Job description

We seek candidates committed to preparing students for careers in physical and digital product design. This position is an in-person, full-time 9-month appointment.

This position supports the mission of the Department of Product Design through excellence in teaching, curriculum development, research , and service. We seek candidates with diverse professional and educational experiences in product design who are committed to preparing students to address complex challenges through the design and development of physical products, digital products, and experiences. Candidates should demonstrate the ability to teach design concepts, methods, and skills across classroom, studio, and workshop environments.

The successful candidate will demonstrate expertise in product and industrial design processes, human-centered design principles, and contemporary product development practices from research and concept generation through prototyping, refinement, and implementation. Candidates should be prepared to teach at multiple levels in the four-year undergraduate curriculum and contribute to its core sequences aligned with their expertise, including Studios (product development), Means of Communication (drawing, visualization, and graphic communication), Means of Production (materials, fabrication, prototyping, CAD, digital modeling, and manufacturing technologies), and Design Contexts (history, theory, ethics, and professional practice). Faculty may also develop electives aligned with their expertise.

Faculty are expected to contribute to curriculum development; participate in departmental, college, and university service; and help develop new degree programs, certificates, minors, and industry partnerships. The position offers opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration across Architecture, Interiors, and Historic Preservation, while contributing to a shared vision for the future of design education.

Faculty are expected to establish and sustain a focused agenda of scholarly research, professional practice, and/or creative activity appropriate to an R1 research institution. This work should advance product design knowledge and practice, contribute to the faculty member’s national or international standing, and result in peer-reviewed, juried, exhibited, or otherwise publicly disseminated outcomes. Candidates should also demonstrate potential for interdisciplinary collaboration and, where appropriate, external support.

Salary is competitive and based on qualifications and experience. The anticipated Distribution of Effort (DOE) is 60–65% teaching, with 30–35% research, and the remainder devoted to departmental, college, and university service. Teaching responsibilities include studio, lecture/seminar, and courses developing digital and physical design skills.

Skills/Knowledge/Abilities
We welcome candidates whose teaching, research, or professional practice align with one or more of the following areas:
• Product Design
• Industrial Design
• Physical Product Development
• Design Foundations
• Professional Practice in Product or Industrial Design
• Design for Manufacturing and Assembly
• Advanced Materials, Processes, and Production Methods
• Computer-Aided Design (CAD): N.U.R.B.S and Solids Modeling
• Visualization methods, both analog and digital
• Prototyping, Model Making, and Fabrication
• Ergonomics, Human Factors, and Usability
• Design Research and User-Centered Design
• Medical Device and Healthcare Product Design
• Entrepreneurship and Product Commercialization
• Soft Goods, Wearables, and Textile-Based Product Design
• Sustainable Design and Circular Product Development
• User Experience and User Interface Design (UX/UI)
• Digital Product Development
• Emerging Technologies for Product Development, including Artificial Intelligence, Extended Reality (AR/VR/MR), and Digital Manufacturing

Qualifications and Expectations
Ideal candidates will demonstrate a commitment to advancing the educational vision of a contemporary product design program and possess:
1. Excellence in teaching, or potential for excellence in teaching, of foundational and advanced product design concepts.
2. A strong understanding of the historical, cultural, social, economic, technological, and manufacturing contexts of product design.
3. Strong visual, verbal, and written communication skills.
4. Expertise in form development, visualization, prototyping, materials, manufacturing processes, design research, and iterative product development.
5. Proficiency in 2D and 3D visualization, physical and digital prototyping, fabrication methods, and contemporary product development workflows.
6. An ability to balance conceptual, aesthetic, technical, and human-centered considerations in design theory with hands-on studio practice and design discourse.
7. A focused research, scholarly, and/or creative agenda with the potential for sustained dissemination, interdisciplinary collaboration, and external support;
8. An interest in collaboration across design, engineering, business, healthcare, manufacturing, or related fields.

Required Related Experience
• A terminal degree (MS, MA, M.Des, MFA) in product design, industrial design, or related field.
• A teaching philosophy that integrates theory and practice and supports students’ engagement with an inclusive vision of design, culture, and global society.
• Documented experience in teaching, professional design practice, and/or research that integrates design theory, methods, and processes.
• Ability to develop students’ design skills through real-world problem solving, conceptual development, and critical thinking.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with students, faculty, and staff, as well as with external partners on shared projects.
• Interest in incorporating socially engaged projects into creative activities and teaching.


About the Product Design Program
The newest addition to the College’s academic units, the Department of Product Design, which began in 2020, is the first and only product design program in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Informed by established fields such as industrial design and interaction design, product design spans the entirety of the design process from initial research and opportunity identification through development, delivery and evaluation of long-term impacts of designed solutions. Students hone their design process against a backdrop of varied project and product types, including physical, digital, and system and service outcomes. Regular collaborations with college, university and external partners provide a bridge to varying scales of design application across a range of industries.

The Department of Product Design offers a Bachelor of Science in Product Design (120 credit hours) and a Minor in Product Design (19 credit hours), with a recently revised curriculum composed of core technical skills in form development, computer-aided design, prototyping, and manufacturing processes, as well as critical conceptual skills in ethics, impact assessment, and collaboration methods. This new curriculum has been developed with input from across the academy to provide a balanced offering of industry preparation and intellectual exploration necessary to tackle the design problems of the future.

Signature features of the Product Design curriculum include a sequence of human-centered design courses and a suite of variable-credit, guided elective modules in areas such as Design Competencies, Design Management, Social Impact and Innovation, Advanced Materials and Processes, Professional Development, and Healthcare. These elective pathways provide a mechanism for maintaining curricular agility and responsiveness to evolving industry trends, emerging technologies, and disciplinary shifts. They also serve as a platform for piloting and evaluating future curricular innovations and program development initiatives.

The curriculum intentionally creates opportunities for students to enrich their Product Design education by pairing the degree with a complementary minor. This flexibility allows students to develop specialized expertise in an area of interest, enhancing their educational experience while positioning them for diverse professional opportunities and future career growth.

Unit faculty bring experiences from corporate and consulting design practice across a range of sectors including housewares, toy design, medical device design, graphic design, digital/interaction design, digital fabrication, and furniture design, as well as art, architecture, and aviation backgrounds. Within a small faculty, this diversity of experience fosters a richness in design perspectives and approaches to be shared and developed with students.

As the only Product Design program in the state, the Department is committed to providing accessible pathways to meaningful careers in design for Kentucky residents who wish to remain in-state for their university education, as well as for non-resident students seeking a distinctive design learning environment. To support this mission, the program provides all project materials for first-year students and offers tiered material-cost assistance throughout years two through four. The curriculum front-loads physical and digital design skills and methods in the first two years, creating flexibility for students to pursue study abroad opportunities, internships, and other experiential learning experiences in the third year of the program. The year-long senior thesis project is further enriched through the involvement of subject matter experts who engage with students throughout the research, development, and design phases of their work.