Aerospace Affiliate Instructor

City and County of Denver; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 1,741,286 - 2,041,603; Part time

Job summary

MSU Denver is seeking affiliate faculty to teach aerospace-related courses, delivering content in person or online and preparing materials aligned with department objectives.

The role includes providing timely student feedback, supporting learners, and adapting to diverse instructional modes while upholding university policies and standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Experience with space mission architecture across aerospace systems engineering and operations.
• Experience with mission-simulation tools (e.g., STK).
• Experience in programming, system design, or data analysis.
• Fundamental knowledge of orbital mechanics and space environment effects.
• Knowledge of historical and future spaceflight trends including AI integration.

Responsibilities

• Teach assigned classes in person or online by delivering course content to students.
• Prepare course materials and lesson plans, and grade student work.
• Provide robust feedback to students in a timely manner and address student questions in accordance with university, college, school, and department policies.
• Offer online or in-person academic support to students as needed and appropriate for the teaching assignment.
• Provide instruction in assigned classes consistent with the content and learning objectives of the regular course syllabus and with department course coordination policies.
• Comply with university-wide student evaluation of instruction policies and peer observation policies.
• Adapt to and learn new modes of instruction in a supportive learning environment.
• Demonstrate sensitivity to the educational needs of a diverse student population.

Skills

Space mission architecture

Programming

System design

Data analysis

Orbital mechanics

Aerospace workforce development

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

STK

Job description

Responsibilities

• Teach assigned classes in person or online by delivering course content to students.
• Prepare course materials and lesson plans, and grade student work.
• Provide robust feedback to students in a timely manner and address student questions in accordance with university, college, school, and department policies.
• Offer online or in‑person academic support to students as needed and appropriate for the teaching assignment.
• Provide instruction in assigned classes consistent with the content and learning objectives of the regular course syllabus and with department course coordination policies.
• Comply with university‑wide student evaluation of instruction policies and peer observation policies.
• Adapt to and learn new modes of instruction in a supportive learning environment.
• Demonstrate sensitivity to the educational needs of a diverse student population.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Experience with space mission architecture, inclusive of aerospace systems engineering, spacecraft design, subsystem development, launch processes, ground station and mission operations, and/or space system automation.
• Experience with industry tools for mission simulation (e.g., STK).
• Programming, system design, or data analysis experience.
• Fundamental understanding of orbital mechanics and the space environment and its impact on crewed and uncrewed systems.
• Knowledge of historical spaceflight systems and future industry trends, inclusive of system automation, modular architectures, artificial intelligence integration, and aerospace workforce development.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree plus four years of relevant work experience, or a master’s degree or doctorate.

Terms of Employment

Affiliate faculty are part‑time, at‑will employees hired to teach on a per credit hour basis for specific classes, typically on a semester‑by‑semester basis. Affiliate faculty are not eligible for benefit coverage under the University’s benefit program. All teaching assignments are dependent on budget and enrollment. Qualified candidates will be expected to teach in person/on campus upon hire.

Salary

The final salary is based on the number of credit hours assigned at a rate determined by university policy. Rate of pay per credit hour assignment can be between $1,264 – $1,482.

Benefits

The University offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, vision, and dental coverage, a free RTD pass, tuition reimbursement, life and supplemental insurance plans, retirement plans, and a long‑term disability plan. The University will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. For more details, visit: https://www.msudenver.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/MSU-Benefit-Summary.pdf.

Background Checks

Background checks will be conducted on all finalists prior to employment.