Assistant Director of Life Design, Physical & Materials Engineering (Life Design Lab) - #Staff

Johns Hopkins University; Baltimore (MD); On-site; USD 57,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Johns Hopkins University is seeking an Assistant Director of Life Design, Physical & Materials Engineering to lead the Life Design Lab's strategy and deliver career readiness for engineering students.

You will design scalable workshops, develop on-demand content, and collaborate with employers and alumni to connect students with opportunities across chemical & biomolecular, mechanical, materials, and electrical engineering. This hybrid role advances equity and inclusion.

Qualifications

• Master's degree required in a relevant field.
• Minimum three years of experience in higher education, government, non-profit, or corporate settings.

Responsibilities

• Scale life design programs and professional development for students and alumni.
• Design and deliver scalable workshops to support career readiness.
• Develop asynchronous content to broaden access to life design practices.
• Lead targeted outreach to increase participation and outcomes.
• Engage with social media, journals, and associations to promote the program.
• Provide strategic individual and group coaching for students.
• Track outcomes like job attainment and offer conversions.

Skills

Program Development

Coaching

Stakeholder Engagement

Public Speaking

Equity & Inclusion

Education

Master's Degree

Tools

Handshake

Salesforce

PeopleGrove

Zoom

Miro

Monday.com

Blackboard

Job description

We are seeking an Assistant Director of Life Design, Physical & Materials Engineering who will report to the Senior Director for Undergraduate Education and will execute on the Life Design Lab’s vision, strategy, and objectives to enhance and deliver the professional development, career advancement, and life design offerings for students pursuing careers in engineering. The physical and materials engineering portfolio is composed of four primary majors: Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering, and Electrical & Computer Engineering.

As an equity-based office that believes all of our students have the same opportunity to pursue their life purpose regardless of background, field of study, or social capital, each Life Design Educator is expected to co-create, collaborate, and support all of our students; however, this position has a particular focus on careers in engineering professions most closely aligned to chemical and biomolecular engineering, mechanical engineering, material sciences and engineering, and electrical and computer engineering.

The Life Design Educator will become familiar with the novel approach to career readiness and life design established at Johns Hopkins University and implement programs, scalable support systems, and create content to connect critical mindsets, frameworks, and approaches with their designated student population. There will be an emphasis on scalable solutions, initiative-based delivery, and high-impact applied experiences to support our student population.

Specific Duties & Responsibilities

Core Services & Outcomes

• Scale efforts for a positive life design and professional development experience for all students and alumni, with special attention to students within the physical and materials engineering portfolio.

• Design and implement workshops to support our students’ career readiness and life design needs at scale, grounded in current best practices and emerging trends.

• Develop scalable asynchronous and on-demand content to deliver career readiness best practices at scale to students pursuing undergraduate education.

• Strategically manage targeted outreach to enhance participation and support, ensuring they are informed about relevant opportunities, individual coaching, and events while proactively monitoring engagement and job attainment.

• Engage in social media, digital outlets, and academic and professional journals and associations to establish an exciting brand, tell the story, and serve as a thought leader at Johns Hopkins University and in higher education.

• Provide strategic individual and group coaching to support students' life design exploration, career readiness, and professional development.

• Track and drive key student outcomes, including full-time and bridge year attainment, offer conversion, and participation in high-impact experiences

Curriculum Development & Facilitation

• Using the mindsets and methodologies of life design and best practices from the Life Design Lab, deliver workshops, programs, content, and digital resources to help students and alumni achieve their life ambitions.

• Customize existing Life Design curriculum, offerings, and approaches given the unique needs of students and alumni based on identity and values, academic pursuits and professional interests.

• Instruct the Life Design Summer Experience Practicum Course and additional credit-bearing classes when available.

• Integrate asynchronous learning material into tailored student outreach, cohort development, and programmatic efforts.

Project Management

• Adheres to project timelines, supporting the execution of life design programs and initiatives.

• Coordinates cohort-specific programs and services in partnership with key stakeholders

Strategic Partnerships

• In partnership with Life Design Lab leadership, cultivate and strengthen relationships with colleagues across units.

• Collaborate with Hire Hopkins & alumni relations colleagues to build and maintain a network of employers and mentors across varied careers who can attend courses, programs, and networking events.

Departmental Contribution

• Actively participates as a member of a Life Design Lab committee, contributing to strategic initiatives and collaborative decision-making.

Behavioral Competencies

Inclusive Communication

• Communicates clearly and empathetically across diverse student and stakeholder groups.

Collaborative Relationships

• Builds respectful and productive partnerships by valuing diverse experiences and perspectives.

Initiative & Follow-Through

• Demonstrates ownership of responsibilities and consistently delivers integrity and reliability.

Adaptability

• Responds flexibly to evolving priorities, student needs, and technological shifts in a dynamic setting.

Equity-Centered Practice

• Applies an equity lens to programming and decision-making, ensuring inclusive access and support.

Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• By way of experience, evidence of ability to develop and execute programs, courses, events, and content to scale impact across various constituent groups.

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team to achieve individual and shared goals within a complex and decentralized institution.

• Strong multicultural competency and demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders to achieve equitable and inclusive results.

• Comfortable with technology and able to quickly learn and use a wide range of systems (Handshake, Salesforce, PeopleGrove), collaboration tools (Zoom, Teams, Miro, Monday), and instructional technologies (Blackboard, etc.)

• Listen and communicate convincingly in written and verbal formats.

• Knowledge of highly selective college or university settings, and familiarity with operations of the world of work and university networks.

• Experience in presenting or facilitating in both in-person and online formats.

• Experience creating content (video, digital, written) and utilizing social media for the purposes of engaging and educating diverse audiences, and influencing public opinion.

• Ability to translate student experiences to employment as evidenced by prior experience in either a government, non-profit, education, or private sector setting.

• Experience in developing and implementing effective assessment methods and articulating strategic priorities.

About Working in the Imagine Center

• Our educators work within multiple offices and spaces on campus. Rather than assigning office or desk spaces to our teams, we have modernized our approach and assigned laptops and cell phones, and expect that our teams can work from anywhere to scale our impact across the institution. For this model to work, the ideal candidate must present excellent relationship‑building skills and engage audiences in groups and via social media and digital outlets.

Minimum Qualifications

• Master's Degree required.

• Three (3) years of experience within a higher education, government, non-profit, or corporate setting.

• Additional education may substitute for required experience and additional related experience may substitute for required education beyond a high school diploma/graduation equivalent, to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula.

Classified Title: Life Design Educator

Job Posting Title (Working Title): Assistant Director of Life Design, Physical & Materials Engineering (Life Design Lab)

Role/Level/Range: ACRP/04/MD

Starting Salary Range: $57,195 - $100,040 Annually ($65,000 targeted; Commensurate w/exp.)

Employee group: Full Time

Schedule: Mon - Fri 08:30am-05:00pm (some evening and weekend requirements)

FLSA Status: Exempt

Location: Hybrid/Homewood Campus

Department name: Life Design Lab

Personnel area: University Student Services

Equal Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.