Assistant Professor Industrial Design

The Department of Industrial Design (ID) is one of the nine departments of TU/e and has an internationally leading position because of its core commitment to research through design (RtD) and its strikingly original conceptual work. ID's ambition is to be recognized as one of the top departments in the world that conduct exciting research in the intersection of Design, Technology, Human-Computer Interaction, and Social Sciences and Humanities. In particular, the department aims to inspire and educate a new generation of design engineers who can contribute with their novel designs, their fluency in AI/ML algorithms and data, and their academic critical questioning, to the imminent and complex societal challenges our world is facing nowadays.

The ID education program is competence-centered, self-directed and challenged-based. ID focuses on educating students to design through five different perspectives (called Expertise Areas), through core courses and electives:

• Math, data and computing.
• User and society.
• Technology and realization.
• Business and entrepreneurship.
• Creativity and aesthetics.

Students also learn to make connections between the different perspectives within project groups called squads. In addition, the ID education curriculum encourages and empowers students to take the ownership of their personal and professional development. Supported by their academic coaches, through ID curriculum and their personal, industrial and research projects, students develop a unique competence of designing and related design approaches individually. Next to self-directed learning and competence development, the educational model of ID is challenge-based. ID students work together on challenging and authentic projects in which multiple perspectives or disciplines are incorporated to solve the challenge (for example by working within interdisciplinary groups) using an entrepreneurial mindset.

At the Industrial Design department we have two research groups: Systemic Change and Future Everyday.

Job description of the 3 positions for Assistant Professor
1. Design of Games and Digital Twins

Research: The department of Industrial Design of the TU/e, seeks to hire an assistant professor with expertise in human-computer interaction/ interactive systems design, and with a specific emphasis in the areas of game design, virtual worlds, and digital twins. The candidate is expected to strengthen the department's competence in machine learning and AI. This position is intended to strengthen the department's research and education program regarding gameful design, simulations and digital twins, and tangible, mixed reality or digital games, where games and play are used to promote goals related to education, healthy living, or the energy transition. Familiarity with game engines and quantitative methods is expected.

Education: The candidate should enhance the competence of industrial design graduates in areas related to math data and computing and especially artificial intelligence, XR, and software prototyping. The candidate should demonstrate a keen interest on addressing societal challenges in a real-world context, to work closely with colleagues and stakeholders from diverse disciplinary and cultural backgrounds and be ready to embrace a design oriented perspective.

Please apply here for this position (Please DO NOT USE THE "Apply now button" BELOW!)

2. Data Interaction and Visual Analytics

Research: You have a design focus on data interaction, visual analytics, and information visualization, a keen sense of data quality and meaningful interactions with data. In Industrial Design, we look for effective and aesthetic ways of presenting large-scale, complex data to diverse audiences and to support various types of users. For this position, we focus on professional users of high-tech systems in the semiconductor, printing, and healthcare industries. This could mean supporting professionals in complex tasks using high-dimensional data streams, providing new views on data using knowledge representation techniques and machine-learning, or connecting organizational data silos to empower stakeholders. In addition, we focus on how data evolves and changes, and how our understanding and sense-making such data will be dynamic, adaptive, and evolving over time. This means strengthening qualities of data interaction to promote design agency in the interpretation of data in and out of a context. You will develop novel concepts and applications, and related design methodology and technologies to support the application of visual analytics in different application domains. You will engage in and lead collaboration projects with industrial stakeholders. You are familiar with current data visualization and data interaction technologies, and you have a track record and strong ambition to contribute to the development of tools, methods and theory, guiding and inspiring designers in this field, and connecting to contemporary data design methodologies such as data-enabled design.

Education: You will contribute to our educational expertise in the areas of 'Math, Data & Computing', 'Technology & Realization' and 'Creativity & Aesthetics' through courses at bachelor's and master's level in topics related to data and information visualization, generative design, designing with data, and visual analytics. Furthermore, education will involve the definition and coaching of student projects at bachelor's and master's level, and in our post-graduate Engineering Doctorate program.

Please apply here for this position (Please DO NOT USE THE "Apply now button" BELOW!)

3. Design for Human-Vehicle Interaction (Smart Mobility and Automated Vehicles)

Research: For this position, we are looking for a motivated colleague who will work on designing and evaluating solutions to overcome human factors issues in the domain of automated driving, such as trust and acceptance, shared control, situation awareness, automation surprise, perceived safety, uncertainty and the  interaction between autonomous vehicles and pedestrians, cyclists and manually driven vehicles.  Within these themes, issues such as inclusivity, AI, data, methodologies, regulations and ethics play a potential role.

The candidate should have a PhD degree, building on a background in Industrial Design, Interaction Design, Human-Technology Interaction, Cognitive Psychology or Human Factors with a strong affinity with user experience research, design research methodologies and design as solutions for complex HMI challenges such as mode confusion, automation surprise, discomfort, overload, distraction, trust calibration and perceived uncertainty and perceived safety. Having a track record in automative (design) research is preferred, preferably with a good international reputation as evident from a range of high standing publications, participation in conferences and events and publications in the automotive design and research community.

Education: The candidate should be able and motivated to contribute to the bachelor and master programme (e.g. our course Automotive Human Factors), demonstrate ability to create links between education and research, take an active role in coaching students in our Future Mobility Squad and guide final bachelor and master students, also together with other departments at the University (e.g. IE&IS).

Please apply here for this position (Please DO NOT USE THE "Apply now button" BELOW!)

Requirements:

• Motivated researcher, with a PhD in Design, HCI, Computer Science or other related disciplines
• Ability to conduct high quality academic research, reflected in demonstratable outputs.
• Motivated to teach, contribute to teaching processes, and to develop excellent teaching skills.
• Strong cooperation skills and ability to work in an interdisciplinary team.
• Effective communication and leadership skills, including coaching and mentoring of students and staff, leading a project or chairing a group.
• Excellent (written and verbal) proficiency in English. 

Salary Benefits:

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you:

• A Tenure Track of five years with the prospect of becoming an Associate Professor.
• The opportunity to focus your career on education, research or impact. You can develop your personal ambitions and objections within the strategic objectives of the university. Salary in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale 11/12 (min. €4332 -  max. €6737).
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%.
• A dedicated mentoring program to help you get to know the university and the Dutch (research) environment.
• High-quality training programs for academic leadership and teaching.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.
• Partially paid parental leave and an allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
• A Staff Immigration Team is available for international candidates, as are a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) and partner career support.

38 hours per week

De Rondom 70