Assistant Director, Doctoral Life Design for Engineering

At Johns Hopkins University, we are driven by a transformative goal: to empower our doctoral and postdoctoral scholars to navigate their careers with purpose, confidence, and clarity. The Doctoral Life Design Studio embodies this vision as a forward-thinking hub where students can explore a wide range of career possibilities, build meaningful connections, and utilize innovative tools to thrive in both academic and non-academic environments.

Life Design at Hopkins transcends traditional career development—it is a holistic process that nurtures curiosity, fosters growth, and opens doors to new opportunities. We are seeking an Assistant Director, Doctoral Life Design for The Whiting School of Engineering (WSE) who will be instrumental in shaping and delivering this vision. Your role will be to ensure that the Life Design Studio serves as a catalyst for the personal and professional development of all doctoral students and postdocs at WSE, equipping them with the skills and networks necessary to intentionally design their futures and achieve success.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Doctoral Life Design, you will collaborate closely with university leadership, faculty, staff, and external partners to develop and implement innovative programs, digital tools, and impactful events to promote Life Design among doctoral students at WSE. You will lead efforts to create a comprehensive portfolio of services that align with the university’s mission of preparing scholars for impactful careers. Through your leadership, you will ensure that our offerings not only meet but exceed the evolving needs of our diverse community, fostering an environment where students are empowered to take control of their professional futures.

Specific Duties & Responsibilities

• Design and implement a comprehensive career development curriculum that integrates with the academic and professional training of doctoral students, offering flexible learning opportunities to explore a broad range of career options.
• Develop workshops and courses on essential technical and core competencies such as team management, engagement of partners, change management, and effective communication across diverse audiences.
• Provide coaching and customized guidance to support engineering students and postdocs in exploring diverse career opportunities, including roles in government, the private sector, funding agencies, and academia. Assist them in building professional networks, tailoring their applications, and pursuing specialized career pathways aligned with their professional goals.
• Champion inclusivity by designing programs that address the unique needs of international students, non-U.S. citizens, students (for example, first-generation students) with fewer social resources at the graduate-school level, and historically excluded groups, fostering confidence and key professional skills.
• Lead and mentor student interns within the Life Design Studio, fostering a collaborative team environment and ensuring operational excellence.
• Collaborate with faculty, academic departments, alumni relations, the WSE Graduate Education and Lifelong Learning, and external organizations to ensure career programs meet the evolving needs of students.
• Build and maintain relationships with engineering employers, research institutions, and governmental agencies to expose engineering students and postdocs to diverse career paths and networking opportunities.
• Organize career panels, alumni showcase, and industry events to increase awareness of various career options, both academic and non-academic.
• Develop assessment frameworks and use data-driven insights to measure program effectiveness, set measurable objectives, and ensure continuous improvement.
• Gather feedback from students, faculty, alumni, and partners to keep programs relevant and impactful, while adapting offerings to align with emerging trends and needs in career development.
• Design digital resources, including online guides and self-paced modules, and leverage strategic communication channels to increase accessibility and engagement.
• Promote diversity, equity, and inclusion across all programming, ensuring equitable access to career development resources and opportunities.

Special Skills, Knowledge & Abilities

• Strategic and Visionary Thinker: A big-picture strategist with the ability to foresee long-term career development needs and trends in engineering. This candidate can integrate career services into the academic framework while adapting programs to meet evolving student needs and industry demands.
• Project Management and Event Planning Expertise: The ideal candidate is highly organized, with a proven ability to plan and execute large-scale events and initiatives. From career panels a