Assistant Professor, Interior Design

San José State University; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 94,000; Full time

Job summary

San José State University invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Interior Design, beginning Fall 2027. This academic-year appointment seeks a designer, educator, and researcher bridging professional practice and academic inquiry within the undergraduate interior design curriculum and across related electives.

The ideal candidate demonstrates fluency with emerging technologies shaping the discipline and a commitment to inclusive excellence in teaching and advising

Qualifications

• Terminal degree completed before start date.
• Evidence of successful undergraduate teaching.
• Active program of creative practice or research in emerging technologies.
• Experience with digital and material media in interior design.
• Awareness of inclusive and diverse student populations.

Responsibilities

• Teach undergraduate interior design curriculum including foundation studios.
• Cover space planning, materials and construction, digital tools.
• Offer advanced electives aligned with research and expertise.
• Bridge professional practice with academic inquiry.
• Engage with Advanced Institute for Ethical Technologies and Digital Humanities Center.

Skills

Teaching experience

Emerging technologies

Design research

Cross-cultural awareness

Education

MFA in Interior Design

PhD in related field

Tools

CAD software

Parametric design tools

Digital fabrication

Job description

Job no: 562278
Work type: Instructional Faculty – Tenured/Tenure-Track
Location: San José
Categories: Unit 3 - CFA - California Faculty Association, Faculty - Letters/Humanities, Tenured/Tenure-Track, Full Time, On-site (work in-person at business location)

Job Number: 562278

Position Rank and Title: Assistant Professor, Interior Design

School/Department Name: Department of Design

Compensation: Commensurate with qualifications, experience, and rank as established by the CSU Salary Schedule. Anticipated hiring academic year annual salary range: $90,000-$94,000, depending on qualifications.

Faculty employee benefits are very competitive for the higher education sector. See the CSU Employee Benefits Summary for details about the CSU's excellent benefits package.

Target Start Date: August 16, 2027 (Fall 2027)

Application Deadline: January 8, 2027 (Applications accepted until filled or closed)

Position Description

The Department of Design at San José State University invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Interior Design, beginning in Fall 2027. This is an academic-year appointment. We seek a designer, educator, and researcher whose work bridges professional practice and academic inquiry, and who can teach in the undergraduate interior design curriculum, including foundation studios, space planning, materials and construction, digital and computational tools, and advanced electives aligned with the candidate's expertise and research. San Jose State University is committed to excellence and enhancing student experience through engaged teaching and dedicated advising by all faculty. The ideal candidate brings professional practice experience in interior design alongside academic teaching experience, and demonstrates fluency with the emerging technologies shaping the discipline.

We are particularly interested in candidates whose research or creative practice advances interior design through emerging technologies, whether through digital fabrication, computational and parametric design, responsive or smart materials, immersive visualization, AI, or related areas of inquiry. The ideal candidate demonstrates rigor in their scholarly and creative research, and will contribute new knowledge through creative practice, design research, scholarship, or public engagement. The department recognizes multiple forms of scholarly and creative activity, including peer-reviewed publications, exhibitions, built work, funded research, public scholarship, and other contributions that advance the discipline.

The Department of Design is centered on design research, creative and emerging technologies, and interdisciplinary collaboration. We seek faculty who use technology in adaptive, inclusive, poetic, collaborative, agentic, and experimental ways while advancing socially responsible design practices. The department offers four professional degrees and is organized around five discipline groups: Interior Design, Industrial Design, Interaction Design, Graphic Design, and Animation. The interior design program at SJSU offers two four-year degrees: a BA of Design Studies with a focus in interior design and a professional BFA in Interior Design, both of which are NASAD-accredited and ranked highly in California and in the US. Our faculty includes designers, architects, artists, and historians committed to excellence and collaboration across the department, college, university, Silicon Valley, and beyond. Prospective faculty will have opportunities to engage with the Advanced Institute for Ethical Technologies (AI-ET), which advances interdisciplinary and community-centered dialogue about responsible technology, and the Digital Humanities Center, a collaborative hub for digitally informed research, teaching, and public engagement.

The Department of Design and San José State University value inclusive excellence and are committed to advancing equity through research, teaching, and service. We enroll over 40,000 students, many of whom are historically underserved; approximately 45% of our undergraduate students are first-generation college students and 38% are Pell Grant recipients. In addition, we are both a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI). SJSU aspires to create holistic learning environments that facilitate inclusive, empowering spaces for mutual learning, skill-building, and knowledge exchange. We welcome candidates whose creative practice generates new knowledge through research, scholarship, or public engagement.

We invite all applicants to include a Statement of Inclusive Excellence (or incorporate it into your cover letter) to share how your lived and professional experiences will contribute to the SJSU community, particularly in relation to student success and inclusive education. A guide to writing this statement can be found at SJSU Inclusive Excellence Statement Guidelines.

Required Qualifications

• A terminal degree (MFA or MIA in Interior Design, MDes, MArch, or PhD) in interior design, architecture or a closely and demonstrably related field. The degree must be completed before the targeted start date.
• Evidence of successful teaching at the undergraduate college level.
• An active program of creative practice, interior design research, scholarship, or a combination thereof, with a demonstrated research or practice focus on emerging technologies and fabrication in the discipline.
• Demonstrated engagement with contemporary interior design methods, tools, and modes of practice across digital and material media, including critical approaches to design making.
• Applicants must demonstrate an awareness of and sensitivity to the educational goals of a socially and economically diverse student population as might have been gained in cross-cultural study, training, teaching, and other comparable experiences.

Preferred Qualifications

Priority will be given to candidates who demonstrate two or more of the following:

• Ability to teach across the curriculum, from foundational design and visualization courses through technical design specialization courses and advanced design studios. Professional visibility through built work, exhibitions, publications, commissions, presentations, professional organizations, or other contributions to the discipline.
• Research or creative practice specifically engaging emerging technologies, such as digital fabrication, computational or parametric design, immersive (AR/VR/XR) visualization, robotics, AI, or responsive and smart materials.
• Engagement with evolving design practices that advance accessibility, equity, and broader cultural perspectives.
• Track record of success, or demonstrated potential for success, conducting research or creative activity relevant to the position that results in recognition (e.g., projects that have been published, exhibited, built, commissioned, implemented, recognized through awards, or otherwise disseminated within the discipline).