Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Experience Design

Position Title: Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Experience
Design

Req ID: R0006447

Time Type: Full time

Location: Waltham, MA

Description:

Job Description Summary

The Experience Design Department at Bentley University invites
applications for a tenure track Assistant Professor position in
Experience Design, to begin 7/1/2027.

Applications are welcome from candidates who will hold a Ph.D.
by the start date and are seeking appointment at the assistant
professor level, including early-career scholars and current
assistant professors whose research and teaching align strongly
with the department's strengths in experience design (XD), user
experience (UX), human-centered design, human-computer interaction
(HCI), human factors, information design, and emerging technologies
as they relate to human-centered design.

The successful candidate will contribute to undergraduate and
graduate teaching in XD and Human Factors in Information Design
(HFID), with highest priority placed on the ability or clear
potential to teach design-focused courses in interaction design,
prototyping, and studio-based experience design, and additional
value placed on the ability to teach practice oriented research
courses. Across both design and research courses, the department
values theoretical grounding in perception, cognition, behavioral
science, engineering psychology, and human factors, as well as
clear application to experience design practice.

Strong candidates will be able to bridge research and practice,
producing impactful scholarship while preparing students to address
contemporary experience design and human-centered technology
challenges in professional settings. We welcome qualified
candidates whose paths connect academic research, professional
practice, and industry experience.

Bentley is committed to the teacher-scholar model where
teaching, scholarship, service and community engagement are
expected and valued. We seek qualified faculty who represent
diverse backgrounds, interests and talents and share a commitment
to high ethical standards and a willingness to embrace challenge
and change.

About the Experience Design Department:

The Experience Design (XD) Department is a collaborative,
interdisciplinary academic home for faculty whose work connects
design, human factors, user experience, human-centered technology,
behavioral science, and business. The department prepares
undergraduate and graduate students to design products, services,
systems, interfaces, environments, and experiences that are useful,
usable, responsible, and valuable for people, organizations, and
society.

XD at Bentley spans nearly 30 years of undergraduate, master's,
and doctoral education through the XD undergraduate degree program,
the Master of Science in Human Factors in Information Design (M.S.
HFID) program, and the experience design track within Bentley's
Executive Ph.D. in Business program. This portfolio of programs
creates opportunities for faculty to teach across levels, mentor
student research and applied projects, and contribute to the
continued development of experience design within a business
university environment.

The department's work also aligns with Bentley's growing
emphasis on technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship, including
the reimagined Adamian Academic Center, User Experience Center, and
planned spaces such as the Futures Lab and Build Lab. These
initiatives create opportunities for high-visibility student
engagement, immersive learning, prototyping, emerging technologies,
and interdisciplinary collaboration.

XD faculty connect teaching, scholarship, professional practice,
and external engagement through applied courses, sponsored
projects, research collaborations, consulting engagements, and
partnerships with organizations across the private, public, and
nonprofit sectors. The majority of HFID students are preparing for
professional careers as practitioners in UX, experience design,
product and service design, human factors, and related fields.
Across programs, students often work with ambiguous, real-world
problems and translate design methods, research insights, and
stakeholder needs into actionable recommendations, prototypes,
design strategies, and evidence-based design decisions.

About Bentley and the Area:

Bentley University, located in suburban Boston, is an AACSB and
NECHE accredited institution that enrolls approximately 5,500
students at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels.
Bentley is ranked at or near the top in several categories by US
News & World Report, including Best Regional Universities North
and Most Innovative Schools, with Bloomberg ranking Bentley in the
top 20 undergraduate business programs. Bentley's high graduation
and retention rates and top-ranked Pulsifer Career Center reflect a
commitment to student success and inclusiveness. With a strong
faculty of teacher-scholars, Bentley strives to be a "Force for
Good" through the integration of business with the arts and
sciences, and a strong emphasis on ethics and social
responsibility. Providing a stimulating academic community for
faculty, staff, and students, Bentley supports its faculty as they
pursue cutting-edge research and bring their expertise and real
world understanding into the classroom.

Minimum Qualifications:

Candidates must demonstrate:

-
Applicants should have a Ph.D. in a field relevant to the theory
and practice of experience design, or be scheduled to complete
their Ph.D. by September 1, 2027.

-
Teaching potential or experience relevant to design-focused,
studio-based, and/or practice-oriented research courses in
experience design.

-
Scholarly, applied research, or practice-based research agenda
connected to experience design practice.

-
Service potential or experience appropriate to career stage.

Relevant fields may include HCI, human factors, psychology,
cognitive science, sociology, anthropology, computer science,
engineering, design, design research, or other related fields,
provided the candidate's work has a clear connection to the theory
and practice of experience design, UX, or human-centered
design.

For teaching and scholarship, evidence may include potential
for, or a record of, effective teaching, student mentoring,
scholarly publication, applied research, practice-based research,
or related work appropriate to career stage.

Preferred Qualifications:

We do not expect candidates to meet all preferred
qualifications. Strong candidates may demonstrate fit through
varying combinations of teaching, research, applied collaboration,
and professional engagement.

-
Teaching expertise or experience in one or more areas such as
visual design, prototyping, interaction design, applied design
studios, making, UX/HCI, human factors, design research, usability
and evaluation, design strategy, product design, service design,
systems design, service learning, sponsored projects, or community
engaged projects.

-
Research expertise in one or more areas such as applied HCI
research, design methods research, UX research, usability and human
factors studies, participatory or co-design, accessibility and
inclusive design, systems design, systemic design, transition
design, human-centered AI, responsible innovation, evidence-based
design, design pedagogy, or professional design scholarship.

-
Professional industry experience is valued but not required, and
we welcome candidates whose paths connect industry, applied
practice, and academic work.

-
Candidates may demonstrate practice relevance through applied
research collaborations, sponsored projects, consulting,
community-engaged design, practitioner partnerships, translational
research, evidence-based design work, or scholarship that informs
experience design practice, industry-relevant problem solving, and
real-world impact.

-
We are especially interested in candidates whose teaching,
scholarship, or applied projects could contribute to
high-visibility student engagement work involving prototyping,
making, emerging technologies, community-oriented collaborations,
and campus-based innovation spaces.

-
Ability or clear potential to contribute to the continued
growth, visibility, and impact of experience design within a
business university environment, including collaboration,
curriculum development, graduate mentoring, external partnership,
or program-building over time.

Special Instructions to Applicants:

For full consideration, candidates should submit all five
required application components by October 15, 2026; review of
applications will begin shortly thereafter and continue until the
position is filled:

-
An up-to-date curriculum vitae.

-
A Letter of Interest describing the candidate's fit with the
Experience Design Department, including relevant teaching areas,
research agenda, applied or industry experience where relevant, and
connections between the candidate's work and experience design
practice.

-
A Teaching Statement describing the candidate's approach to
teaching and mentoring.

-
A Research Statement describing the candidate's scholarly
trajectory and current and future research agenda.

-
Names and contact information for three academic or professional
references. References will not be contacted without prior
notice.

Candidates are expected to submit materials that accurately
represent their own experience, accomplishments, teaching approach,
and research agenda. If generative AI or other tools are used in
preparing application materials, candidates remain responsible for
the accuracy, integrity, and authenticity of the final
submission.

The Teaching Statement should address: (1) areas the candidate
is prepared to teach or develop, especially design-focused and
practice-oriented research courses; (2) evidence of teaching
potential or effectiveness, which may include independent teaching,
teaching assistant experience, curriculum development, applied
research mentoring, studio or project based learning,
industry-engaged teaching, or mentoring of professional or graduate
students; and (3) prior or planned approaches to inclusive,
accessible, and ethical design education.

The Research Statement should address: (1) key research
questions, methods, and contributions; (2) evidence of research
productivity, which may include scholarly publications, work under
review, conference papers, abstracts, posters, proceedings, design
or research artifacts, or other research outputs; and (3)
connections between the candidate's work and experience design, UX,
human-centered design, HCI, human factors, or related areas.

The search committee may request additional materials at a later
stage, such as selected publications, design or research artifacts,
teaching materials, a portfolio, or evidence of teaching
effectiveness.

For additional information about this position, please email
Jonathan Ericson, Associate Professor and Chair, Dept. of
Experience Design, Bentley University (jericson@bentley.edu).

Pay Transparency:

At Bentley we offer a "total rewards" package designed to
attract, motivate, retain, and reward our employees. This includes
competitive compensation, robust benefits, career development and
opportunities, generous paid time off, workplace flexibility and a
positive, engaging employee experience. In alignment with the
Massachusetts Pay Transparency Act and our commitment to equity and
transparency, we're sharing the salary grade range for this role.
The grade range is based on market data and the scope of
responsibilities. Final pay will depend on your experience,
education, and other relevant qualifications.

Salary Ranges (depending on rank, qualifications and
experience):

-
Assistant Professor: $137,819 - $168,446

If you have questions about the salary grade range or need
additional information, please contact us at
GA_HR_Employment@bentley.edu.

Bentley University requires references checks and may conduct
other pre-employment screening.

Bentley University requires references checks and may conduct
other pre-employment screening.

DIVERSITY STATEMENT

Bentley University strives to create a campus community that
welcomes the exchange of ideas, and fosters a culture that values
differences and views them as a strength in our community.

Bentley University is an Equal Opportunity Employer, building
strength through diversity. The University is committed to building
a community of talented students, faculty and staff who reflect the
diversity of global business. We strongly encourage applications
from persons from underrepresented groups, individuals with
disabilities, covered veterans and those with diverse experiences
and backgrounds.

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