Assistant Professor
Assistant Professor in
Any Areas within Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Department
College of Engineering
Description
The Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering seeks candidates for a tenure-track
Assistant Professor faculty position. Candidates with expertise in all areas of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering will be considered for this position. This search is a part of UC Davis’
commitment to hiring leading research faculty with a strong commitment to teaching, research, and service that addresses the needs of our increasingly diverse state, industry, faculty, and student populations.
The Department already has strong faculty members in several areas of mechanical and
aerospace engineering including Design, Manufacturing, MEMS and Nanostructures, Dynamics,
Controls and Robotics, Energy, Propulsion and Environment, Fluid Mechanics and Aerodynamics.
Human-Systems Engineering with Space Applications, and Mechanics of Solids and Structures.
Interested candidates can visit the department website (https://mae.ucdavis.edu) for more
information. UC Davis is also the most comprehensive campus within the University of
California system with departments and programs in many disciplines including medical
and veterinary school, school of law, physical sciences and so on. The existing cohort of
faculty within the Department, and in other departments on campus, will provide opportunities for
the successful candidate to collaborate and build synergies to shape unique research programs in
her/his field.
Candidates must have a Ph.D. or an equivalent degree or have advanced to candidacy for the
PhD or an equivalent degree, in mechanical or aerospace engineering, or a related field.
Applications are encouraged from candidates with a strong background in any current or emerging area that is relevant to mechanical or aerospace engineering. We are particularly interested in candidates who use their creativity, engineering skills, and leadership to collaboratively discover solutions to difficult technological and societal challenges, can foster innovation in their field and have commitment to education.
The current teaching expectation in the Department is one regular course per quarter in each
academic year. These courses will include material in the successful candidate’s area of expertise
for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as core and elective undergraduate and
graduate courses, and the development of new courses, as necessary. The new Diane Bryant
Engineering Student Design Center offers outstanding opportunities for fabrication of specialized
research apparatus. In addition, the successful candidate will be expected to promote the
professional development of graduate students in the M.S. and Ph.D. programs through high quality mentoring that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The successful candidate will demonstrate an understanding of the barriers preventing full
participation of members from historically underrepresented and marginalized student communities in higher education. Applicant’s record of engagement and activities related to diversity, equal opportunity, and inclusion as well as their plans for future engagement will be part of the overall evaluation of the candidate’s qualifications for a faculty appointment.
UC Davis is a tier-one research university and has a strong history of engaging in teaching, research, and service for the greater public good as a land grant institution. The College of Engineering has an exciting Next Level Strategic Research Vision with major pillars for research, education, and community. Our vision can be found here [https://engineering.ucdavis.edu/about/next-level-strategic-vision]
Minimum Qualifications
• PhD or equivalent degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related
fields is required and must be conferred prior to the earliest date of hire (July 1, 2024).
Desirable Qualifications
• Evidence of excellence or strong potential for excellence in research that complements
or extends existing research strengths in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering and the potential to attract extramural funding.
• A record of technical excellence in one or more sub-topics of Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering, as evidenced by published research, teaching experience, and participation
in funded collaboration with the U.S. or international industry and/or government
agencies.
• Commitment to education and excellence in teaching. The candidate must demonstrate
evidence of ability or potential to perform well at both undergraduate and graduate
levels, and to develop and teach new undergraduate and graduate courses or seminars.
• Evidence of commitment to or strong potential for commitment to the advancement of
diversity, equity, and inclusion for historically underrepresented and marginalized student
communities.
Appointment is to an academic year (9-month) post at the rank of Assistant Professor. Award of
a PhD or equivalent degree is required by the date of hire.
Application Requirements
For full consideration applications must be completed by August 1st, 2024. Applications
received after this date will be reviewed by the search committee if the position has not yet
been filled. Applications will continue to be accepted until May 31st, 2025, but those received after the initial review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled. The appointment will start as early as July 1, 2025. Application packages should be submitted online through https://recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF06335 and should include the following documents:
• Cover Letter
• Current Curriculum Vitae
• Statement of Research
• Statement of Contributions to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Statement of Teaching
• Contact information of 3 persons to be contacted for a letter of reference, including email
and telephone number
• Authorization to Release Information form - A reference check will be completed only if
you are selected as the first-choice candidate. Download, complete, sign, and upload the
form: https://aadocs.ucdavis.edu/your-resources/forms-and-checklists/forms/ARF.pdf
We encourage applicants to explore the College, Department, and Campus websites for
background and context. Please ensure the application materials show clearly how applicant’s
history and experience match both the minimum and desirable qualifications stated above.
We recommend candidates visit this website for information on the Statement of Contributions
to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
The University of California is committed to creating and maintaining a community dedicated to
the advancement, application, and transmission of knowledge and creative endeavors through
academic excellence, where all individuals who participate in University programs and activities
can work and learn together in a safe and secure environment, free of violence, harassment,
discrimination, exploitation, or intimidation. With this commitment, UC Davis conducts a
reference check on all first-choice candidates for Academic Senate Assistant Professor, Steps
4, 5, or 6 through Professor, Lecturer with Potential for Security of Employment, Steps 4, 5, or 6
through Senior Lecturer with Security of Employment, and Acting Professor of Law through
Professor of Law positions. The reference check involves contacting the administration of the
applicant’s previous institution(s) to ask whether there have been substantiated findings of
misconduct that would violate the University’s Faculty Code of Conduct. To implement this
process, UC Davis requires all applicants for any open search for these faculty positions to
complete, sign, and upload the form entitled “Authorization to Release Information” into
RECRUIT as part of their application. If an applicant does not include the signed authorization
with the application materials, the application will be considered incomplete, and as with any
incomplete application, will not receive further consideration. Although all applicants for faculty
recruitments must complete the entire application, only finalists considered for these faculty
positions will be subject to reference checks.
