Assistant Professor (Lecturer) in Entrepreneurship and Industry Leadership in the Division of Games

Assistant Professor (Lecturer) in Entrepreneurship and Industry
Leadership in the Division of Games

Details

The Division of Games at the University of Utah invites
applications for a non-tenure-track career-line Assistant Professor
(Lecturer) in Games, with a focus on entrepreneurship and industry
leadership, to begin Spring 2027 or Fall 2027. We seek an applicant
with firsthand experience founding and building a games company,
combined with a substantial career as an executive or senior leader
within the games industry. Candidates should bring deep, practical
knowledge of the business of game development, including studio
formation, funding and financing, publishing and distribution
models, team and product leadership, and the operational realities
of running a game studio at scale.

The successful candidate will teach existing courses in game
creation and will work with Division leadership and faculty to
expand our curriculum, engaging students in entrepreneurship and
the industry practices that surround the business of making and
shipping games. This is an opportunity to help shape how the next
generation of game makers understands founding, financing, and
leading a studio, not only how to build the game itself.

Successful candidates will share our vision of the power that games
hold to transform players, groups, and society. Hires are part of
the PRESS PLAY Initiative (https://games.utah.edu/pressplay/),
a significant, multi-year commitment for faculty growth in the
Division of Games.

Note: The Division of Games is dedicated to connecting students
with industry professionals and contemporary game development
practices. For industry professionals wishing to transition into
academia, the Division provides training and onboarding around
academic and administrative practices.

Necessary Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience as a founder of a games company

(studio, publisher, or games-adjacent venture).

• Ten or more years as an executive or senior leader within the

games industry (e.g., studio head, CEO, COO, general manager, or
equivalent leadership role).

• Teaching experience is required.
• Ability to lead existing courses in game creation and to teach

across the B.S. in Games and Master's of Entertainment Arts &
Engineering (MEAE) curricula to students in person on the Salt Lake
City campus.

• Demonstrated commitment to teaching and/or mentoring

undergraduate and graduate students in lectures and studio-based
courses.

• Ability to develop new curriculum connecting entrepreneurship,

business practice, and the games industry for students across the
Division.

• A Bachelor's degree plus ten or more years of industry

leadership experience in the games industry, or a terminal degree
in a related field.

• In addition to teaching, candidates are expected to contribute

to university and professional service, for example, collaborative
work to expand our curriculum, outreach to local industry and
government partners, and recruitment efforts.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience founding or leading more than one games company or

venture, or leading a games company through founding to operation
at significant scale.

• A network of active relationships across the games industry

that can support student mentorship, internships, and
placement.

• Experience fundraising, financing, or negotiating publishing

and distribution agreements.

About the Division

The Division of Games is a world leader in games education, with
consistently top-ranked programs at both the undergraduate and
graduate levels and is currently ranked #1 among public
institutions by both the Princeton Review and U.S. News & World
Report. We are one of the four academic units of the College of
Architecture and Planning, which also includes the School of
Architecture, the Department of City and Metropolitan Planning, and
the Division of Multi-Disciplinary Design.

The Utah Games faculty includes artists, computer scientists,
designers, learning scientists, philosophers, producers, social
scientists, writers, and other games makers and scholars who
collectively work together to push the boundaries of what is
possible in games. This breadth of backgrounds is one of the core
elements of our identity. We strongly value inter- and
transdisciplinary approaches to research and education, and we seek
to foster collaboration across the University of Utah. Currently,
our faculty sustain ongoing collaborations with other departments
within our College of Architecture + Planning, as well as the
School of Medicine, the Colleges of Education, Humanities, Social
and Behavioral Science, and Engineering, and other campus partners.
We also maintain strong collaborations with the vibrant local game
development community and other significant industry-wide
partners.

Our unit is committed to being a responsible member of our campus
and professional community, and we strive to recruit and support
faculty committed to acting in furtherance of our unit's values.
Interested candidates may view these values by visiting
games.utah.edu/utah-games-values.

If you are interested in joining us to build a culture of academic
excellence; to create ideas that advance our understanding of
games; to share those ideas with our students, communities, and
society; and to apply those ideas to change the world for the
better, we strongly encourage you to apply.

About the University of Utah

The University of Utah is a Carnegie Research I institution located
in Salt Lake City, nestled in the foothills of the Wasatch
Mountains. With thriving arts and culinary scenes and a growing
high-technology sector, Salt Lake City offers a mix of urban life
alongside access to national parks, ski resorts, hiking, and
climbing, all just minutes from campus.

Department: 01508 - Games

City: Salt Lake City, UT

Track: Non Tenure Track

Close Date:

Open Until Filled: Yes

Requisition Number: PRN01558CF

To apply, visit https://utah.peopleadmin.com/postings/208211

The University of Utah values candidates who have experience
working in settings with students and possess a strong commitment
to improving access to higher education.

Veterans' preference is extended to qualified applicants, upon
request and consistent with University policy and Utah state law.
Upon request, reasonable accommodations in the application process
will be provided to individuals with disabilities.

Consistent with state and federal law, the University of Utah does
not discriminate based upon race, ethnicity, color, religion,
national origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender,
gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy-related
conditions, genetic information, or protected veteran's status. The
University does not discriminate on the basis of sex in the
education program or activity that it operates, as required by
Title IX and 34 CFR part 106. The requirement not to discriminate
in education programs or activities extends to admission and
employment. Inquiries about the application of Title IX and its
regulations may be referred to the Title IX Coordinator, to the
Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, or both.

To request a reasonable accommodation for a disability or if you or
someone you know has experienced discrimination or sexual
misconduct including sexual harassment, you may contact the
Director/Title IX Coordinator in the Office of Equal Opportunity
and Title IX (OEO). More information, including the Director/Title
IX Coordinator's office address, electronic mail address, and
telephone number, can be located at https://www.utah.edu/nondiscrimination/.

Online reports may be submitted at https://oeo.utah.edu.

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