About Toronto Metropolitan

Serving a highly diverse student population of over 45,000, TMU offers over 100+ undergraduate and graduate programs built on the integration of theoretical and practical learning. Distinguished by a professionally focused curriculum and a strong emphasis on excellence in teaching, research and creative activities, TMU is a vibrant, urban university known for its culture of innovation, entrepreneurship, community engagement and city building, reflected in its award-winning architecture. At the intersection of mind and action, TMU is on a transformative path to become Canada’s leading comprehensive innovation university. Our current academic plan, Transformative Futures, offers an exciting roadmap towards our ongoing pursuit of academic excellence and to addressing the complex and evolving challenges of our time.

At the heart of TMU’s remarkable achievements and its ambitious aspirations are its students, faculty and staff. Committed to a people first culture, the university prides itself on offering exceptional benefits and perks, celebrating the achievements of its faculty and staff and maintaining its unwavering commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, including its ongoing commitment to Truth and Reconciliation, confronting Anti-Black Racism and accessibility for persons with disabilities. Among its many recognitions include being ranked number one on the Forbes list of Canada’s Best Employers for Diversity.

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Appointment Details

The base salary range for Contract Lectures hired August 16, 2026 through August 15, 2027 is $79,644.07 to $101,855.82 per annum. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications. Contract amounts are calculated based on the number of semester hours in the appointment.

Course Information

Course Semester/Term Hours/Section Estimated Number of Students

CYS229 W2027 3 Hours 135-180 Students

Schedule TBD.

CYS229: Secure Software Development

Course Overview & Role Description

CYS229: Secure Software Development is a pivotal Year 1 (Winter) core course that bridges object-oriented programming with defensive software engineering. Building on Python-based algorithms from CYS119 (Foundations of Software Design and Development) and running parallel to standard object-oriented design (CPS209/Java), CYS229 equips students to write efficient, resilient, and secure code. The instructor will deliver 3 hours of weekly lecture, oversee 2 hours of weekly hands-on laboratory instruction, and teach object-oriented design patterns, threat modeling, secure file/exception handling, and secure data structures.

Key Responsibilities

- Teach advanced Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) concepts—including encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism, and interfaces—through a secure design lens.
- Design and supervise weekly hands-on computer lab sessions that require students to identify, exploit, and remediate common software vulnerabilities (e.g., input validation errors, buffer issues, state manipulation).
- Instruct students in secure file handling, robust exception management, access controls within data structures (lists, stacks, queues), and secure coding standards.
- Evaluate student progress through code-based lab assignments, midterm examinations, and final written/practical assessments.
- Collaborate with the Cyber Science UPD and lab technical staff to maintain secure Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) environments for safe laboratory execution.

Required Qualifications & Experience

1. Academic Credentials

- Minimum: Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Cybersecurity,



or a closely related discipline.
- Preferred: Ph.D. in Computer Science or Software Engineering with a research specialization in software security, program analysis, or secure coding.

2. Technical & Industry Expertise

Candidates must demonstrate advanced programming proficiency (preferably in Python and Java) and applied expertise in software security engineering:

- Secure OOP & Design: Deep understanding of secure design patterns, principle of least privilege, secure interfaces, and defensive object-oriented architecture.
- Vulnerability Analysis & Mitigation: Mastery of common software weaknesses (OWASP Top 10, CWE/SANS top vulnerabilities), threat analysis, and secure coding guidelines.
- Secure Systems Programming: Hands-on experience with secure file I/O, input sanitation/validation, exception handling, dynamic memory management, and secure data structure implementation.
- Applied Tooling: Familiarity with static/dynamic code analysis security tools, secure testing methods, and development in virtualized/isolated environments.

3. Teaching & Pedagogical Experience

- Demonstrated experience teaching computer programming, object-oriented software design, or secure software engineering at the university level.
- Proven ability to supervise structured computer lab environments, debug student code, and assess practical software projects.
- Strong commitment to outcomes-based action learning and hands-on technical instruction.

4. Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Commitment

- Demonstrated ability to foster an inclusive, supportive learning environment for diverse student cohorts, particularly underrepresented groups in software engineering and STEM.

a) A full workload half-sessional appointment is for 15 hours in any one semester. b) A reduced workload half-sessional appointment is for at least 9 but less than 15 semester hours in any one semester.

c) A part-time hourly appointment / one semester is for less than 9 hours in any one semester.

Qualifications

Evidence may be requested for all categories.

Education

PhD. or equivalent in field related to target course

PhD (or equivalent)

Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Cybersecurity, or a closely related discipline.

Teaching Experience

Teaching target or similar course at TMU graduate program.

Teaching target or similar course at TMU undergraduate program or another university undergraduate program.

Practice field experience

Current (past 3 years) practice in related fields 6-10 (depends on quality of experience, including relevance to course, level of responsibility, relevant professional accreditation, etc.)

Past (more than 3) years ago) practice in a related field.

Currency

Academic publications (refereed) in the past 5 years.

Academic publications more than 5 years ago or current (less than 5 years) professional profile (including professional or academic presentations).

Other demonstrated professional currency (practitioner writing, courses taken).

Interactive Skills The following will be rated based on previous teaching ratings/evaluations:

Lecture presentation

Email Interaction

Follow through with assignments

Application Instruction





Applicant Responsibilities Candidates who wish to apply for these postings must provide an application with the following information defined in Article 14.9 of the current CUPE 3904 Unit 1 collective agreement https://www.torontomu.ca/faculty-affairs/resources/documents/collective-agreements/cupe-1-collective-agreement/

- The type of appointment that is preferred.
- The courses or number of sections of the same course and/or package they would like to teach
- Attach an updated resume and any other relevant information concerning their candidacy.
- Which courses of all those posted by the Department the candidates consider themselves qualified to teach. (If possible, include the number of times the course content of each of the applied -for courses has been taught).
- The address or addresses to which the letter of appointment should be sent, and any periods when the candidates cannot be contacted.
- Instructors with priority of consideration may include which of the Continuing Education credit courses they would prefer should the volume of teaching applied for not be available from the teaching functions available to discharge

Candidates will be evaluated using the following rating criteria and weightings: Rating Criteria - Weighting%
- Education - 20%
- Experience - 30%
- Currency - 20%
- Teaching skills - 20%
- Interactive skills - 10%

Application Deadline Please Submit a letter of application, updated curriculum vitae and currency report (if applicable) by November 5th, 2026.

Additional Information

Toronto Metropolitan University Undergraduate CalenToronto Metropolitan University Undergraduate Calendar https://www.torontomu.ca/calendar/ CUPE Local 3904, Unit 1 – Collective Agreement https://www.torontomu.ca/faculty-affairs/resources/documents/collective-agreements/cupe-1-collective-agreement/

IMPORTANT DETAILS

The School/Department will provide upon request to any applicant with CUPE experience a current relative seniority list, with instructors who have taught in the department within the last three academic years ranked according to seniority.

All interested applicants are required to familiarize themselves with Toronto Metropolitan University’s Course Management policy, https://www.torontomu.ca/senate/course-outline-policies/course-management-policy-166/. Detailed course outlines for each course are available in the School/Department and the successful applicants are required to follow them. Calendar course descriptions can be found at https://www.torontomu.ca/calendar/.

Toronto Metropolitan University is strongly committed to fostering diversity within our community. We welcome those who would contribute to the further diversification of our staff, our faculty and its scholarship including, but not limited to First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, Indigenous peoples of North America, Black-identified persons, other racialized persons, persons with disabilities, and those who identify as women and/or 2SLGBTQ+. Please note that all qualified candidates are encouraged to apply but applications from Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Course delivery may be online, in-person, or hybrid at the sole discretion of the hiring unit. Candidates hired to support in-person courses will be required to carry out their teaching and/or other duties on campus. Candidates are required to have access to appropriate technology (i.e. computer with camera, microphone and high-speed internet).

While applicants may submit Faculty/Course Survey results from Winter 2020 through to Winter 2023, these results will not be used as evidence of teaching effectiveness by the Contract Lecturer Appointment Committee due to the impact of COVID-19 on these semesters. A negative inference will not be drawn if FCS results are not submitted for these semesters. Alternate evidence of teaching effectiveness may be provided by the candidate for consideration by the CLAC.

📌 Contract Lecturer - Unit 1-Secure Software Development (Toronto)
🏢 Toronto Metropolitan University
📍 Toronto