Post-Doctoral Fellowship 
MGDS-PET

OCAD University (OCAD U) is Canada’s largest specialized university of art, media and design.  Located on a twelve-building campus in the heart of downtown Toronto, OCAD University offers a vibrant and stimulating work environment for over 400 faculty and more than 4300 undergraduate and 200 graduate students. Committed to excellence and contemporary approaches to education, OCAD University offers 13 undergraduate programs leading to a Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) or a Bachelor of Design (BDes) degree, and seven graduate programs that result in the Master of Fine Arts (MFA), Master of Design (MDes) or the Master of Arts (MA). OCAD University has recently launched the interdisciplinary Digital Futures program, and will welcome its first cohort of students in its new interdisciplinary Indigenous Visual Culture BFA in September 2013. The University has experienced remarkable growth over the past five years and requires outstanding creative researchers/practitioners and gifted teachers to join OCAD U in an exciting period of institutional development and opportunity. 

Project-Multi-platform Game Distribution System for Popular and Experimental Technologies (MGDS-PET):
A call for applications for a Post-Doctoral Fellowship is now open for the MGDS-PET.  This project focuses on the creation of a multi-platform game environment with ancillary wearable technology assets.  Researchers will produce product and processes in relation to the Time Tremors project that can be scaled up and generalized. The project is co-funded by International Science and Technology Partnerships Canada (ISTP) and a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)CRD project.  The project is a collaboration between OCAD University and Xenophile Media in Canada with Anhembi Morumbi University and Zuannon Projetos Visuais Ltda. in Brazil. 

Project Description:
Transmedia gaming engages young people, creating an opportunity to bridge the experience between their virtual and physical lives. It is a popular but potentially-costly undertaking.   Methods to facilitate authoring, publishing and distribution of cross platform distributed narratives have the potential to tap into a new gaming economy connecting TV, mobile and other platforms including entirely innovative wearable technologies.   This proposed R&D collaboration will invent and deploy the 1) Multiplatform Game Distribution System for Popular and Experimental Technologies (MGDS-PET) – a new transmedia games development technology, as well as variety of experimental games interfaces and processes, including 2) Game Biometric Interfaces and 3) Wearable Game Technologies.  

Responsibilities:
Under the direction of Principle Investigators Dr. Adam Tindale and Dr. Sara Diamond, the Post-Doctoral Fellowship will maintain oversight and management of research activities over the duration of the project including software engineering and will facilitate the relationship between Brazilian and Canadian research components. There are two core elements to the project: software engineering and wearable technology development.

The challenge inherent for software engineering processes lies in the effective integration of research and market-led rapid development practices. The objective for this component is to build technology, conceptual models and critical approaches that support, develop and integrate collaborative research and design progress within a commercial product. The planned outcome is a collection of tested models, conceptual frameworks and techniques for use in hybrid transmedia software development. Software engineering tasks include: Managing research between commercial partner Xenophile Media OCAD University to maximize integration and delivery of research knowledge into a commercial pipeline and to ensure the quality of the learning experience for all involved.

The challenge for the international research is in building robust technology for use in a range of international regions that is culturally appropriate. The objective is to build on biometric research to construct a market-ready solution to support extended transmedia gameplay experiences in both Canada and Brazil. 

As the selected candidate:

• You will develop, iterate, and document project-driven technological innovation (biometrics, hardware, wearables, software and cross platform tools) that can be distributed and commercialized more broadly.
• You will build frameworks where technical architecture blends with, and extends, gameplay experience. 
• You will facilitate user studies in Canada and in collaboration with Brazil.

Qualifications:
The ideal candidates will hold a PhD in a relevant field and have expertise in Unity C# programming; experience in Bluetooth; in addition to a strong and relevant research portfolio and history of team management.  Experience with user studies and biometric devices would be an asset.   

Compensation: 
Remuneration is based on an annual salary of $50,000.00 (less statutory deductions), prorated for the duration of the project, plus employee benefits.

Duration: 
November 2013 – August 2014 with likelihood of a six-month renewal, conditional upon continued funding of the Project by OCAD U’s external funding partner(s), and upon satisfactory execution of duties.

Application Procedure:
Applicants should provide a cover letter stating interest in the position, an academic C.V and three references. The review of applications will be conducted on an ongoing basis and continue until the position has been filled.  
Applications should be sent to: Dr. Sara Diamond sdiamond@ocadu.ca and c.c. to Cidalia Braga-Paul cbragapaul@ocadu.ca.  Please note in subject line Post-Doctoral Fellowship-MGDS-PET.

As an employment equity employer, we encourage applications from women, Aboriginal peoples, visible minorities, persons with disabilities, and persons of all sexual orientation or gender identity.
All qualified persons are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority.
While we thank all candidates for their interest, only those short-listed will be contacted.