Assistant or Associate Professor, Immersive Healthcare Experiences

Virginia Tech•Blacksburg, VA

About The Position

Virginia Tech’s College of Architecture, Arts and Design invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor in Immersive Healthcare Experiences, with an anticipated start date of August 10, 2027. The position is part of Virginia Tech’s Smart Healthcare Hub, based in Roanoke, and will contribute to interdisciplinary research, innovation, and teaching at the intersection of immersive technologies, healthcare simulation, digital health, experience design, operations, and human-centered systems. The successful candidate’s tenure home will be in one of the College’s four schools, aligned with their disciplinary expertise. The successful candidate will be a scholar, designer, and educator whose work advances the design, development, and evaluation of immersive, human-centered healthcare experiences. Relevant areas include VR, AR, MR, XR, simulation, spatial computing, visualization, digital twins, interactive media, and experience design, with a focus on healthcare delivery, patient and clinician experiences, healthcare education, or operational performance. The candidate will lead or contribute to research and scholarly projects focused on healthcare improvement in a multidisciplinary and collaborative environment. Responsibilities include establishing and sustaining an independent, externally funded research program; pursuing research or creative scholarship; collaborating across academic and external disciplines and organizations; and disseminating work through publications, exhibitions, performances, digital products, and presentations. The candidate will teach undergraduate and graduate courses, develop interdisciplinary curricula, mentor students, contribute to service and leadership, support the strategic development of the Smart Healthcare Hub, and build collaboration across academic and clinical units. The College of Architecture, Arts, and Design brings together visual arts, performing arts, architecture, and design in an interdisciplinary environment grounded in experiential learning, creative exploration, and collaborative problem solving. The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to a respectful, student-focused, service-oriented community and to advance creativity, discovery, and the public good.

Requirements

Master’s degree (MArch, MFA, or MDes) in a relevant field, such as Architecture, Design, Digital Media, Experience/Experiential Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related discipline, by the appointment start date.
Evidence of scholarly, creative, or applied professional achievement.
Demonstrated potential for excellence in teaching and student mentorship.
Ability to collaborate effectively across disciplines and with external stakeholders.
Strong communication and organizational skills.
Commitment to inclusive excellence, interdisciplinary collaboration, and student-centered learning.

Nice To Haves

Doctoral degree in an allied field such as Architecture, Design, Digital Media, Experience/Experiential Design, or Human-Computer Interaction.
Experience developing or evaluating immersive healthcare experiences in clinical, educational, operational, or community settings.
Expertise in one or more of the following: experience/experiential design; VR/AR/MR/XR development; simulation-based education; human-centered design; digital twins; interactive storytelling; visualization and rendering; game engines such as Unity or Unreal Engine; motion capture or virtual production; service design; or AI-enabled immersive systems.
Experience securing external funding or participating in sponsored research.
Evidence of interdisciplinary research or creative collaboration.
Experience partnering with healthcare systems, simulation centers, or industry collaborators.

Responsibilities

Establish and sustain an independent, externally funded research program focused on immersive healthcare experiences, as a lead or collaborator.
Conduct innovative research or creative scholarship related to immersive environments, healthcare operations, digital health, simulation, patient engagement, workforce training, human factors, clinical workflow design, or healthcare systems innovation.
Collaborate across healthcare, engineering, architecture, design, computer science, media arts, public health, and operations.
Disseminate scholarly and creative work through peer-reviewed publications, exhibitions, performances, digital products, and national or international presentations.
Build partnerships with healthcare systems, industry, community organizations, and research collaborators.
Teach undergraduate and graduate courses in relevant areas such as immersive experience design, XR technologies, human-centered design, digital visualization, and healthcare innovation.
Develop interdisciplinary curricula integrating immersive technologies with healthcare applications and experiential learning.
Mentor undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students in research, creative inquiry, and applied innovation projects.
Participate in departmental, college, and university service activities.
Contribute to the strategic development of the Smart Healthcare Hub.
Support interdisciplinary collaboration across academic and clinical units.
Engage in professional service and leadership within relevant academic, healthcare, and technology communities.