Duke University, Office of the Dean, Pratt School of Engineering

Position ID:

Duke-FacultyResearchMento-ADJ_LEDLEE [#32187]

Position Title:

Design Climate Adjunct Professor

Position Type:

Non tenure-track faculty

Position Location:

Durham, North Carolina 27701, United States of America

Subject Area:

Engineering / Engineering

Appl Deadline:

(posted 2026/06/10, listed until 2026/07/12)

Position Description:

*** the listing date or deadline for this position has passed and new applications are no longer accepted. ***

The Design Climate Adjunct Professor is a part-time position that supports the Design Climate program at Duke University. Design Climate is a startup incubator for early-stage clean-tech innovations. The incubator supports innovations from faculty, students, and external partners. The program operates through a two-semester course sequence that trains undergraduate and graduate students in entrepreneurship and business fundamentals for clean-tech startups. The Adjunct Instructor supports Design Climate during both the fall and spring semesters.

Course Structure •Course meets once weekly, Fridays 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM from August-December and January - April •Co-taught with the Design Climate Executive Director; the Adjunct Professor takes the lead on course management and grading •Format: light lectures supplemented by guest speakers, with project-based work in student teams •An existing syllabus is available; improvements and refinements are welcome

Responsibilities The Design Climate Adjunct Professor will: •Develop and refresh curriculum before each semester in alignment with startup incubator and sustainable product development best practices •Lead course management and grading. If a Teaching Assistant (TA) is available, help manage the TA. •Advise / mentor venture teams by ◦Advise student teams on their entrepreneurial progress ◦Help manage relationships with project sponsors (co-designers) •Manage stakeholder engagement by ◦Coordinating external speakers for class lectures and helping students identify industry stakeholders for customer discovery interviews. ◦During the fall semester, arranging one site visit per venture team for students to either explore the technology or target market. Site visit can be combined for multiple teams. •Recruit projects and students by attending Duke and local conferences and events, and by building partnerships across the local and national clean-tech innovation ecosystem •Coordinate the final showcase with the Executive Director, project sponsors (co-designers), and program advisors

Required Qualifications •A graduate degree, OR commensurate industry experience and expertise, in a relevant field such as engineering, design, product development, entrepreneurship, clean-tech, marketing, prototyping, education/teaching, or a related discipline

Preferred Qualifications Ideal candidates will bring some combination of the following: •Prior university-level teaching experience •Direct startup founder, operator, or venture capital experience •Clean/climate-tech domain experience •Experience with hardware prototyping or techno-economic analysis •Experience mentoring interdisciplinary teams across engineering, business, and policy •Track record of building industry partnerships or fundraising for early-stage ventures

Duke is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, ethnicity, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions), sexual orientation, or military status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Please note that Duke specifically seeks information about past misconduct or policy violations (in the past ten (10) years) and/or relevant pending investigations as part of the application process. Disclosures will not be an automatic bar to hiring but, instead, will initiate further dialogue regarding past actions and steps taken to address them. Disclosures will not be shared with search committees during the application review process.

Application Materials Required:

Submit the following items online at this website to complete your application:

Cover letter
Curriculum Vitae
Three references (no actual letters, just names and email addresses )

And anything else requested in the position description.

Further Info:

Duke University
Pratt School of Engineering