Shape Future Leaders: STEM and Artificial Intelligence Professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy

The U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) is at the forefront of educating and training the next generation of leaders for the Air Force and Space Force. As technology rapidly evolves, the Academy recognizes the critical importance of a robust foundation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), with a particular emphasis on Artificial Intelligence (AI). USAFA is seeking passionate and experienced educators to join its esteemed faculty as Instructors, Assistant Professors, Associate Professors, or Professors specializing in STEM and Artificial Intelligence. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to a vital mission, shaping cadets not only as technical experts but also as ethical leaders and strategic thinkers.

About the U.S. Air Force Academy

Located north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, the U.S. Air Force Academy is a premier four-year institution dedicated to producing leaders of character. Its mission is to educate, train, and inspire cadets to become officers of character, motivated to lead the United States Air Force and Space Force in service to the nation. The Academy awards a Bachelor of Science degree and boasts a diverse student body of approximately 4,000 cadets from all over the United States and several foreign countries. USAFA's faculty is a distinguished group of military and civilian educators committed to academic excellence and holistic development. The curriculum is comprehensive, encompassing core academic and professional courses, alongside specialized majors designed to prepare cadets for the complexities of modern warfare and leadership.

The School of Integrated General Studies (SIGS) plays a pivotal role within the Academy, providing the foundational common core education upon which cadets build their specialized disciplinary studies. SIGS aims to form cadets as Citizens, Leaders, Warfighters, and Scholars. Its curriculum uniquely integrates civics, humanities, arts, and social sciences (CHASS) with STEM and Artificial Intelligence, and Warfighting threads. Faculty within SIGS are encouraged to work across traditional disciplinary boundaries to create a rigorous, ordered, and mission-aligned general education for future officers. The STEM and AI thread within SIGS is particularly crucial, offering a common technical formation that is deliberately general rather than introductory. It focuses on developing scientific, quantitative, computational, systems, and engineering judgment, equipping cadets with the skills to estimate, measure, model, experiment, design, test, compute, and analyze data. A significant aspect of this formation involves understanding first principles to confidently and responsibly utilize modern AI tools, validate their outputs, and maintain critical judgment.

Job Responsibilities: Instructor/Professor - STEM and Artificial Intelligence

These positions are teaching-centered, demanding educators who can bridge theoretical knowledge with practical application and inspire cadets in a demanding academic environment. The responsibilities vary by rank:

• Instructor (AD-21): Deliver structured undergraduate general-education instruction within the common curriculum. This involves adapting approved instructional materials, evaluating student performance, providing academic advising, maintaining professional currency, and contributing to course teams, the School, and Academy service.
• Assistant Professor (AD-22): Deliver and assess undergraduate courses within the common curriculum, contributing to their planning and continuous improvement. This role includes assuming increasing course leadership and coordination responsibilities, such as serving as a Course Director, while maintaining scholarly or professional engagement and contributing to School service and interdisciplinary integration.
• Associate Professor (AD-23): Provide sustained teaching excellence and lead major multi-section courses or significant curriculum components. Maintain appropriate scholarly or professional engagement and lead course-team and School-level curriculum and assessment efforts, mentoring junior faculty.
• Professor (AD-24 - Nonsupervisory): Offer distinguished instruction and senior academic leadership in the design, integration, and continuous improvement of the common curriculum. Maintain mature scholarly or professional engagement, lead major School- and institution-level academic initiatives, and mentor faculty colleagues.

Across all ranks, faculty are expected to connect technical knowledge to broader human, ethical, strategic, operational, and national security questions. They must collaborate effectively, maintain professional currency, and demonstrate a strong commitment to undergraduate teaching and the Academy's integrated mission.

Requirements

Successful candidates, appropriate to the rank sought, must demonstrate:

• Technical Disciplinary Expertise and Breadth: A deep understanding of your field, extending beyond a narrow specialization.
• Teaching Ability: Excellence or strong promise in undergraduate teaching, with the ability to teach technical general education concepts effectively. This includes clearly communicating complex technical information and preserving first-principles understanding.
• Integration of AI and Modern Tools: The capacity to foster confident and progressively sophisticated use of AI and contemporary scientific and engineering tools.
• Applied Learning: The ability to connect theory to real systems through hands-on work, such as laboratories, experiment, design-build-test projects, modeling, computation, data analysis, or simulation.
• Pedagogical Knowledge: Understanding of effective undergraduate teaching methodologies, course development, assessment techniques, and academic standards.
• Interdisciplinary Connection: The ability to link technical knowledge to humanistic, ethical, strategic, operational, and national security issues.
• Collaboration: Proven ability to work effectively with diverse colleagues and stakeholders.
• Professional Currency: Commitment to staying up-to-date in your field.
• Academic/Professional Preparation: Appropriate academic or professional background.

Relevant Academic Disciplines: Fields such as Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Data Science, Machine Learning, Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Engineering, Systems Engineering, Operations Research, Cyber Science, Robotics, Autonomous Systems, Modeling and Simulation, STEM or Engineering Education, or other closely related areas supporting STEM and AI are encouraged.

Salary Overview

The salary for these positions ranges from $85,423 to $168,838 per year. The final salary will be determined based on the candidate's years of experience, the academic rank at which they are hired, and is commensurate with average USAFA, regional, and national salaries for the specific disciplinary area. A one-time taxable recruiting or relocation incentive may be offered to eligible and authorized candidates.

Benefits

As a faculty member at the U.S. Air Force Academy, you will be eligible for a comprehensive benefits package that typically includes:

• Health Insurance: Access to Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program, offering a range of plan choices.
• Retirement: Participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), providing a solid foundation for your future.
• Paid Time Off: Generous annual leave, sick leave, and federal holidays.
• Life Insurance: Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) options.
• Other Benefits: Potential for disability and long-term care insurance, flexible spending accounts, and access to various employee assistance programs.
• Recruiting/Relocation Incentives: A one-time taxable incentive may be authorized for eligible new hires.
• Disabled Veteran Leave: Available for eligible veterans.

Comparison of Ranks

Rank	Primary Focus	Leadership Expectations
Instructor (AD-21)	Delivering core undergraduate instruction and academic advising.	Team contribution, course support.
Assistant Professor (AD-22)	Teaching, assessment, and contributing to curriculum improvement; beginning course leadership.	Growing course leadership, mentoring junior faculty.
Associate Professor (AD-23)	Sustained teaching excellence, leading major courses/curriculum components; scholarly engagement.	Leading course teams, School-level curriculum efforts, mentoring.
Professor (AD-24)	Distinguished instruction, senior academic leadership in curriculum design and integration.	Leading major School/Academy initiatives, broad faculty mentorship.

Application Tips

To ensure your application stands out and receives full consideration, please adhere to the following recommendations:

• Comprehensive Resume/Curriculum Vitae: Ensure your CV or resume clearly outlines your teaching experience, scholarly achievements, and any leadership roles. Include specific examples of how you have taught technical general education, integrated AI or modern tools, and utilized hands-on learning methodologies. Make sure to include work hours per week and dates of employment.
• Targeted Cover Letter: Craft a compelling cover letter that directly addresses how your qualifications align with the position requirements. Highlight your experience in undergraduate teaching excellence, your breadth of technical knowledge, your ability to teach beyond a narrow specialization, and your capacity to contribute to an integrated common curriculum. Specifically address how you would connect theory, tools, systems, and operational consequences, especially concerning AI.
• Address Desired Qualifications: If you possess any of the desired qualifications (e.g., experience with interdisciplinary STEM, AI-enabled workflows, or multidisciplinary practice), be sure to detail these experiences within your application documents.
• Complete and Accurate Submission: Double-check that all required documents are uploaded and that all information provided is accurate and complete. USAJOBS typically allows for document uploads and edits until the closing date, but it's best to finalize well in advance.
• Official Transcripts: Be prepared to submit official transcripts for all degrees. If you are recently graduated, a letter of degree completion may suffice initially, but official transcripts will be required later. Ensure they are from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
• Foreign Education: If you have international credentials, obtain a U.S. equivalency evaluation from a recognized agency and submit it with your application.
• Adhere to Formatting Guidelines: Avoid including photographs or personal information not relevant to your qualifications on your resume or other submitted documents. Follow USAJOBS instructions regarding document uploads carefully.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What is the U.S. Air Force Academy's mission? A: The mission of the U.S. Air Force Academy is to educate, train, and inspire men and women to become leaders of character, motivated to lead the United States Air Force and Space Force in service to our nation.

Q: What are the primary responsibilities of this position? A: The primary responsibilities include delivering and assessing undergraduate instruction within a common curriculum, contributing to course and curriculum development, maintaining professional currency, providing academic advising, and participating in academic service. Senior ranks involve increasing levels of academic leadership, mentorship, and curriculum initiative.

Q: What academic disciplines are relevant for this position? A: Relevant fields include Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Data Science, Machine Learning, Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Engineering, Systems Engineering, Operations Research, Cyber Science, Robotics or Autonomous Systems, Modeling and Simulation, STEM or Engineering Education, or other closely related areas supporting STEM and Artificial Intelligence.

Q: Is this position open to the public? A: Yes, this position is open to the public.

Q: What is the salary range for this position? A: The salary range is $85,423 to $168,838 per year, determined by factors such as experience, academic rank, and market rates.

Q: What documents are required for the application? A: A complete application package requires a Resume/Curriculum Vitae, a cover letter, and potentially veterans' preference documents if applicable. Official transcripts are required upon selection.

Q: How should I submit my Resume/Curriculum Vitae? A: Due to a resume length restriction on USAJOBS, you should upload your Resume/Curriculum Vitae using the 'Other Documents - Curriculum Vitae' option on the Documents page. In the 'Resume' section, upload a document indicating where your Curriculum Vitae was submitted.

Q: Can I apply if I have foreign education credentials? A: Yes, but you must provide an official statement of U.S. equivalency from a Department of Education-approved agency (e.g., AICE, NACES) to demonstrate that your foreign education is equivalent to a U.S. program.

Q: Will I be notified if my application is incomplete or I am ineligible? A: Yes, you will receive email notifications regarding the status of your application, including if it is incomplete or if you are deemed ineligible.

The U.S. Air Force Academy offers a compelling opportunity for educators passionate about shaping the future leaders of the Air Force and Space Force. By joining SIGS, you will contribute to an innovative and integrated curriculum that prepares cadets for the technological challenges of tomorrow. If you possess a strong academic background in STEM and AI, a dedication to undergraduate teaching, and a desire to make a significant impact, we encourage you to apply. This is more than just a teaching position; it's a chance to be part of a vital national mission.