Assistant Professor, Music Technology and Game Audio

Assistant Professor, Music Technology and Game Audio

About University at Albany:

Established in 1844 and designated a University Center of the State University of New York in 1962, the University at Albany's broad mission of excellence in undergraduate and graduate education, research and public service engages a diverse student body of approximately 17,000 students in nine schools and colleges across three campuses.

Located in Albany, New York, New York State's capital, the University is convenient to Boston, New York City and the Adirondacks.


Job Description:

The Department of Music and Theatre within the College of Arts and Sciences at the University at Albany, SUNY seeks applicants for a tenure track Assistant Professor position in Music Technology and Game Audio. The candidate will contribute to the new Bachelor of Science Game Design and Development Major, a new interdisciplinary major between the Department of Music and Theatre, the Department of Art & Art History, and the Department of Information Sciences and Technology. The position is based in the Music Program along with faculty focused on music and play; music, gender, and sexuality; music in film and social justice; and music and copyright, among other topics. The anticipated start date is August 25, 2025.

UAlbany has a national reputation for creating social mobility for first-generation and historically underrepresented students?and for empowering a new generation of allies, leaders and changemakers. As an R1-ranked public research university, UAlbany fosters a vibrant academic community where over 17,000 undergraduate and graduate students engage in collaborative research and scholarship with distinguished faculty. UAlbany's dedication to diversity, equity, and social mobility is recognized through awards like the Seal of Excelencia for Latina/o student success and a 5-Star Campus Pride Index rating for LGBTQ-friendliness. These accolades reflect our commitment to seeing life through musical creativity, connections, and contemplative studies and excellence in research while serving members of majority and historically marginalized and underrepresented communities.

In recognition of the inherently interdisciplinary nature of the field, we are seeking an educator and scholar that has experience with various game audio hardware and software (e.g., DAW, Middleware. FMOD and/or WWISE, Unity, Unreal Engine) as well as experience in music/sound/audio composition including skills like songwriting or arranging across a range of styles (e.g., hip-hop, jazz, EDM, pop, Western classical, and others), scoring, foley, instrumentation, harmony, and diverse approaches to music-making, theory and analysis. We also seek candidates with familiarity in areas such as production, recording, editing, mixing, voice over / voice acting, composing, scoring to picture, sound design, programming, hardware / software environments, live performance, studio design / maintenance / operations, emerging technologies, extended reality (XR).

We further welcome candidates who have experience in ludomusicology, musicology, and ethnomusicology. Additionally, experience with the intersectionality of music technology and game audio with areas such as, internet studies, feminist and queer studies, music psychology, disability studies, indigenous studies, etc. is highly valued.

The successful candidate will engage with our diverse student body and teach a series of new undergraduate courses within the major that advance technical and creative skills using cutting edge techniques to meet the demands and standards of the gaming industry. Specifically, candidates will be able to engage students in the creation and analysis of sound and music for games, fostering innovative approaches to audio design, interactive storytelling, and creative audio practice and experience.

Candidates must be able to collaborate and to work across academic disciplines in their teaching, creative practice, research, service and administrative activities and stay current with emerging trends in game audio and music technology and development.

Tenure track responsibilities include research and/or creative activity, teaching, and service:

• Teaching approximately five undergraduate courses per academic year ranging from lower-division foundations to upper-division.
• Collaborate with faculty colleagues on program and curricular development.
• Advising undergraduate students in both the Game Design and Development Major as well as the Music Major.
• Engaging in scholarly, creative, and research activities.
• Engaging in university, college and departmental service and community outreach.

Requirements:

Minimum Qualifications:

• A terminal degree (e.g., Ph.D., DMA, MFA ) in music or a related field with an emphasis on composing and creating sound/audio for music in gaming or a related area from a college or university accredited by a U.S. Department of Education or internationally recognized accrediting organization by 8/15/2025. Candidates who will not hold the degree by this date will not be considered.
• Applicants must demonstrate an ability to develop inclusive and equitable relationships within our diverse campus community.
• Applicants must demonstrate an ability to support diversity, equity, access, inclusion, and belonging, relative to their role.
• Experience with various game audio hardware and software (e.g., DAW, Middleware. FMOD and/or WWISE, Unity, Unreal Engine).
• Experience in music/sound/audio composition that strengthens our curriculum including skills like songwriting or arranging across a range of styles (e.g., hip-hop, jazz, EDM, pop, Western classical, and others), scoring, foley, instrumentation, harmony, and diverse approaches to music-making, theory and analysis.
• Experience with areas such as production, recording, editing, mixing, voice over / voice acting, composing, scoring to picture, sound design, programming, hardware / software environments, live performance, studio design / maintenance / operations, emerging technologies, extended reality (XR) .
• A record of research or creative work in music, music technology, game audio, or a related field.
• Applicants must address in their teaching statement their plan and ability to effectively teach collegiate level courses

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in ludomusicology, musicology, and/or ethnomusicology
• Experience with the intersectionality of music technology and game audio with areas such as, internet studies, feminist and queer studies, music psychology, disability studies, indigenous studies, etc.
• Experience working with diverse collaborative or interdisciplinary teams
• Evidence of potential for securing extramural funding for research or creative activities
• Experience with curriculum development in music technology and game audio, or related area
• Teaching experience at the collegiate level

Additional Information:

Professional Rank and Salary Range: Assistant Professor (10 Months), Salary commensurate with experience

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, or Clery Act, mandates that all Title IV institutions, without exception, prepare, publish and distribute an Annual Security Report. This report consists of two basic parts: disclosure of the University's crime statistics for the past three years; and disclosures regarding the University's current campus security policies. The University at Albany's Annual Security Report is available in portable document format [PDF] by clicking this link http://police.albany.edu/ASR.shtml

Pursuant to Executive Order 161, no State entity, as defined by the Executive Order, is permitted to ask, or mandate, in any form, that an applicant for employment provide his or her current compensation, or any prior compensation history, until such time as the applicant is extended a conditional offer of employment with compensation. If such information has been requested from you before such time, please contact the Governor's Office of Employee Relations at (518) 474-6988 or via email at info@goer.ny.gov .

THE UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY IS AN EO/AA/IRCA/ADA EMPLOYER

Please apply online via http://albany.interviewexchange.com/candapply.jsp?JOBID=183636


Application Instructions:

Applicants MUST submit the following documents:

• CV
• Cover letter stating all the required minimum qualifications and any of the applicable preferred qualifications.
• Research Statement (1-2 pages) that includes relevant experience in music/sound/audio composition that strengthens our curriculum (include evidence of a scholarly or creative agenda in game audio and music tech demonstrated sample works consistent with tenure-track expectations).
• Writing (30 pp maximum) and/or a portfolio of creative sound art or composition (15-20 minutes max.)
• Teaching Statement - single page and should include teaching values and beliefs, awards, and/or teaching experience)
• Available evidence of teaching effectiveness (e.g., syllabi, student evaluations, and/or teaching statement)
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Statement - Applicants must address in their DEI statement how they are incorporating identity, accessibility, and inclusivity in their teaching and creative works.
• Contact information for three references
• Other: Candidates invited for second round interviews will be asked to provide examples of course syllabi and evidence of teaching effectiveness.

Note: After submitting your CV, the subsequent pages give you instructions for uploading additional documents (i.e. cover letter etc.).

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A review of applications will start on January 31, 2025 and the search will remain open until the position is filled.