Assistant Professor or Associate Professor in the Virtual and Augmented Reality Group, Knights Digital Twin Strategic Initiative (KDT)

The Opportunity

Join Us in shaping the Fusion of Real and Digital Worlds

The University of Central Florida (UCF) is dedicated to shaping the future of digital landscapes through the Knights Digital Twin Strategic Initiative (KDT). One of the key strategic groups in this initiative is the Virtual and Augmented Reality Lab (VARLab), leading the development of systems and experiences that seamlessly blend the physical and digital twins, pushing the limits of human interaction within the digital realm and live at the intersection of digital and real-world ecosystems.

The VARLab, with its rich history of innovation in systems, software architectures, and pioneering applications in the digital and mixed reality realms, conducts cutting-edge research that bridges real and digital environments, driving transformative impact on the future.

We are making a call to forward-thinking, innovative, and creative faculty candidates interested in joining us at the VARLab, and to be part of a talented and diverse team of faculty, research scientists, and students across all colleges on campus collaborating across academia, industry, military, K-12, and government towards the development of an integrated ecosystem of digital/physical worlds, in a multi-disciplinary and ideas-rich environment.

The UCF VARLab is inviting applications for a 9-month, full-time tenure-earning assistant professor or tenured associate professor faculty position in areas related to virtual and augmented reality, with emphasis in Digital Twins. We will consider candidates with expertise in areas relevant to the VARLab’s core research. Candidates who can advance our strategic focus on developing technologies, methods, and best practices for seamlessly blending real and digital environments, as well as those with applied multidisciplinary research interests are especially encouraged to apply. We invite applications from individuals with a strong background in the following areas:

• Software/hardware system integration/system design, including immersive display and interaction systems.

• Computational steering and high-performance computing.

• Real-time modeling and simulation.

• Visualization and real-time rendering.

• Digital Twins visual and computational applications of all areas in Engineering, humanities, medicine, STEM, and others.

Faculty joining the VARLab are expected to drive robust research aligned with the group's vision, actively engage in KDT initiatives, and contribute to both new and ongoing multidisciplinary projects, training postdoctoral scholars, advising graduate students, and mentoring and interacting with undergraduate students. The tenure home will be in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS), with potential for joint appointments in other colleges. Salary and start-up packages will be commensurate with the candidate’s qualifications.

Minimum Qualifications:

• An earned doctorate from an accredited institution in an area appropriate to this position at the time of the appointment. This includes but not limited to candidates with degrees in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, Game Development, Modeling and Simulation, or other degrees relevant to the VARLab’s focus.

• The selected candidate must demonstrate record of teaching, research, and service commensurate with their rank.

• To be eligible for an appointment as a tenured associate professor upon hire, the selected candidate must have a demonstrated record of teaching, research, and service commensurate with a tenured faculty appointment at the rank of associate professor in applicable tenure home.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Candidates with an exceptional record of scholarly research and highly recognized for their technical contributions and leadership in their areas of expertise.

• Academic experience in virtual and augmented reality, in particular in technology development, systems integration, software engineering for interactive systems, real-time rendering and/or interactive systems design.

• Demonstrated teaching skills, and ability to effectively communicate with and mentor students and post-doctoral scholars.

• Demonstrated effective communication and collaboration skills across disciplines and establish research local, national, and/or international network.

• Demonstrated potential to initiate and obtain funding for multi-disciplinary research activities.

Additional Application Materials Required:

UCF requires all applications and supporting documents be submitted electronically through the Human Resources employment opportunities website, https://www.ucf.edu/jobs/.  In addition to the online application, interested candidates should upload a cover letter including a research statement on your vision and impact of your area into the VARLab environment, and potential contributions to the KDT initiative, teaching statement, current curriculum vitae, and a list with contact information for three (3) professional references.

NOTE: Please have all documents ready when applying so they can be attached simultaneously uploaded. Once the online submission process is finalized, the system does not allow applicants to submit additional documents later.

The selected candidate will be required to submit official transcripts (and, as applicable, U.S. degree equivalency evaluations) documenting the conferral of their qualifying academic credentials.

Questions regarding this search may be directed to Carolina Cruz-Neira (carolina@ucf.edu).

Special Instructions to the Applicants:

Review of applications will start on November 1, 2024, but applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Job Close Date:

Open until filled.

Note to applicants: Please keep in mind that a job posted as ‘Open until filled’ may close at any time without notice. As such, we encourage you to submit your application and all required documentation as quickly as possible to ensure consideration for the posted position.

Are you ready to unleash YOUR potential?

As a next-generation public research university and Forbes-ranked top employer in Florida, we are a community of thinkers, doers, creators, innovators, healers, and leaders striving to create broader prosperity and help shape a better future. No matter what your role is, when you join Knight Nation, you’ll play an integral role at one of the most impactful universities in the country. You’ll be met with opportunities to connect and collaborate with talented faculty, staff, and students across 13 colleges and multiple campuses, engaging in impactful work that makes a positive difference. Your time at UCF will provide you with many meaningful opportunities to grow, you’ll work alongside talented colleagues on complex projects that will challenge you and help you gain new skills and you’ll have countless rewarding experiences that go well beyond a paycheck.

Working at UCF has its perks! UCF offers:

• Benefit packages, including Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Flexible Spending, and Employee Assistance Program. 
• Paid time off, including annual (12-month faculty) and sick time off and paid holidays.
• Retirement savings options. 
• Employee discounts, including tickets to many Orlando attractions. 
• Education assistance.
• Flexible work environment. 
• And more…For more benefits information, view the UCF Employee Benefits Guide click here.

Unless explicitly stated on the job posting, it is UCF’s expectation that an employee of UCF will reside in Florida as of the date the employment begins.

Additional Requirements related to Research Positions:

Pursuant to Florida State Statute 1010.35, prior to offering employment to certain individuals in research-related positions, UCF is required to conduct additional screening. Applicants subject to additional screening include any citizen of a foreign country who is not a permanent resident of the U.S., or who is a citizen or permanent resident but is affiliated with or has had at least 1 year of education, employment, or training in China, Cuba, Iran, Russia, North Korea, Syria, or Venezuela.

The additional screening requirements only apply to research-related positions, including, but not limited to faculty, graduate positions, individuals compensated by research grants or contract funds, post-doctoral positions, undergraduate positions, visiting assistant professors, and visiting research associates.

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Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

The University of Central Florida is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer including Disabled/Vets.  Click on UCF's Equal Opportunity Statement to view the President’s Statement.

The UCF affirmative action plans for qualified individuals with disabilities and protected Veterans are available for inspection in the Office of Institutional Equity, Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., upon request.

As a Florida public university, UCF makes all application materials and selection procedures available to the public upon request. 

The University of Central Florida is proud to be a smoke-free campus and an E-Verify employer.