Assistant Professor - Computation and Design Methods - Department of Architecture

The Department of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, invites applications for a full-time tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor in Computation and Design Methods. Berkeley's Department of Architecture sits within the College of Environmental Design, a leader in cross-disciplinary environmental design education since 1959, and is uniquely positioned in the Bay Area, where design practice, technological innovation, and critical inquiry converge in uncommon proximity; for more information, visit UC Berkeley's Department of Architecture.

We seek candidates whose work examines and/or demonstrates promise in applying computation as a creative, social, and technical force in architectural design, connecting systems, tools, and intelligent environments to questions of authorship, agency, governance, participation, and the changing responsibilities of design. "Computation and Design Methods" names a broad area of inquiry concerned with how tools, systems, data, media, and methods shape architectural design, representation, research, and practice. Its primary concern is the study and making of socio-technical systems through which design activity is organized, coordinated, and governed, and design artifacts are generated, represented, and evaluated. Possible areas of focus include technically-oriented subjects such as building information modeling, digital twins, spatial data systems, and urban information systems; methodological inquiry such as feedback systems, human-building interaction, participation, distributed agency, and self-regulating processes; and sociotechnical and critical research such as platform studies, civic data, public-interest technology, and built-environment science and technology studies. Across these areas, the field asks how computation operates in architectural design as means, as material, and as media, ultimately shaping how the built environment is experienced and inhabited over time. That is: as a way of making and evaluating design work, as a technical substrate shaped and incorporated into designed artifacts, and as a system that acts back on design practice and culture.

This search responds to a moment in which computation is rapidly reshaping design knowledge, pedagogy, and practice. As data-rich, automated, and intelligent systems transform how buildings are conceived, coordinated, evaluated, and inhabited, the need for critical frameworks has never been more pressing. Artificial intelligence, as much a cultural force as a technical one, has generated expectations, anxieties, and professional reorganizations that now bear directly on how architecture is taught, practiced, and understood. The College of Environmental Design's foundational work on "wicked problems," feedback, participation, patterns, and design-as-argumentation offers an urgently needed foundation for preparing designers to act responsibly within this transformed landscape, recognizing that technical decisions are inseparable from their human, social, and environmental consequences.

As the position is situated within a broad and pluralistic field, work in this role may span research, practice, making, criticism, and scholarship across theoretical, applied, experimental, and industry-facing modes. The position carries responsibility for teaching computation both as an instrument of design and as a cultural actor with social, technical, and political consequences. The position involves advising and/or leading design studios and foundational representation courses, helping students connect computational tools and methods to questions of participation, governance, and human experience. Teaching duties include broad undergraduate lecture courses, among them large-format courses introducing students to computation on both a theoretical and practical level, as well as advanced graduate seminars shaped by the faculty member's expertise

This position may include opportunities to build collaborations across Berkeley's campus with units such as computing, data science, information science, engineering, building technology, new media, design innovation, and science and technology studies. Through such partnerships, the appointed faculty member may advise students across colleges and degree programs, develop shared computational resources, and contribute to a range of curricular sequences. The position also includes opportunities to develop funded research and partnerships with industry or public-sector organizations, connecting students to emerging professional workflows and extending the department's reach beyond architectural practice. Service to the department, college, university, profession, and broader community is an essential component of the appointment and includes advising at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

The department is committed to addressing the family needs of faculty, including dual career couples and single parents. We are also interested in candidates who have had non-traditional career paths or who have taken time off for family reasons, or who have achieved excellence in careers outside academia. For information about potential relocation to Berkeley, or career needs of accompanying partners and spouses, please visit the Office for Faculty Equity and Welfare's website.

Department: https://ced.berkeley.edu/arch

Bachelor's degree or equivalent international degree at the time of application.

One or both of the following by the start date of the position:

1) a professional degree in architecture, design, or a related field, such as an M.Arch, B.Arch, or equivalent international degree; OR

2) a Ph.D. or equivalent international degree in a related field.

Candidates should demonstrate excellence in architecture, design, computation, design methods, or a related field through formal scholarship, technical production, creative practice, professional leadership, public engagement, or other forms of dissemination and impact. Relevant evidence is understood broadly. It may include practice-based contributions such as design work, project-delivery systems, community-engaged research, prototypes, or spatial visualizations; technical contributions such as software tools, computational workflows, or civic data platforms; and critical contributions such as methodological frameworks, historical or theoretical scholarship, policy research, or platform critique. Whatever form it takes, evidence must show rigor, influence, and relevance to the production of architectural design knowledge.

We especially welcome candidates who can connect technical inquiry, critical history, and creative pedagogy across multiple scales, audiences, and forms of practice.

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• 3-5 required (contact information only)

Letters of Reference will be requested if the candidate advances beyond the initial stages of review.

UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in our public mission of research, teaching, and service, consistent with UC Regents Policy 4400 and University of California Academic Personnel policy (APM 210 1-d). These values are embedded in our Principles of Community, which reflect our passion for critical inquiry, debate, discovery and innovation, and our deep commitment to contributing to a better world. Every member of the UC Berkeley community has a role in sustaining a safe, caring and humane environment in which these values can thrive.

The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status.

For more information, please refer to the University of California's Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment Policy and the University of California's Anti-Discrimination Policy.

In searches when letters of reference are required all letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality prior to submitting their letter.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

The University of California is committed to creating and maintaining a community dedicated to the advancement, application, and transmission of knowledge and creative endeavors through academic excellence, where all individuals who participate in University programs and activities can work and learn together in a safe and secure environment, free of violence, harassment, or discrimination. Consistent with this commitment, UC Berkeley requires all applicants for Senate faculty positions to complete, sign, and upload an Authorization of Information Release form into AP Recruit as part of their application. If an applicant does not include the signed authorization, the application will be considered incomplete, and as with any incomplete application, will not receive further consideration. Although all applicants for faculty recruitments must complete the entire application, applicants will only be subject to institutional reference checks if and when they are selected as the candidate to whom the hiring unit would like to extend a formal offer. More information is available on this website.

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.

• "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
• UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
• UC Anti-Discrimination Policy
• APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment