Assistant/Associate Professor in Technical and Scientific Communication

Virginia Tech•Blacksburg, VA

25d•$75,000 - $92,000•Onsite

About The Position

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.

Requirements

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.

Nice To Haves

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.

Responsibilities

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.
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.
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.