Sessional Instructor: Interior Design: Office, Faculty of Design, Winter 2026-27

OCAD U International; Toronto; On-site; CAD 7,000 - 9,000; Part time

Job summary

OCAD University invites applications for Sessional Instructor: Interior Design: Office, Faculty of Design, Winter 2026-27. The role involves teaching a 0.5 credit interior design studio course with in-person sessions in Winter 2027, and developing studio-based curricula.

Responsibilities include course outline development, delivering lectures and critiques, grading, and guiding students through iterative design processes.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated capability in empathic, user-centered research with users and design partners.
• Experience with research ethics protocols and REB procedures.
• Experience designing for diverse user groups with equity and access as design requirements.
• Direct work in interaction design or UX within professional or academic contexts.
• Able to iterate processes and generate/test concepts against real user needs.
• Leadership in promoting respectful, inclusive work and learning environments.
• Familiarity with prototyping tools and methods (digital interfaces and physical prototyping).
• Experience with user research/synthesis methods (contextual inquiry, usability testing, co-design).
• Ability to navigate institutional REB processes beyond course level.
• Active professional practice or industry connections in UX/service design.
• Ability to integrate socio-cultural and technological trends into studio work.

Responsibilities

• Course outline development and studio preparation for interior design course.
• Deliver lectures, critiques, and manage grading and evaluations.
• Guide students through iterative, research-based design processes from analysis to prototyping.
• Provide timely feedback on studio work and maintain an inclusive studio environment.
• Draft or modify course-based REB applications to support student research.
• Oversee health & safety and ensure deadlines and curricular requirements are met.

Skills

Empathic user-centered research

REB procedures experience

Diversity & equity design

Interation/UX design knowledge

Iterative, process-oriented work

Leadership & inclusive teaching

prototyping tools familiarity

User research synthesis

REBs navigation experience

Professional practice connections

Trend integration in design projects

Studio teaching/mentoring

Education

MDes or higher preferred

Tools

Figma

Adobe XD

Job description

Sessional Instructor: Interior Design: Office, Faculty of Design, Winter 2026-27 Job Code 3912 Department Faculty of Design Employment Type Temporary/Contract

OCAD University acknowledges the ancestralterritories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Haudenosaunee, the Anishinaabeg and the Huron-Wendat, who are the original owners and custodians of the land on which we live, work, and create.

OCAD University , Canada’s largest and oldest art and design university, is a vibrant community of bold, curious and compassionate artists, designers and scholars who are imagining and creating a joyful, equitable and sustainable world. The University is an internationally renowned hub for art, design, digital media, research, innovation and creativity, and arts administration. It embraces collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches to change-making through art, design-thinking curriculum and research, making OCAD U a local, regional, national and global leader in art and design.

Itisanexciting time to join the OCAD U community as the University is at a key stage in its institutional transformation, with the implementation of its Academic and Strategic Plan and guiding principles — driving positive impact; decolonization, indigenization and equity; environmental sustainability; emerging as a vibrant hub; student centered approaches; innovation in learning teaching and research; and financial stewardship.

The Faculty of Design invites applications for the following anticipated course offering in the Winter 2026-27 academic year:

ENVR-3011 Interior Design: Office (0.5 credit)
(Winter Semester: January 11th, 2027 – April 11th, 2027, Wednesdays 11:50-2:50pm; In-Person)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Development of Interior Design aspects of a commercial studio project is the primary focus of this course. Emphasis is given to developing an expanded vocabulary of material, finish and colour as a palette of tools to represent a conceptual idea as a significant aspect of an interior design communication strategy. The course aims to develop a methodology for researching, collecting and assessing materials relevant to proposed design concepts, and focus on the built environments' impact on human experience, behaviour and performance of a small-medium scale commercial interior design project.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Teaching and teaching-related responsibilities may include but are not limited to: course outline development, studio preparation and delivery inclusive of lectures, critiques, grading, mid-term evaluations and final evaluations/reviews; guiding students through iterative, research-based design processes from user analysis through prototyping; providing timely and constructive feedback on studio work; and maintaining an accessible and inclusive studio environment. Responsibilities may also include drafting or modifying a course-based Research Ethics Board (REB) application as needed to support student research activities. Responsibility for health & safety and meeting academic and curricular requirements and deadlines is also expected.

QUALIFICATIONS

Note: Human Centered Design, as approached in this course, draws on inductive research methods adapted from the social sciences (e.g., observation, interviewing, and other empathic techniques), alongside participatory approaches such as co-design, but remains oriented toward a design outcome. Candidates should be able to translate research insight into the design of products, services, systems, or interfaces, not only to conduct research.

• A demonstrated capacity for empathic, user-centered research, including engagement with users and design partners, in support of design research and design as research, in both qualitative and quantitative approaches.
• Demonstrated experience and expertise with research ethics protocols, including familiarity with institutional Research Ethics Board (REB) procedures and requirements.
• Experience designing for the full range of human diversity, including ability, language, culture, gender, and age, with equity and access treated as design requirements rather than considerations added after the fact.
• A current body of work within the professional design and/or academic disciplines as it relates to the course description(s), with direct experience in interaction design, user experience design, or a closely related human-centered design practice.
• Experience with, and aptitude for, highly iterative, process-oriented work without the restriction of fixed outcomes or expectations, including the ability to generate and test concepts against real user needs, feasibility, and viability.
• An MDes or more advanced degree is preferred; exceptions may be considered for candidates with equivalent professional experience and expertise.
• Demonstrated leadership and experience in promoting a respectful and inclusive work and learning environment for students, staff, and Faculty.

In addition, a candidate should have:

• Familiarity with prototyping tools and methods appropriate to the breadth of industrial, product, service, and experience design, which may include digital interface tools (e.g., Figma, Adobe XD, or comparable platforms), physical and material prototyping, and multi-sensory or cross-sensory prototyping methods engaging modalities beyond the visual.
• Experience with user research and synthesis methods such as contextual inquiry, usability testing, or co-design.
• Experience navigating institutional research ethics processes beyond the course level, such as multi-site or partner-institution REB applications.
• Current professional practice or industry connections in interaction, service, or UX design.
• Experience integrating socio-cultural and technological trends into studio-based design projects.

Experience teaching or mentoring in a studio-based, critique-driven format.

TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT

Sessional appointments are fixed-term annual contracts. Sessional compensation includes a per-course pay scale with salary level of $7,508.00 (per 0.5 credit course) plus 7% in lieu of benefits and vacation pay, per the provisions of the Employment Standards Act. These positions are subject to budgetary approval and satisfactory enrolment levels.

Applications should include:

A letter of intent stating the candidate’s interests in the areas of teaching by identifying relevant courses above;

A statement of teaching philosophy that responds to the profile of the position;

A link or web address to your digital portfolio of recent and current work/publications (if applicable).

And the names and contact information of three references.

Please upload all five (5) components (including the URL to work) as one PDF. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please name your upload: FirstName_LastName-Job Code.

Monday, November 9th, 2026 11:59pm.

Applicants must be eligible to work in Canada for any employer (with a valid work or study permit, SIN and Canadian bank account).

If you requireapplicationsupport, please contact the People & Culture Office. Please note that People & Culture cannot update you on the status of your application as these searches are decentralized to their respective Faculty offices. You will only be contacted if you are shortlisted for an interview. If the posting is advertised, we are still accepting applications.

As an institution committed to art, design, digital media and related scholarship, OCAD University (OCAD U) recognizes the profound and essential value that diversity brings to the creation, reception and circulation of creative practices and discourse.

As an employer committed to employment equity, we encourage applications from members of equity-deserving communities including women, racialized and Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, and persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities/expressions.

We encourage members of designated equity-deserving groups to self-identify within the voluntary Applicant Questionnaire.

In order to alleviate the under-representation of racialized and Indigenous faculty, priority in hiring will be given to qualified racialized and Indigenous persons who self-identify as such in the application process. This initiative is a special program under the Ontario Human Rights Code.

All qualified persons are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority. While we thank all candidates for their interest, only those short-listed will be contacted.