Full Time Faculty, Research Track Positions at the Associate or Full Professor Levels in Organisational Digital Transformation and AI, SMU Resilient Workforces Institute (ResWORK)
Singapore Management University (SMU) · Singapore
About this role
The Resilient Workforces Institute (ResWORK) at Singapore Management University (SMU) is seeking applications for full-time, non-tenurable Research Track faculty positions at the Associate or Full Professor level. This role focuses on Organisational Digital Transformation and AI, with an initial three-year fixed-term appointment and potential for renewal. The position involves high-quality research, interdisciplinary scholarship, securing grant funding, and a nominal teaching load of one course per year. Responsibilities include conceptualizing and executing competitive research projects, publishing in leading journals, leading interdisciplinary programs, and collaborating with industry and government stakeholders. Candidates should hold a Ph.D. in Information Systems, Management, Computer Science, Data Science, Economics, or a related field. A strong record of high-quality research and publication commensurate with the desired rank is required. Expertise in organisational digital transformation and AI is essential. Desired qualifications include a proven ability to extract insights from digital traces of organizational workflows, experience with experimental studies involving personnel, and a track record in securing research funding. Applicants must submit a CV, cover letter, research and teaching statements, and three published papers, and arrange for three academic references.
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A focused preparation guide, built around this job’s responsibilities and requirements.
✦ AI-generated guide
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01
Understand the role
What matters most
High-Impact Research Output
The role is a non-tenurable Research Track position where performance is primarily evaluated through KPIs centered on publishing in leading international journals and conferences. Candidates must demonstrate a consistent record of high-quality, internationally competitive research commensurate with the Associate or Full Professor rank.
Grant Acquisition and Funding Success
A core expectation is the ability to develop competitive grant applications and secure external research funding. This is explicitly listed as a highly desired qualification and a key performance indicator for the role, requiring a proven track record in obtaining financial support for research programs.
Interdisciplinary Leadership in AI and Work
The candidate must lead interdisciplinary research programs that align with ResWORK’s mission to study the future of work. This requires the ability to bridge fields such as Information Systems, Management, and Data Science to develop generalized principles for human-AI interaction and organizational transformation.
Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration
The position requires forging productive collaborations with industry partners, government agencies, and other academic stakeholders. The ability to translate complex research into practical insights for organizational workflows and digital transformation is essential for the institute's impact.
Likely challenges to think through
Balancing Theoretical Rigor with Applied Impact
The institute seeks to develop scientifically rigorous principles while simultaneously addressing real-world organizational challenges. Preparing for this involves demonstrating how your research methodology can produce both high-level academic publications and actionable, practical insights for industry and government stakeholders.
Methodological Complexity in Digital Trace Analysis
The role specifically values the ability to extract insights from digital traces of organizational workflows or conduct experimental studies with personnel. Candidates should be prepared to discuss the technical and ethical challenges of accessing, cleaning, and analyzing proprietary organizational data while maintaining academic integrity.
Navigating the Non-Tenurable Research Track
As a three-year fixed-term appointment with renewal potential, the role carries the pressure of meeting specific, high-stakes KPIs. Preparation should include a clear articulation of how your research pipeline is structured to meet these performance metrics within the initial term.
03
Practice your answers
Technical practice
Methodologies for Analyzing Organizational Digital Traces
What to coverDiscuss your experience in extracting and analyzing digital traces from organizational workflows. Explain how you ensure data privacy and ethical standards while deriving actionable insights from these datasets.
Agentic AI in Business Processes
What to coverHow do you define the shift from traditional AI to agentic AI within organizational structures? Provide a framework for evaluating the impact of autonomous agents on human-machine collaboration and workforce productivity.
Designing Experimental Studies in Organizational Settings
What to coverDescribe your approach to designing rigorous experimental studies involving personnel. Address the challenges of maintaining ecological validity while controlling for variables in complex organizational environments.
Grant Funding Strategy
What to coverDetail your process for identifying and securing competitive research funding. Explain how you align your research agenda with the priorities of government agencies and industry stakeholders.
Interdisciplinary Research Integration
What to coverHow do you bridge the gap between technical disciplines like Computer Science or Data Science and social sciences like Management or Economics? Provide an example of how you have synthesized these fields to address a complex research problem.
Measuring Organizational AI Adoption
What to coverWhat metrics do you consider most critical when quantifying the adoption and effectiveness of AI within an organization? Discuss the trade-offs between quantitative performance metrics and qualitative organizational resilience.
Theoretical Frameworks for Digital Transformation
What to coverWhich theoretical lenses do you apply to understand organizational digital transformation? Explain how these theories inform your research on the future of work and workforce adaptation.
Publishing in High-Impact Journals
What to coverDescribe your strategy for targeting leading international journals in Information Systems or Management. How do you ensure your work remains both theoretically rigorous and practically relevant to industry leaders?
Behavioural practice
Collaborating with External Stakeholders
What to coverDescribe a situation where you had to forge a research collaboration with industry or government partners. How did you manage competing interests to ensure the project met both academic and practical objectives?
Leading Interdisciplinary Initiatives
What to coverProvide an example of a time you led an interdisciplinary research program. How did you facilitate communication and alignment among researchers from diverse academic backgrounds?
Navigating Research Challenges
What to coverTell us about a time a research project did not yield the expected results or faced significant obstacles. How did you adapt your methodology or research direction to maintain progress?
Mentorship and Intellectual Contribution
What to coverHow have you contributed to the broader intellectual life of your previous institution? Describe your approach to mentoring junior researchers or participating in departmental research communities.
02
Sharpen your knowledge
Topics to prepare
Organisational Digital Transformation and AI Integration
Focus on the theoretical frameworks of how AI impacts organizational structures and business processes. Exercise: Review recent literature on the 'agentification' of workflows to synthesize a conceptual model that explains how AI-driven automation shifts traditional organizational roles.
Human-AI Collaboration and Workforce Resilience
Understand the socio-technical dynamics of human-machine interaction in the workplace. Exercise: Draft a research proposal outline that addresses how organizations can maintain productivity and resilience while integrating autonomous AI agents into human-centric teams.
Skills to revise
Grant Writing and Funding Acquisition
The role requires securing external research funding. Exercise: Review successful grant applications from similar interdisciplinary institutes and map your past research projects to the specific funding priorities of Singaporean or international research councils.
Analysis of Digital Traces in Organizational Workflows
The ability to extract insights from organizational data is highly desired. Exercise: Develop a methodology for analyzing existing datasets or digital logs to measure the impact of AI adoption on specific organizational performance metrics.
Experimental Research Design with Personnel
The institute values experimental studies involving organizational teams. Exercise: Design a pilot study protocol that uses randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental methods to evaluate the effectiveness of a new AI tool within a simulated or real-world organizational setting.
04
Your preparation checklist
Align Research Portfolio with ResWORK Pillars
Review your publication history to highlight specific contributions to organisational digital transformation, AI-enabled workflows, or human-AI collaboration. Prepare a summary of how your past work directly addresses the institute's goal of developing generalized principles for redesigning work.
Synthesize Grant Funding and Impact Evidence
Create a document detailing your history of securing competitive research funding. Include specific examples of how your research has influenced industry practices, government policy, or organizational structures, as these are key KPIs for the Research Track.
Prepare Technical Methodology Case Studies
Develop two concise case studies demonstrating your ability to extract insights from digital traces of organizational workflows or your experience conducting experimental studies with personnel. This directly addresses the institute's preference for data-driven research methodologies.
Draft a Strategic Research and Teaching Statement
Write a cohesive statement that articulates your future research agenda at SMU, specifically focusing on interdisciplinary collaboration. Ensure your teaching philosophy reflects your ability to deliver high-quality content for undergraduate, postgraduate, or executive education audiences.
Formulate Targeted Questions for the Campus Visit
Prepare insightful questions regarding the institute's current collaborative projects with industry partners, the specific expectations for interdisciplinary program leadership, and the support structure available for managing large-scale research grants at SMU.
Availability last checked: 18 Oct 2026. Status can change after a check; confirm on the employer’s website. Report an issue · Our checking policy
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