Assistant Professor - Tenure Track – Thermo/Fluids - AY 25/26

Assistant Professor - Tenure Track – Thermo/Fluids - AY 25/26

The Mechanical Engineering (ME) Department in the College of Engineering at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California (Cal Poly) is excited to invite applications for a full-time, academic year, tenure-track faculty position at the Assistant Professor rank beginning Fall 2025.

The successful candidate will be expected to teach and collaboratively develop undergraduate and master's level courses in the general areas of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and/or heat transfer; pursue research with undergraduate and master’s students in their area of interest; and provide service to the department, the university, and the community.  Preferred specialties include renewable energy, energy production, fire protection engineering, nuclear energy, alternative fuels, HVAC&R, and thermal management systems.  We also encourage applicants with expertise in interdisciplinary and emerging applications of thermodynamics and fluid mechanics to apply. This is an opportunity for candidates who are passionate about undergraduate education to join a unique institution that values teaching and scholarship through a Learn by Doing approach.

Salary will be commensurate with education and experience of the individual selected. Qualified candidates with industry experience are encouraged to apply. Anticipated hiring range: $106,000 – $118,000 per year.

At California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, we believe that cultivating an environment that embraces and promotes diversity is fundamental to the success of our students, our employees, and our community. Bringing people together from different backgrounds, experiences and value systems fosters the innovative and creative thinking that exemplifies Cal Poly's values of free inquiry, cultural and intellectual diversity, mutual respect, civic engagement, and social and environmental responsibility. Cal Poly's commitment to diversity informs our efforts in recruitment, hiring and retention. California Polytechnic State University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

As a premier comprehensive polytechnic university, Cal Poly is ranked as the best public master's university in the western U.S., while its Mechanical Engineering undergraduate program is also highly ranked.  The program has a strong focus on undergraduate and master’s level education through a laboratory intensive, hands-on curriculum. Our tenured, tenure-track, and lecturer/adjunct faculty are dedicated engineers with a passion for teaching, innovative applied research, interacting with students, and advising student club activities.  The department values teaching excellence and offers students small class sizes and hands-on activities throughout their undergraduate careers.  In addition to nearly a dozen teaching laboratory spaces, our students’ education and extra-curricular activities are further enhanced by having direct access to state-of-the-art machine shop facilities where students transform their designs into working prototypes.

The Mechanical Engineering undergraduate program offers a comprehensive thermal science curriculum including dedicated labs for fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and thermal system design. In addition, students can specialize their education in the thermal sciences by completing a concentration in Energy Resources or HVAC&R.

Cal Poly and the College of Engineering support collaborative research opportunities for faculty. There are numerous opportunities for faculty to partner with faculty across campus to engage in impactful research, including the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Institute and Fire Protection Engineering program.  Faculty benefit from the department’s strong ties with industry and local access to nuclear and offshore wind energy facilities.

Cal Poly is committed to the teacher-scholar model. As teachers, faculty are expected to exhibit strong pedagogic skills and to remain proficient and current in their disciplines. As scholars, faculty should be engaged in scholarly work that is of very high quality as evidenced by external peer review. As colleagues, faculty are encouraged to perform service activities at all levels of the University.

For more information about the department, please visit http://me.calpoly.edu.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY

The Cal Poly College of Engineering strongly values diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), as part of our focus on equitable student success. The Cal Poly College of Engineering is excited to invite applications to fill multiple tenure-track faculty positions across eight departments to start September 2025. Successful applicants show evidence or demonstrate the potential to implement inclusiv