Following last week’s look at an opening for an Unreal Engine Rendering Artist at PHNTM, we are using our Job Highlights series this week to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Robotics Fabrication Lab Manager at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT).

The position, located within NYIT’s School of Architecture and Design, will lead the daily operations of the school’s analog and digital fabrication shop at its Long Island campus. Responsibilities will include serving as the primary technician for the Robotics Lab and Advanced 3D printing Lab, administrating safety procedures, and researching and experimenting with the capabilities of traditional wood shop tools, digital tools, and other fabrication methods. 

The role calls for an individual with a Bachelor’s degree in architecture or a related field, with significant experience in fabrication in an academic and/or professional setting.

Why the role interests us

The NYIT School of Architecture and Design’s operation of the Robotics Fabrication Lab can be seen as part of the school’s commitment to providing students and researchers with the tools to advance design thinking and representation. This ethos was central to Archinect’s discussion with the school’s dean Maria Perbellini back in 2021 after students and faculty from the school showcased work at the 2021 Venice Biennale.

“SoAD's collective efforts to protect public health, safety, and welfare as well as the necessity to accelerate shifts in climate change governance and increase individual engagement have never been more relevant,” Dean Perbellini told us at the time. “Design innovation plays a crucial role in addressing integrated strategies, able to not only respond to environmental, health, economic, and social crises, but most of all, to anticipate them.”

The NYIT role is also a signal of the growing number of U.S. architecture schools placing robotics and fabrication at the core of their output. Last month, we covered news from the University of Maine, who unveiled the world’s first 100% bio-based 3D printed home, while UCLA researchers developed a structural system that becomes stronger as it learns from its surroundings.

Back in September, meanwhile, the University of Oregon’s College of Design was awarded more than $16 million in federal funds to explore the application of timber in construction, while a UNC Charlotte architecture professor was awarded a $1 million grant towards the incorporation of algae in windows.

Further reading for interested candidates

• Architecture as Caregiver: NYIT School of Architecture and Design Showcases Student and Faculty Work at the 2021 Venice Biennale (December 2021)
• ETH Zurich students construct timber dome entirely from waste materials (October 2022)
• IAAC team 3D prints a zero-waste housing prototype using local earth (September 2022)
• University of Buffalo students are constructing tiny homes to fight homelessness (June 2022)
• Mississippi State University studio teaches the value of collaboration between its architecture and building construction science students (May 2022)
• Expo of biomaterial structures populates University of Virginia campus, created by architecture students and scholars (April 2022)
• Archinect’s ongoing coverage of material science
• Archinect’s ongoing coverage of robotics
• NYIT’s Archinect Profile
• Archinect Tips: Employment Edition (November 2020)

Job Highlights is one of a number of ongoing weekly series showcasing the opportunities available on our industry-leading job board. Our Meet Your Next Employer profiles and interviews interesting studios with open positions currently available on Archinect Jobs, while our weekly roundups curate job opportunities by location, career level, and job description.