Full-Time Faculty Position in Communication Design, School of Art and Design

About Fashion Institute of Technology:

The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), an internationally renowned college of art and design, business and technology, of the State University of New York, invites nominations and applications for a full-time tenure-track faculty position in Communication Design: Interaction and Immersive Design.

The Fashion Institute of Technology, a part of the State University of New York, has been a leader in career education in art, design, business, and technology for nearly 80 years. With a curriculum that provides a singular blend of hands-on, practical experience, classroom study, and a firm grounding in the liberal arts, FIT offers a wide range of outstanding programs that are relevant to today's rapidly changing industries. Internationally renowned, FIT draws on its New York City location to provide a vibrant, creative community in which to learn. The college offers more than 45 majors and grants AAS, BFA, BS, MA, MFA, and MPS degrees, preparing students for professional success and leadership in the global marketplace.

With close ties to industry, FIT draws faculty from the city's art, business, and design elite, and from the rich academic community of the region. The college continually seeks creative faculty members who are passionate about their field and demonstrate exceptional professional capability in the core competencies of instruction design, learning enrichment, globalism, and use of technology, as well as mastery of established and emerging industry practices.

The mission of FIT's School of Art and Design is to educate the next generation of creative, socially responsible and globally relevant professionals able to succeed in the broad spectrum of art and design fields. The school challenges students to create new and valuable ideas through innovation, collaboration and experimentation.

The Communication Design Pathways Department at FIT offers a one-year accelerated and a two-year Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree in Communication Design Foundation, which introduce students to a variety of means and tools of visual communication, including digital design, design process, typography, dimensional design, and color theory. The program also prepares students to apply for four specialized Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) programs in Advertising and Digital Design, Graphic Design, Packaging Design, and Spatial Experience Design.

The Communication Design Pathways Department aims to foster creative thinkers, talented doers, and imaginative innovators who can break through the noise with high-impact design, meaningful messages, and memorable experiences. The department provides students with a robust foundation in design principles and practices, hands-on skills in various media and technologies, and opportunities to connect with industry professionals and alumni. The department also encourages students to explore their own interests and passions through elective courses, minors, and study abroad programs. The Communication Design Pathways Department is committed to excellence in design education and preparing students for successful careers in the fields.

Job Description:

The department seeks a visionary designer, educator, and creative leader whose professional practice advances communication through interaction design, immersive media, computational creativity, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies. The successful candidate will help shape the long-term vision of the Communication Design Foundation AAS and the department's Graphic Design BFA program while contributing to the evolution of Communication Design at FIT.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate excellence in interaction design, immersive experiences, visual communication, design systems, branding, creative technology, and human-centered design. Rather than viewing AI as simply another production tool, the successful candidate will understand its broader implications for creativity, authorship, collaboration, and communication.

Successful candidates will excel in the following areas:

Globalism

• Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the global evolution of communication design, interaction design, immersive media, and creative technology.
• Maintain active engagement with leading international design firms, technology companies, cultural institutions, and professional organizations.
• Demonstrate an understanding of how artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, and digital platforms are reshaping communication across cultures and industries.
• Demonstrate awareness of ethical, social, environmental, and accessibility considerations in the design of interactive and immersive experiences.
• Foster globally informed design practices that prepare students for leadership in an interconnected creative economy.

Instructional Design

• Demonstrate expertise in teaching communication design through interaction design, immersive experiences, typography, visual systems, branding, and emerging technologies.
• Integrate artificial intelligence, creative coding, computational design, immersive media, and contemporary digital workflows where appropriate while maintaining strong foundations in design thinking and visual communication.
• Develop rigorous, project-based learning experiences that connect conceptual development with professional practice.
• Collaborate with colleagues to evolve curriculum across the Communication Design Foundation AAS and upper-division BFA programs.
• Utilize the College's learning management system and assessment practices to support student learning and program assessment.
• Demonstrate commitment to active learning, critique, experimentation, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Learning Enrichment

• Inspire curiosity, experimentation, innovation, and critical thinking through student-centered teaching.
• Encourage students to explore interaction design, immersive environments, computational creativity, and emerging forms of communication.
• Demonstrate currency in contemporary professional practice and integrate new methodologies into classroom instruction.
• Promote interdisciplinary collaboration across the School of Art and Design.
• Foster critical discussions surrounding artificial intelligence, authorship, ethics, accessibility, sustainability, and human-centered design.
• Mentor students in developing adaptable creative practices that prepare them for rapidly evolving careers.
• Support experiential learning through industry collaborations, workshops, exhibitions, competitions, internships, and public engagement.

Professionalism

• Maintain an active professional practice demonstrating leadership in communication design, interaction design, immersive media, or creative technology.
• Contribute to professional organizations, exhibitions, publications, conferences, research, or creative scholarship.
• Cultivate relationships with industry leaders, technology partners, alumni, startups, and cultural institutions that create opportunities for student engagement.
• Demonstrate the ability to lead collaborative initiatives involving faculty, students, and external partners.
• Participate actively in departmental governance, curriculum development, accreditation, and college service.
• Model professional practice that prepares students for leadership within emerging creative industries.

Technology

• Demonstrate expertise in contemporary communication design technologies and workflows.
• Demonstrate experience with interaction design, immersive media, AI-enabled creative practice, computational design, creative coding, or related emerging technologies.
• Demonstrate proficiency with industry-standard design software while maintaining the curiosity and adaptability necessary to evaluate and integrate new technologies.
• Cultivate technological curiosity by encouraging experimentation with interactive systems, generative tools, spatial media, and emerging platforms.
• Demonstrate familiarity with technologies such as creative coding, UX/UI prototyping, immersive media development, visualization tools, and AI-assisted design workflows.
• Utilize technology to enhance teaching, collaboration, critique, and creative inquiry.

Leadership and Curriculum Innovation

• Demonstrate the ability to lead curricular innovation in response to changes in communication design practice.
• Collaborate with faculty to redefine Communication Design for the next generation of designers.
• Contribute to interdisciplinary initiatives across the School of Art and Design.
• Help position FIT as a leader in Interaction Design, Immersive Design, and emerging communication technologies.

The preceding description is not designed to be a complete list of all duties and responsibilities required of the position; other duties may be assigned consistent with the classification of the position.

Requirements:

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in a related design field is required.
• 6 years of professional graphic design experience in interaction design, immersive experiences, visual communication, design systems, branding, creative technology, and human-centered design.
• 3 years of academic experience either as an adjunct or full-time faculty.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in design, business, or a liberal arts-related area.

Additional Information:

Please note, all offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of the background check process.

Salary

The final starting salary and appointment rank will be based on education level and cumulative experience; Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) Salary Schedules pgs. 73-74.

Instructor: $69,346.37 - $80,793.82

Assistant Professor: $80,736.40 - $118,984.88

Associate Professor: $94,498.31 - $142,271.78

Professor: $115,232.32 - $173,403.37

The College reserves the right to select one or more candidates after having been duly reviewed and presented to the President in conformance with the provisions of Article 15 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Benefits

The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) provides comprehensive employee benefit programs designed to help keep our faculty and staff and their families healthy, safe, happy, and productive. Our programs also include a variety of components to help our employees improve the quality and balance of their work and family lives, and to help them prepare for their futures.

• Retirement Plans
• Health Care Plan and Dental Plan
• Employee Assistance Program
• Flexible Spending Account
• Commuter Benefit Plan
• FIT Tuition Exemption Program
• Qualifying Employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program

For a full list of FIT benefits, visit our benefits webpage.

Pay Equity by State Employers

Pursuant to Executive Order 161, no State entity, as defined by the Executive Order, is permitted to ask, or mandate, in any form, that an applicant for employment provide his or her current compensation, or any prior compensation history, until such time as the applicant is extended a conditional offer of employment with compensation. If such information has been requested from you before such time, please contact the Governor's Office of Employee Relations at (518) 474-6988 or via email at info@goer.ny.gov.

Visa Sponsorship

This position may be eligible for visa sponsorship. For any employees who may require sponsorship in order to lawfully work in the United States, FIT reserves complete discretion whether to pursue such sponsorship or to cancel, discontinue, or withdraw such sponsorship at any time.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Statement

FIT is firmly committed to creating an environment that will attract and retain people from a range of backgrounds. FIT is firmly committed to creating a learning and working environment that encourages, utilizes, respects, and appreciates the full expression of every individual's ability. The FIT community fosters its mission and grows because of its rich, pluralistic experience. FIT is committed to prohibiting discrimination, whether on the basis of race, color, creed, age, national origin, immigration or citizenship status, gender, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, partnership status, caregiver status, sexual and reproductive health decisions, uniformed service, height, weight, any lawful source of income, status as a victim of domestic violence or as a victim of sex offenses or stalking, whether children are, may be or would be residing with a person or conviction or arrest record, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. FIT is committed to providing equal opportunity in employment, including the opportunity for upward mobility for all qualified individuals. Applications from veterans and persons with disabilities are encouraged. Inquiries regarding FIT's non-discrimination policies may be directed to the Chief Equal Employment Opportunity Officer/Title IX Coordinator, 212 217.3360.

Annual Security Report

The safety and well-being of FIT's students, faculty, staff, and visitors is of paramount importance. Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, FIT publishes an annual report containing crime statistics and statements of security policy, accessible here: Safety Statistics. A paper copy of the report will be provided upon request by contacting Public Safety's administrative office number at (212) 217-4999.

Physical Requirements and Work Environment

The working conditions for this position will be any combination of the classroom, lab, and/or office space. Certain roles may be required to handle machinery and chemicals. The physical requirement for this position will require occasional sitting, constant standing, occasional bending, frequent walking, and occasionally lifting 10 lbs. or less.

Application Instructions:

In order to be considered for this position, please submit the following documents online:

• Letter of interest clearly indicating your qualifications for the position
• Curriculum Vitae
• Teaching Philosophy Statement
• Research Philosophy Statement
• Portfolio of professional and academic work containing ten professional projects and ten examples of student work.
• Unofficial Transcript*
• A minimum of three professional references, including names, titles, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail contact information.
• A list of three references for recommendation letters; references may be contacted at a later stage
• Official transcripts are required within the first 30 days of hire. Applicants with foreign degrees must submit a completed credential evaluation comparing their foreign academic accomplishments to standards in the U.S.

Returning Applicants - Login to your FITNYC Careers Account to check your submitted application materials.

This faculty position will begin Fall 2027. Review of applications will commence immediately and continue until the position is filled.

Please note that due to the high volume of applications we receive, we are unable to contact each applicant individually regarding his or her application status. Additional information about the Fashion Institute of Technology can be found at: http://www.fitnyc.edu.