Full/Associate Professor, Design and Materialities

For more information about the role, please contact Professor Kirsi Niinimäki, kirsi.niinimaki(at)aalto.fi. For questions related to the application process, please contact HR Partner Katju Helminen, katju.helminen(at)aalto.fi.

We are now looking for a

Associate or Full Professor, Design and Materialities

The Department of Design at Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture is seeking to strengthen its research and education excellence by hiring a tenure track professor in Design and materialities. The position will be filled at either associate or full professor level in the Aalto University's tenure track career system. With this Design and materialities professorship, we aim to enhance and continue the academic expertise in new materials and new ways of working with materials which have been central to the development of design. The current urgency to build ecologically more sustainable production and consumption patterns heightens the need to engage with materials ranging from novel biobased alternative materials to new production and design processes. This implies designerly ways of working with materials, explorations into new functional properties of materials in design and multidisciplinary contexts, constructions made from variety of materials in different scales, and the circulation of materials in the society. In short, experimenting with, investigating and theorizing the materials and materialisms of design practices is an area that calls for focused research attention.

We are looking for a collegial and open-minded scholar who is eager to participate in our efforts and share our values in making an impact on the future of design education and the profession. In this position you will have a chance to make an impact through groundbreaking research and brave collaboration with other disciplines. Join us in shaping the future

Your role and goals

Aligned with Aalto University's mission to shaping a sustainable future, the Design and materialities professorship is expected to make a significant contribution to the evolving and expanding field of design and to foster different cross-field collaborations. We are looking for a candidate to strengthen our strong and visionary academic profile in design and materialities. This includes interests in specific materials, the material practices in design, constructive design research approach around materialities, and the material constitution of contemporary societies and practices in different domains of human action and across different cultures. Their interest may relate to technology development and transformative agency of material innovation, identity formation, politics and ethics of material arrangements. More specifically to design practices, their work may address design-driven processes of making and producing, distributed capacities of design work, and the agency of the novel materials and artefacts in design. The position focuses on research merits while expecting a specific or situated relation with design practice.

Your network and team

By joining the Department of Design as one of the global forerunners in design research, you will be working with a dynamic community of world-leading researchers and creative professionals. Depending on your profile, your main collaborators in the department are the members of the research groups and faculty connected to the BA programme in Design, and/or Fashion, Clothing and Textile Design MA, Contemporary Design MA, Collaborative and Industrial Design MA, or Creative Sustainability MA. Collaboration with other disciplines and other schools of Aalto University is encouraged.

Your experience and ambitions

A successful candidate will have recorded experience and a high ambition in teaching design courses, and motivation to contribute to curriculum development. Candidate has also high-level scientific contribution and in conjunction with research and teaching, the candidate is expected to have demonstrated ability to contribute to design practice and engage in the societal settings in which design takes place. Successful applicants have:

1. demonstrated ability to conduct high-quality research related to materials and material engagements in design
2. PhD or DA in design or other relevant discipline related to design and material engagements in design
3. proved ability to lead research teams and ability to build research consortia
4. demonstrated ability to engage with neighboring disciplines in the study of materials
5. ability to theorize design practices and develop pedagogies related to materials and material engagements

Language requirements

1. Excellent skills in English
2. Finnish proficiency is considered as an advantage

What we offer

• Meaningful and inspiring environment. We are proud of our purpose to shape a sustainable future. We spark the game changers of tomorrow, and renew society with research-based knowledge, creativity and an entrepreneurial mindset.
• Culture that inspires and includes everyone. All our work is guided by the values of the university: responsibility, courage, and collaboration. It's the people that create Aalto, now and in the future. We want to be an open community where equality and inclusion enable curiosity, innovation, collaboration and wellbeing.
• Responsible and meaningful role with true impact in our University's/ School's success, and in the end, in the wellbeing and development of our society.
• Support, coaching and sparring when you feel you need it.
• Great possibilities for competence development and learning. We constantly keep learning to find the most impactful ways to empower – and invest in – our people.
• Workshop and studio infrastructure with no comparison in the Nordics where you can work and research with multiple materials, techniques and approaches.

Our vast array of professional development opportunities means you will grow and learn, having the chance to participate actively in staff training and development projects based on your interests and needs.

The workplace is in Otaniemi, Espoo (Helsinki capital area). The Otaniemi campus is a thriving and connected community of 100 nationalities, 13,000 students and 4,500 employees. Life at the transformed campus is vibrant and filled with amazing architecture, calming nature, and a variety of cafes, restaurants, services and good connections along the recently opened metro line.

Join us
To apply, please share the following application materials in separate pdf-files naming accordingly through our recruitment site Workday by 15th of May 2025, midnight Finnish time (GMT+2).

1. A research statement containing a brief account of past achievements and vision and plan for future research (max 4 pages)

Research portfolio (presenting max 3 cases/works/projects, total max 8 pages) will be asked in the second phase from short-listed candidates.

Please note: Aalto University's employees should apply for the position via our internal HR system Workday (Internal Jobs) by using their existing Workday user account.

Want to know more about us and your future colleagues? You can watch these videos:

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