Design and Engineering Teacher

As an Upper School Design & Engineer Teacher at Nueva, you will work closely with other I-Lab faculty to design curriculum that helps students develop their creative confidence and make meaningful change in the world. I-Labe curriculum is experiential in nature and often leverages student interests to create authentic learning experiences that include significant Design Thinking, engineering, and/or computer science project work. 

About the Innovation Lab:

The I-Lab was built on the realization that solving problems will never go out of style. In the I-Lab, students learn to embrace Design Thinking as a nonlinear process that provides mindsets and techniques to help solve open-ended problems. Through working with real problems and users, students develop their empathetic and questioning mindsets and learn how to brainstorm, prototype, and iterate solutions. 

Students in the I-Lab also learn to flex their creative muscles through the process of design, prototyping, and making. The upper School Innovation Lab (I-Lab) is a world renowned Design Thinking program housed within a state-of-the-art fabrication facility and located on Nueva's brand new campus in San Mateo. The facilities include a woodshop, a welding and metal fabrication space, a digital fabrication space, electronics equipment, and a budding jewelry and textiles infrastructure. Students projects in the I-Lab vary and include everything from advanced robotics, CNC metal fabrication, and printed circuit board fabrication to simple carpentry, soldering, and vinyl cutting. 

The General Responsibilities for a Design Engineer are to... 

• Build really cool things with really cool students and really cool colleagues. 
• Collaborate with colleagues to develop engaging design thinking and design engineering curriculum that emphasizes critical thinking and real-world problem solving.
• Teach their courses in a differentiated and student-centered classroom
• Convey enthusiasm for intellectual inquiry and model lifelong learning
• Collaborate effectively with students, parents, teachers and administrators
• Support the social and emotional well-being of all students
• Participate actively in other aspects of the student experience and school functioning: chaperoning trips and events, serving on committees, and developing new programs at the school
• Lead by example in your commitment to Nueva's mision: "Our school community inspires passaion for lifelong learning, fosters social and emotional acuity, and develops the student's imaginative mind."

The Ideal Candidate...

• Enjoys producing creative work in the fields of art, engineering, computer science, design, fabrication, or other related disciplines. 
• Has B.S. or higher in design or engineering or a comparable degree or has equivalent industry experience
• Has multiple years experience working with children in a teaching, coaching, or mentoring capacity (not required, but a plus)
• Can guide a student from their initial idea to completion, while leaving locus of control in the student's hands
• Can demonstrate expertise and confidence with multiple, but not necessarily all, of the following designs and fabrication processes and tools: 
  • Design Thinking
  • Software: CAD and CAM
  • Simple Programming (i.e. Arduino, Scratch)
  • Electronics (Simple DC circuits, breadboarding, Arduino sensors and motors, etc)
  • Robotics and mechatronics
  • Woodshop: bandsaw, scroll saw, drill press, panel saw, CNC router, stationary disk/belt sander, miter saw, spindle sander, misc. portable power tools and hand tools
  • Metal shop: Tormach CNC Mill, bandsaw, manual drill, drill press, MIG welding, TIG welding, misc. portable power tools and hand tools
  • Digital Fabrication: laser cutter, 3D printers, Other Mill, Carvey, Soldering Irons
  • Textiles: sewing machine
  • Electronics: function generators, power supplies, oscilloscopes, misc. test equipment
  • Learns new tehcnologies as they emerge, and is excited to make recommendations for new purchases to keep the I-Lab cutting edge
  • Has the interest and ability to serve as an advisor to students, lead student activities, serve as a club advisor, and to contribute beyond the classroom to support school programs and activities. 

To Apply: Please submit a cover letter, résumé, and the contact information and job title for at least three professional references.