Assistant Professor of Practice in Game Development

Assistant Professor of Practice in Game Development

The Department of Computer Graphics Technology (CGT) at Purdue University has a full-time opening on the West Lafayette, Indiana campus, beginning in August 2025. This position is for an Assistant Professor of Practice in Game Development.

CGT: CGT is one of six units in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute. It offers a BS and MS in Computer Graphics Technology and participates in the Polytechnic Institute PhD program. For additional information, visit https://polytechnic.purdue.edu/cgt. The CGT department includes majors in game development, animation and visual effects, web programming & design, data visualization, and UX design. The game development program is technically oriented, with curricula in programming, art, design, production, and web. Our historical industry placement has been in positions related to game programming and scripting, technical art/design/animation, game design, game production, quality assurance, and other adjacent domains. Our undergraduate program is oriented toward “AAA” game industry placement, while our graduate program is research-focused and oriented toward placement in academia and/or scientific research. Our alumni are well-represented among the highest echelons of the games and entertainment media industries.

Responsibilities: The successful candidate for this position will teach and develop undergraduate and/or graduate courses, conduct research, and perform service for the department, university, and discipline. The primary responsibilities for this position are to develop and teach courses, conduct scholarly activities, and provide service to the department. The successful candidate will teach and develop courses focusing on either (1) games or graphics programming/scripting for a variety of platforms (PC, mobile, console, etc.), optimizing game/graphics performance, games and generative AI, procedural content generation for games, networked games, or (2) technical art/animation/design, game production, game design, animation, game art, or any other adjacent game development fields. The candidate will be required to develop and teach courses related to the Game Development curriculum in one or more of the areas of game production, art, design, or programming (depending on candidate background). Candidates must be committed to innovative undergraduate and graduate teaching, maintaining an inclusive and diverse learning environment, engaging with industry, curriculum/program building, and engaging with the games education community. This is a teaching-oriented position that requires extensive use of project-based, active learning pedagogies. Instruction must be responsive to industry needs while being grounded in the theory and principles of discipline. The candidate is expected to be aware of AI technologies. The candidate may also be expected to teach course content in their area of expertise to students from other majors.

Qualifications: The candidate must have a doctorate or other terminal degree and industry experience as a professional game developer. As we are a multidisciplinary program, candidates with expertise in either technical or design subdomains are of interest for this position.

Application Process:

All candidates need to apply through the Success Factors link found here:

Review of applications will begin in January 2025, and will continue until the position is filled. Interested candidates are requested to submit a cover letter, CV, statements of teaching and research philosophy, and a list of three professional references with contact information (all in one PDF file).

A background check will be required for employment in this position.

Any questions about this position should be sent to the search committee chair:

Dr. Tim McGraw (tmcgraw@purdue.edu)

Department of Computer Graphics Technology

Polytechnic Institute

Purdue University

Purdue University is an EOE/AA. All individuals, including minorities, women, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.