Job description

College of Connected Computing

Description:

This is the page for Associate and Full Professor (tenured) applications. If you wish to apply for the Assistant Professor (tenure-track) positions, please go here: https://apply.interfolio.com/196229.

Vanderbilt University invites applications for multiple tenured Associate or Full Professor positions in computing and related disciplines. New faculty will join Vanderbilt’s new College of Connected Computing, founded on a “computing for all” vision that brings computer science, data science, and artificial intelligence together with a growing set of interdisciplinary areas, such as computational biology, human-computer interaction, computing + society, and computational mind and behavior. Learn more about the College and its research at computing.vanderbilt.edu.

Senior faculty will have the opportunity to shape the College’s research agenda, build collaborative research programs, and develop its undergraduate and graduate programs. They are expected to teach at the undergraduate and graduate levels, mentor junior faculty and doctoral students, and contribute leadership appropriate to their rank and expertise.

This is an open search in all areas of computing research, with particular interest in the following six broad areas:

1. Physical Intelligence. Robotics, embodied and physical AI, computer vision, robot learning, and autonomous systems, including autonomy in cities and other complex real-world environments. Senior faculty will help anchor a new shared robotics facility.
2. Foundations of Computing. Theoretical computer science, quantum algorithms and quantum information, optimization, statistics and probabilistic machine learning, numerical and scientific machine learning, and formal methods, with opportunities for courtesy appointments in Mathematics. We particularly seek a senior scholar in quantum computing to anchor the area and connect it to Vanderbilt’s planned quantum initiatives.
3. Humans, Computing & Society. Computational mind and behavior, including the computational principles underlying perception, cognition, emotion, language, and social interaction at the brain and behavioral levels; human-computer interaction, including human-centered AI, interactive technologies for civic life, learning, work, health, and accessibility; and computing + society, including how computing and society shape one another across culture, organizations, policy, and infrastructure.
4. Secure & Trustworthy Systems. Security across systems, networks, and software; applied cryptography; usable security and privacy; security of cyber-physical systems and urban infrastructure; and verification of critical and learning-enabled systems.
5. AI in Education and Computational Learning Technologies. Artificial intelligence in education; learning analytics and educational data mining; human-centered design of computational learning technologies; adaptive and personalized learning technologies; technologies for self-regulated and collaborative learning; AI and computer science education; AI-based educational measurement and assessment; and AI-enabled training and upskilling, with the possibility of joint appointments with Peabody College. We seek a senior scholar to lead and build this new area.
6. Computational Biology. Genomics and bioinformatics algorithms, systems biology, biomedical informatics and natural language processing, AI for health, and other computational approaches to biological and biomedical data.

We welcome applications across computing, including work that spans or extends beyond the areas listed above. To facilitate review, identify one of the six areas as your primary review area in your cover letter, choosing the closest fit. You may also identify a secondary area and briefly explain the connections. Submit only one application to the appropriate rank-specific search; the College will coordinate review across areas as appropriate.

Vanderbilt University is a private research university located on 330 park-like acres on the western edge of downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville is a regional center for culture and technology that has grown alongside the university since Vanderbilt’s founding in 1873.

Qualifications:

Candidates must hold a Ph. D. in computing or a related field, including computer science, data science, artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, information science, engineering, mathematics, statistics, and the behavioral, social, learning, and life sciences. Candidates must have a record of achievement commensurate with appointment as an Associate or Full Professor with tenure at Vanderbilt. We welcome applicants from universities, industry, and national laboratories.

Candidates must have a strong record of peer-reviewed publications and should demonstrate collaborative research and mentoring accomplishments appropriate to their rank and professional setting.

A strong, sustained record of securing external research funding will be a major consideration in this search. We welcome candidates supported by federal agencies, foundations, industry, or other sources as we build a robust funding portfolio across the College.

How to apply

Apply through Interfolio at https://apply.interfolio.com/196244.

Submit the following materials:

• Cover letter (one page). Identify your primary review area and any secondary area, explain your interest in Vanderbilt, and describe the research, collaborations, or academic programs you would help develop.
• Curriculum vitae.
• Research statement (maximum five pages, excluding references). Concisely describe your most significant research contributions and future research agenda, including plans for external research support. Shorter statements are welcome.
• Teaching statement (maximum two pages). Describe your approach to teaching and mentoring, relevant experience, and future plans.
• Service statement (maximum two pages). The service statement should describe your service and leadership contributions to your institution, profession, or broader community, such as committee work, editorial or conference service, professional society activities, or outreach.
• Teaching evaluations, if available.
• Contact details for three to five references. Provide names, affiliations, and email addresses.

Submit reference contact details with your application; reference letters are not required at the time of submission. References will be contacted only with your permission.

Review of applications will begin immediately. Complete applications, including reference contact details, received by December 1, 2026 will receive full consideration; review will continue on a rolling basis until the positions are filled. The anticipated start date is August 2027, although later start dates can be arranged. For inquiries, including questions about the appropriate rank-specific search, please contact [email protected].