Assistant/Associate Professor in Technical and Scientific Communication

Job Description

Virginia Tech’s Department of English invites applications for a
full-time, tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Assistant
or Associate Professor in Technical and Scientific Communication.
This position reflects Virginia Tech's strategic commitment to
understanding not only how technologies are developed, but how they
are implemented, communicated, trusted, and integrated into
organizations and communities, with a particular focus on
healthcare. We seek an innovative scholar whose work advances the
future of technical and scientific communication in an era
increasingly defined by artificial intelligence, automation,
immersive technologies, and complex sociotechnical systems. We seek
a scholar whose research and teaching examine how communication
shapes the design, implementation, and use of emerging technologies
in professional, organizational, scientific, technical, or
healthcare environments.

This position is associated with Virginia Tech’s Smart Healthcare
Hub initiative (smarthealthcare.icat.vt.edu) and will contribute to
the growth of interdisciplinary research, innovation, and teaching
at the intersection of emerging technologies, healthcare-related
simulations, digital and/or medical humanities, experience design,
operations, and human-centered systems. The successful candidate
will join a highly multidisciplinary and collaborative environment
that values innovation, experiential learning, translational
research, and community engagement. The successful candidate will
contribute to Virginia Tech's internationally recognized Technical
and Scientific Communication program as a member of the Department
of English while engaging in interdisciplinary research
collaborations across the university.

Given the expectation that the position will involve high research
productivity and pursuit of research funding as part of the Smart
Healthcare Hub initiative, the position will begin with a teaching
assignment of two courses per academic year (one in fall and one in
spring) that includes teaching in the Department of English’s
undergraduate Technical and Scientific Communication and the
doctoral Rhetoric and Writing programs. After three years, the
teaching assignment is expected to increase to the department’s
typical teaching assignment for tenure-track and tenured faculty of
four courses each academic year (two in fall and two in
spring).

Position Overview

The ideal candidate for this position will help define the future
of the discipline by advancing research that improves communication
across complex technical, scientific, healthcare, governmental, or
industrial contexts.

We welcome applicants whose scholarship addresses one or more areas
including, but not limited to:

• Ethics of emerging technologies
• Rhetoric of science, technology, and medicine
• Digital and/or medical humanities
• Human-centered design
• Technical communication and artificial intelligence
• Accessibility and inclusive design
• Science writing

The department particularly values scholars whose work bridges
traditional disciplinary boundaries and who are skilled at
collaborating with researchers across engineering, computer
science, health sciences, business, public policy, and the
humanities. We seek an individual that has expertise in applying
their work within the healthcare sector.

Responsibilities

The successful candidate will maintain an active, externally
visible research program, including work associated with the Smart
Healthcare Hub’s focus; contribute to undergraduate and graduate
education; mentor students; and participate in departmental,
college, and university service.

Primary responsibilities include:

Research

• Develop and sustain a nationally recognized program of

scholarship in technical and scientific communication.

• Publish in leading journals and present research at national

and international conferences.

• Pursue externally funded research opportunities and contribute

to collaborative external funding proposals.

• Build interdisciplinary collaborations across Virginia Tech and

with external partners.

• Mentor graduate and undergraduate student researchers.

Teaching

Teach undergraduate and graduate courses in technical and
scientific communication and rhetoric, including foundational and
advanced courses that may include grant writing; medical and
science writing; the rhetoric of science, technology, and medicine;
document design; visual rhetoric; and/or digital rhetoric. Faculty
are encouraged to develop new courses aligned with their expertise
and emerging areas of the discipline.

Service

The successful candidate will contribute to the continued growth of
Virginia Tech's nationally recognized Technical and Scientific
Communication program through curriculum development, student
mentoring, program leadership, and university service while
participating in national professional organizations.

Collaborative Opportunities

Virginia Tech offers exceptional opportunities for
interdisciplinary collaboration. The successful candidate will have
opportunities to engage with faculty across the College of Liberal
Arts and Human Sciences, College of Engineering, College of
Science, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Pamplin College
of Business, and numerous university-wide research institutes and
centers such as the Institute for Society, Culture, and
Environment, Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology, the
Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, and the Whole Health
Consortium.

How to Apply

Screening of applications will begin November 15, 2026. For full
consideration, all materials must be submitted prior to this date.
Please submit:

• A CV
• A Cover Letter
• A detailed statement detailing teaching/mentoring

philosophy

• A detailed statement of research accomplishments and plans
• Names and contact information for 3 professional references;

references will be contacted to upload letters of support to the
application during the review process

Please direct questions to Dr. James D. Ivory, Search Committee
Chair, at jivory@vt.edu .

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Technical and Professional Communication, Rhetoric and

Writing Studies, Communication, English, Information Science,
Human-Centered Computing, Science Communication, User Experience,
or a closely related field by the time of appointment.

• Demonstrated potential for an active and impactful research

agenda supported by extramural funding.

• Evidence of excellence or strong potential in undergraduate and

graduate teaching.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to inclusive teaching, mentoring, and

collaboration.

• Ability to work effectively in interdisciplinary research

environments.

Preferred Qualifications

Preference will be given to candidates with one or more of the
following:

• Research addressing emerging technologies and

communication.

• Expertise in human-centered design, user experience, or

information design.

• Research focused on healthcare, health technologies, public

health, or implementation.

• Evidence of pursuing or securing external research

funding.

• Experience mentoring graduate students.

Overtime Status

Exempt: Not eligible for overtime

Appointment Type

Regular

Salary Information

Commensurate with Experience, as an Assistant Professor the range
is $75,000 to $82,000 / as an Associate Professor the range is
$83,000 to $92,000

Hours per week

*

Review Date

November 15, 2026

Additional Information

The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal
conviction check.

About Virginia Tech

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve),
Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a
hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be
leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution
that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the
world, Virginia Tech is an
inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and
creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse
enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and
professional students in eight
undergraduate colleges , a
school of medicine , a
veterinary medicine college,
Graduate School , and
Honors College . The university has a significant presence
across Virginia, including Blacksburg, the greater Washington, D.C.
area, the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke, sites
in Newport News and Richmond, and numerous
Extension offices and
research institutes . A leading global research institution,
Virginia Tech conducts more than $650 million in research
annually.

Virginia Tech endorses and encourages participation in professional
development opportunities and university shared governance . These valuable
contributions to university shared governance provide important
representation and perspective, along with opportunities for unique
and impactful professional development.

Virginia Tech does not discriminate against employees, students, or
applicants on the basis of age, color, disability, sex (including
pregnancy), gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic
information, ethnicity or national origin, political affiliation,
race, religion, sexual orientation, or military status, or
otherwise discriminate against employees or applicants who inquire
about, discuss, or disclose their compensation or the compensation
of other employees or applicants, or on any other basis protected
by law.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an
accommodation, please contact Donna Eastwood at
ddolgos@vt.edu during regular business hours at least 10
business days prior to the event.