-based teaching, iterative prototyping, and experiential learning

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience with animatronics, themed entertainment, or character-driven robotic systems
• Familiarity with simulation environments (e.g., NVIDIA Isaac Sim, Unreal Engine) and their relationship to physical prototyping and digital twin workflows
• Interest in speculative, critical, or future-oriented design approaches to robotics and human-machine interaction
• Experience working within or alongside themed entertainment, interactive installation, or immersive experience industries

Travel required: Less than 10%

Required application documents:

• Current résumé and/or CV
• Cover letter
• Portfolio demonstrating technical execution and design thinking
• Unofficial academic transcripts

Work hours: As noted in the Employment Agreement.

ADA tag: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements and minimum qualifications listed are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions and/or meet the minimum qualifications.