Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Professional and Technical Writing

Department: Col of Humanities and Soc Science

Classification: 9-month Instructional Faculty

Job Category: Instructional Faculty

Job Type: Full-Time

Work Schedule: Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Location: Fairfax, VA

Workplace Type: On Site Required

Sponsorship Eligibility: Not eligible for visa sponsorship

Salary: Salary commensurate with education and experience

Criminal Background Check: Yes

About the Department:

The Department of English offers an undergraduate minor and concentration in Writing and Rhetoric, along with an M.A. concentration in Professional and Technical Writing, and a Ph.D. program in Writing and Rhetoric. For more information about the department, visit ; for details on programs in Writing and Rhetoric, see .

About the Position:

The Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Professional and Technical Writing will bolster the university's national profile in research around professional and technical writing, engaging key issues in the field with a focus on critical AI literacies. The faculty member will design and teach courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, consult with the Department about effective and ethical engagement of AI, advise graduate and undergraduate students doing projects on AI from a humanistic perspective; and bring a humanities centered perspective to collaborations across the university on programming, coursework, and research in AI. This position would also allow for the development of AI-related policies, research, and curricular initiatives in CHSS and the university.

The 2:2 course load includes undergraduate teaching opportunities in upper-division technical writing and graduate courses in rhetoric and technical communication at both the MA and PhD levels.

Responsibilities:

Research

• Maintains an active research agenda and publication record at a rate appropriate for eventual tenure and promotion at an R1 university.

Teaching

• Teaches courses in the English Department; mentors and supervises undergraduate and graduate student researchers.

Service

• Provides service to the English department, college, and university by participation on faculty committees.

Required Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in professional writing, rhetoric, technical communication, or a related field; and
• Research and teaching focus on critical AI literacies and technical communication, workplace studies, and/or rhetorical theory.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Teaching experience or coursework in: research methods, document design, technical communication, editing, visual rhetoric, or usability;
• Experience with a range of methods and methodologies in technical writing research, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods;
• Experience advising at the undergraduate, MA, and/or PhD levels;
• Prior workplace experience in professional and technical writing;
• Active research program in professional and technical writing, engaging key issues in the field with a focus on critical AI literacies; and
• Field- and industry-specific knowledge about how to make connections to and prepare students for careers in professional and technical writing.

Instructions to Applicants:

For full consideration, applicants must apply for Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Professional and Technical Writing at Complete and submit the online application to include three professional references with contact information, and provide a Cover Letter/Letter of Intent, CV, Philosophy of Teaching, and a Writing Sample/Portfolio for review.

Applicants who are current graduate students should submit a dissertation chapter, preferably an analysis or introduction chapter.

Posting Open Date: August 14, 2026

For Full Consideration, Apply by: October 15, 2026

Posting Close Date: August 14, 2027

Open Until Filled: Yes