Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering (Tenure-Track)

About the position

The Department of Mechanical Engineering seeks a tenure-track assistant professor whose teaching and applied research center on thermal-fluid systems — heat transfer, HVAC and building energy, thermal management of electronics, or process heating in manufacturing. The department has 31 faculty, an undergraduate program of roughly 540 students, and instructional labs for thermal-fluids, instrumentation, and vibrations on the second floor of Founders Hall, with a senior-design high bay one floor down.

Porter is a teaching-first polytechnic: the standard load is 21 contact hours per year (typically three lecture-lab courses each semester), and course releases are available in the first two years to set up a lab. Scholarship is expected and judged on applied work with regional industry as much as journal output.

Position number

PF-26-0412

Department

Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering & Technology

Category

Faculty (tenure-track)

Appointment

100% FTE, nine-month academic-year appointment; summer salary possible through grants

Salary

$96,000–$104,000 (9-month) depending on experience, plus a negotiated start-up package for laboratory equipment.

Anticipated start

August 23, 2027

Benefits

Full benefits eligibility; see the benefits summary.

Duties and responsibilities

• Teach undergraduate courses in thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer, including their laboratory sections, and develop one upper-level elective in your area.
• Advise 25–30 mechanical engineering majors and supervise at least one industry-sponsored senior design team each year.
• Establish an externally funded applied research program that involves undergraduates; the Office of Research & Sponsored Programs assists with proposals.
• Serve on department and college committees and contribute to ABET continuous-improvement assessment.
• Participate in outreach such as First Forge orientation labs and high school design days.

Qualifications

Required

• Ph.D. in mechanical engineering or a closely related field by August 1, 2027 (ABD candidates with a defense scheduled are encouraged to apply).
• Evidence of, or clear potential for, effective undergraduate teaching, including laboratory instruction.
• A research or applied-scholarship agenda in thermal-fluid systems that can include undergraduates.

Preferred

• Industry experience, or applied research with industry partners.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license, or eligibility to pursue one.
• Experience with computational fluid dynamics or building-energy simulation tools.
• Experience teaching or mentoring students from a wide range of academic and economic backgrounds, including first-generation students.

Meet the required list? Apply. The preferred list is what separates strong finalists, not a filter applied at the door.

How to apply

Apply through the employment portal linked from Work at Porter, citing position number PF-26-0412. Upload: a cover letter, a CV, a two-page teaching statement, a two-page research statement, unofficial transcripts for the highest degree, and names and contact information for three references (letters are requested only for semifinalists). Review of applications begins November 2, 2026 and continues until the position is filled; applications complete by that date are guaranteed full consideration.

Semifinalists will have a 45-minute video interview in late November. Finalists will visit campus in January or February 2027 for a two-day visit that includes a teaching demonstration in a sophomore thermodynamics section and a research talk open to students.

Questions about the position go to the search chair, Dr. Hollis Brandt, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, at brandth@uwporterfalls.edu or (715) 555–0231. Questions about the portal or an accommodation in the application process go to Human Resources at (715) 555–0216.

Equal opportunity and background check

UW–Porter Falls is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. Qualified applicants receive consideration without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, arrest or conviction record (subject to the job-related exceptions in state law), military or veteran status, or any other protected status. See the university’s nondiscrimination statement.

The finalist must complete a criminal background check and a misconduct reference check with prior employers before an offer is final; degree verification is completed for the highest degree. A conviction record is reviewed for its relationship to the duties of this position and is not an automatic bar. Under state open-records law, the names of up to five finalists may be released on request.