Associate/Full Professor in Teams in Game Development, Game Play, and/or Esports

Associate/Full Professor in Teams in Game Development, Game
Play, and/or Esports

Details

The Division of Games at the University of Utah invites
applications for a tenure-line Associate or Full Professor in
Games, with a focus on teams in the context of games, either in
game development or game play, to begin Fall 2027.

This hire is part of the PRESS PLAY Initiative (https://games.utah.edu/pressplay/),
a $25 million, multi-year investment by the University of Utah in
the faculty, facilities, and programs of the Division of Games.
PRESS PLAY is growing both our teaching faculty and our research
faculty, and new colleagues will help shape the next stage of games
education and research at the U.

We seek a scholar whose research examines how teams, groups, and
organizations create, coordinate, and innovate in game development,
gameplay, and/or virtual worlds. Candidates should demonstrate
strength in advancing theories, models, methods, or tools that
deepen our understanding of how people work together to design,
create, and/or play with or within complex game systems. Areas of
interest may include team cognition and collaborative design in
game development; human-computer interaction and human-centered
computing for game-making teams; organizational behavior and
production processes in games and interactive media; team dynamics,
coordination, communication, and performance in esports;
computational social science and data-driven modeling of
game-related team dynamics; human-AI teaming in game development or
gameplay; and socio-technical systems in the creative practices
around games.

The successful candidate will lead a nationally and internationally
recognized, externally funded research program and will play a
leadership role in growing the Division's research enterprise,
including graduate education and collaborations across disciplines
and funding agencies. They will teach undergraduate and graduate
courses and mentor junior faculty and graduate students. We
especially welcome candidates who connect these areas to broader
domains of games research and practice, and whose work connects
with the Kahlert School of Computing, the David Eccles School of
Business, Psychology, or the University's planned Institute for
Digital Experience.

Necessary Qualifications

• A PhD in human-computer interaction, computer science,

information science, psychology, organizational behavior, or a
related field, with relevance to teams, processes, or collaboration
in game creation or game play

• Broad knowledge of games and game development practice,

sufficient to teach in-person courses across the Division's
undergraduate and graduate curricula on the Salt Lake City
campus

• Demonstrated depth of expertise and a distinguished record of

scholarship in game-related areas, qualifying for appointment with
tenure at the rank of Associate or Full Professor

• A sustained record of external research funding
• Demonstrated commitment to teaching and/or mentoring

undergraduate and graduate students in lectures, seminars, and
studio simulations

• Demonstrated capacity to contribute to university and

professional service and leadership, such as collaborative
curriculum development, unit or college administrative service
roles, outreach to local industry and government partners, or
recruitment

Preferred Qualifications

• Research examining team dynamics, collaboration, coordination,

cognition, communication, or performance in game development,
esports, competitive gameplay, or other team-based gaming
contexts.

• Expertise in one or more relevant areas, such as human-computer

interaction, organizational behavior, cognitive science,
computational social science, human-AI teaming, or socio-technical
systems, with demonstrated application to games or interactive
media.

• Experience with empirical, computational, qualitative, or

mixed-methods approaches to studying teams, collaborative
processes, organizational practices, or player behavior.

• Research that advances theoretical frameworks, methods, or

tools for understanding or improving team effectiveness,
collaborative creativity, or coordinated activity in game
development or gameplay.

• Demonstrated academic leadership, such as directing a research

lab or center, leading interdisciplinary collaborations, or
developing externally funded research programs involving multiple
investigators, institutions, or industry partners.

About the Division

The Division of Games, in the College of Architecture + Planning,
is a world leader in games education, with consistently top-ranked
programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The Utah
Games faculty includes artists, social scientists, games studies
scholars, designers, and computer scientists who collectively work
together on the mission to push the boundaries of what is possible
in games. This plurality of backgrounds is one of the core elements
within our identity. We strongly value inter- and transdisciplinary
approaches to research and education, and seek to foster
collaboration across the University of Utah. Currently, our faculty
sustain ongoing collaborations with other departments within our
College of Architecture and Planning, as well as the School of
Medicine, the Colleges of Education, Humanities, Science and
Engineering, and other campus partners. Additionally, we maintain
strong collaborations with the vibrant local game development
community and other significant game 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 https://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 College of Architecture and Planning

The University of Utah College of Architecture and Planning (CA+P)
is a community of award-winning faculty, entrepreneurial students,
and support staff that together form a creative community unlike
any other. The College is home to four academic units: the School
of Architecture, the Department of City and Metropolitan Planning,
the Division of Games, and the Division of Multi-Disciplinary
Design, as well as multiple research centers and collaboratives.
Across these units are top-ranked academic programs, outstanding
researchers with a strong commitment to addressing defining issues
of our time, and a record of unsurpassed societal impact. As part
of a campus that values innovation and interdisciplinarity, the
College is transforming its disciplines and training graduates to
become leaders and changemakers in the built and virtual
environments globally. More information is available at
cap.utah.edu.

About the University of Utah

The University of Utah is a Carnegie Research I institution located
in Salt Lake City, nestled in the breathtaking foothills of the
Wasatch Mountains. With thriving arts and culinary scenes, and an
exploding high technology sector, Salt Lake City offers a unique
mix of urban life juxtaposed with access to remarkable national
parks, ski resorts, hiking and climbing, and more, just minutes
away from campus.

Department: 01508 - Games

City: Salt Lake City, UT

Track: Tenure Track

Close Date:

Open Until Filled: Yes

Requisition Number: PRN01610CF

To apply, visit https://utah.peopleadmin.com/postings/211450

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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