Open Positions

Life Design Fellow

One Year Appointment

The Stanford Life Design Lab (d.life lab) designs, implements and delivers courses, programs and tools all focused on the strategic goal of applying the innovation principles of design thinking to the wicked problems of designing one's life, education and vocation. The d.life lab broadly serves students from Frosh to post-docs with a special emphasis on undergrads, teaching Designing Your Life, and Designing Your Stanford every quarter, and Graduate programs from an hour to a quarter long through the year. 

The Life Design Lab is looking for a new d.life Fellow, starting Sep 1st, 2023, and running through August 31st, 2024 (AY23-24). D.life Fellows will join a dynamic team of instructors developing curriculum and teaching in numerous contexts:

  • Designing Your Life, Designing Your Stanford and Designing the Professional 10 week courses.

  • Short form workshops and intensives (1-8 hour workshops)

  • Life Design Studio outreach to universities globally

  • ·Collaborative offerings with multiple on campus partners including BEAM Career Education, the athletic department, HAAS Service Center and Community centers

Fellows can expect the unexpected. From pivoting to deliver virtually, to developing curriculum specifically for specific campus populations, to putting together an international training in 2 weeks, the d.life teaching team is versatile, nimble and leans into “Yes, and!” We work as a team, collaborating to perform course administration, student group facilitation, and teaching. Fellows also have assignments on project initiatives, selected based upon lab priorities and opportunities, and Fellow interests and skill set. Some past and ongoing projects:

  • Development of online and asynchronous content

  • Revamping of reading lists and resources for greater diversity of voice

  • Development of equity rubrics and feedback processes for teaching improvement

  • Course impact assessment

The position is an entry level, salaried position and includes full benefits.  Each year’s contract is structured as 1 year Lecturer appointment in the Design Division of the Mechanical Engineering Department. Fellowships may be extensible to additional years pending funding renewal (done annually) and candidate fit and interest. 

Qualifications

  • A bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in education, psychology or anthropology, teaching and facilitation experience, design thinking training or experience (eg: a d.life class, design boot camp, d.school classes)

  • A genuine interest in student formation and experiential learning.

  • A collaborative, flexible and hands-on approach to work

  • Plusses:

    • experience with curriculum design

    • experience with coaching and/or hands on group facilitation

    • diverse life experiences and a winding life path

    • an ability to embrace ambiguity and design your way forward

Most of all, we’re looking for someone enthusiastic about design thinking and life design and excited to bring that enthusiasm, energy and engagement to the lab and to Stanford students. We hope that might be you!

Candidates should immediately contact d.life lab Managing Director Kathy Davies (kathyhdavies@stanford.edu) with an expression of interest, and apply here with a cover letter / statement of interest, CV / resume and a one minute teaching video, while applications are open. (Videos may be a simple smartphone video of you teaching the lab about something you care about, or a clip from a previous teaching or speaking engagement.)

Course Facilitator

We looking for amazing facilitators to support our students:

TIME COMMITMENT

Quarter-long commitment, ~3.5 hours per week for 10 weeks

RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Attend an hour long pre-brief to help set up and prepare for class, include going over lesson plans, and getting set for facilitation of group conversations during class

  • As part of class, facilitate a group of 6-8 students to create a generative environment to discuss activities, readings and assignments of the class. Lead small group discussions at your table

  • Participate in debrief after class

  • Review readings and homework in preparation for leading that wee'k’s section discussions.

  • Total time commitment over the quarter will be ~35 hours

  • Paid, according to standard student rates for Mechanical Engineering Department graders ($15-18 per hour based on year in school / experience), or honorarium standard between departments in the case of staff.

Qualifications

Open to former students and Stanford faculty / staff interested in engaging with a class only.

Apply

Please reach out with the course you would be interested in facilitating for to lifedesignlab@lists.stanford.edu.