Associate Professor

Pearl Academy; Mumbai; On-site; INR 800,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Pearl Academy invites applications for a Foundation Faculty role in Design in Mumbai. You will teach foundational design courses, connect theory to multiple design disciplines, and mentor students through critiques and portfolios.

The role emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration with Fashion Design, Product Design, Interior Design, and more, and requires strong communication, live demonstrations, and inclusive teaching approaches.

Qualifications

• Strong theoretical understanding of foundational design concepts.
• Ability to demonstrate skills through live demos, tutorials, and hands-on studio activities.
• Strong communication and oration skills.
• Ability to simplify complex ideas for young design students.
• Awareness of contemporary student behavior, learning patterns, and digital culture.
• Familiarity with relevant design tools and software.

Responsibilities

• Teach foundation-level design courses and basic design processes.
• Introduce foundational concepts across multiple design disciplines.
• Conduct practical demonstrations, studio-based tutorials, and skill-building exercises.
• Mentor students through assignments, critiques, portfolio development, and reflective discussions.
• Prepare course plans, lesson plans, and evaluation rubrics.

Skills

Foundational design concepts

Design vocabulary and visual language

Live demos and tutorials

Communication and oration

Simplifying complex ideas

Understanding student behavior

Digital design tools

Theory to practice across design

Mentoring and classroom management

Interdisciplinary teaching

Education

Master’s degree in design

Tools

Digital design tools

Job description

Visual Representation and History of Design. The faculty member should have a strong understanding of core design principles and the ability to connect these concepts with multiple design disciplines, including Fashion Design, Fashion Communication, Product Design, Interior Design, Communication Design, and Fashion Styling.

Key Responsibilities

• Teach foundation-level design courses such as Design Fundamentals, Materials of Design, Digital Tools, History of Design, visual thinking, form, colour, composition, sketching & rendering skills and basic design processes.
• Introduce students to foundational concepts that can be applied across multiple design disciplines.
• Conduct practical demonstrations, studio-based tutorials, workshops, and skill-building exercises.
• Help students understand materials, tools, techniques, processes, and their application in design.
• Teach digital tools relevant to early design education, such as basic graphic, presentation, layout, visualization, and documentation software.
• Build students’ ability to observe, think critically, communicate visually, and develop design sensitivity.
• Connect historical, cultural, material, and contemporary references to design learning.
• Guide students in developing discipline, curiosity, confidence, and clarity in their creative process.
• Create inclusive and engaging classroom experiences suited to the learning styles of the current generation.
• Mentor students through assignments, critiques, portfolio development, and reflective discussions.
• Collaborate with faculty from Fashion Design, Product Design, Interior Design, Communication Design, Fashion Communication, and Fashion Styling to ensure interdisciplinary relevance.
• Prepare course plans, lesson plans, assignments, evaluation rubrics, and learning resources.
• Assess student work through formative and summative evaluation with constructive feedback.

Required Knowledge and Skills

• Strong theoretical understanding of foundational design concepts.
• Good command over design vocabulary, visual language, sketching skills form, colour, composition, materials, and basic design methods.
• Ability to demonstrate skills clearly through live demos, tutorials, and hands-on studio activities.
• Strong communication and oration skills.
• Ability to make complex ideas simple, relatable, and applicable for young design students.
• Understanding contemporary student behavior, learning patterns, digital culture, and creative aspirations.
• Working knowledge of relevant digital design tools.
• Ability to connect theory with practice across multiple design domains.
• Strong mentoring, classroom management, and student engagement skills.
• Openness to interdisciplinary teaching and collaborative academic planning.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in design or a related creative discipline.
• Prior teaching experience in foundation design, design fundamentals, or first-year design education.
• Professional or academic experience across one or more design disciplines such as Product Design, Fashion Design, Communication Design, Interior Design, Fashion Communication, or Styling.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating design process, material exploration, visual communication, and/or teaching work.

Desired Attributes

• Engaging, articulate, patient, and approachable.
• Comfortable with both theory-led and practice-led teaching.
• Able to inspire students through examples, stories, demonstrations, and critique.
• Sensitive to diverse student backgrounds and learning speeds.
• Curious, updated, and aware of current trends in design, culture, technology, and education.
• Able to build confidence in students while maintaining academic rigour.
• A strong facilitator who can help students develop foundational skills that support their future specialization.

Overall Expectation

The Foundation Faculty should help students build a strong base in design thinking, visual sensitivity, material understanding, digital confidence, historical awareness, and practical skill development. The role requires a teacher who can bridge theory and practice, relate meaningfully with young learners, and prepare students for multidisciplinary design education.

Interested candidates can reach out to: Geeta Kamath ( [e-mail] )