Assistant or Associate Professor, Immersive Healthcare ExperiencesJob no: 538459
Work type: Teaching & Research Faculty
Senior management: Architecture, Arts, and Design
Department: School of Visual Arts SOVA
Location: Blacksburg, Virginia
Categories: Architecture / Construction / Planning, Instructional / Teaching Faculty, Creative Technologies / Cinema, Design / Graphic Design / Industrial Design
Job DescriptionVirginia Tech's College of Architecture, Arts and Design invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor in Immersive Healthcare Experiences with an anticipated start date of August 10, 2027. We seek a nationally recognized scholar, designer, and educator whose work advances the design, development, and evaluation of immersive and human-centered experiences in healthcare and health systems.
This position is part of Virginia Tech's Smart Healthcare Hub (based in Roanoke), and will contribute to the growth of interdisciplinary research, innovation and teaching at the intersection of immersive technologies, healthcare simulation, digital health, experience/experiential design, operations, and human-centered systems. The successful candidate will join a highly multidisciplinary and collaborative environment that values innovation, experience/experiential learning, translational research, and community engagement. This candidate will have their tenure home in any of the four schools within the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design--School of Architecture, School of Design, School of Performing Arts, or School of Visual Arts (based in Blacksburg)--as aligned with the candidate's disciplinary expertise.
The ideal candidate will demonstrate expertise in immersive technologies and environments-including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), extended reality (XR), simulation, spatial computing, visualization, digital twins, interactive media, or experience/experiential design-with a focus on improving healthcare delivery, patient and clinician experiences, healthcare education, and/or operational performance. A successful candidate will have an active research, scholarship and/or performance portfolio that is focused on healthcare improvement. This individual will be expected to lead and/or be an active participant on different research and scholarly projects in this field.
Position ResponsibilitiesResearch and Scholarly Activity• Establish and sustain an independent and externally funded research program focused on immersive healthcare experiences, either as lead or collaborator.
• Conduct innovative research and/or creative scholarship related to immersive environments, healthcare operations, digital health, simulation, patient engagement, workforce training, human factors, clinical workflow design, or healthcare systems innovation.
• Collaborate across disciplines including healthcare, engineering, architecture, design, computer science, media arts, public health, and operations.
• Disseminate scholarly and creative work through peer-reviewed publications, exhibitions, performances, digital products, and national/international presentations.
• Build partnerships with healthcare systems, industry, community organizations, and research collaborators.
Teaching and Mentorship• Teach undergraduate and graduate courses in immersive experience/experiential design, XR technologies, human-centered design, digital visualization and/or healthcare innovation or similar as aligned with the successful candidate's interests.
• Develop interdisciplinary curricula that integrate immersive technologies with healthcare applications and experiential learning.
• Mentor undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students in research, creative inquiry, and applied innovation projects.
Service and Leadership• Participate in departmental, college, and university service activities.
• Contribute to the strategic development of the Smart Healthcare Hub.
• Support interdisciplinary collaboration across academic and clinical units.
• Engage in professional service and leadership within relevant academic, healthcare, and technology communities.
Required Qualifications• Master's degree (MArch, MFA, or MDes) in a relevant field such as Architecture, Design, Digital Media, Experience/ Experiential Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or related discipline by the appointment start date.
• Evidence of scholarly, creative, or applied professional achievement.
• Demonstrated potential for excellence in teaching and student mentorship.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across disciplines and with external stakeholders.
• Strong communication and organizational skills.
• Commitment to inclusive excellence, interdisciplinary collaboration, and student-centered learning.
Preferred Qualifications• Doctoral degree in allied field such as Architecture, Design, Digital Media, Experience/ Experiential Design, or Human-Computer Interaction
• Experience developing or evaluating immersive healthcare experiences in clinical, educational, operational, or community settings.
• Expertise in one or more of the following:
o Experience/Experiential design
o VR/AR/MR/XR development
o Simulation-based education
o Human-centered design
o Digital twins
o Interactive storytelling
o Visualization and rendering
o Game engines such as Unity or Unreal Engine
o Motion capture or virtual production
o Service design
o AI-enabled immersive systems
• Experience securing external funding or participating in sponsored research.
• Evidence of interdisciplinary research or creative collaboration.
• Experience partnering with healthcare systems, simulation centers, or industry collaborators.
Application MaterialsFor full consideration, candidates are to submit the following:
- Cover letter addressing the position's responsibilities and qualifications.
- Curriculum vitae.
- Portfolio depicting 10 projects maximum (pdf of 20 pages max or a pdf with weblinks)
- A one-page personal statement of teaching philosophy including the candidate's ideas for supporting an educational environment consistent with the Virginia Tech Principles of Community.
- Statement describing the candidate's research and/or creative scholarship agenda.
- Names and contact information for at least three professional references.
Overtime StatusExempt: Not eligible for overtime
Appointment TypeRegular
Salary InformationSalary range is $75,000-135,000 per year, as dictated by rank and discipline/field
Hours per week40+
Review DateMonday, January 11, 2027
Additional InformationThe successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.
Advertised: November 5, 2026
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