Description
Applications and nominations are invited for three tenure-track Assistant Professor positions in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). The ISE Department offers BS, MS, Ph.D., and Doctor of Engineering degrees in Industrial Engineering and an MS in Engineering Management. The Department currently has 14 tenured or tenure-track faculty members and enrolls more than 600 students, including 294 UG, 138 MS, and 116 Doctoral students. The Department will increase its faculty size to 25 by 2027, including 16 tenured or tenure-track faculty members and nine full-time teaching or research faculty members. ISE actively engages with on-campus centers, including the Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment, the Reliability and Maintainability Center, the Center for Transportation Research, UT-OR Innovation Institute, the state’s Institute for Public Service, and others. Departmental strengths include optimization, data analytics, machine learning, AI, quantum computing, human factors, reliability and maintainability, and operational excellence, and their applications in manufacturing, logistics and transportation, supply chain, energy systems, sustainability, and healthcare systems. The annual externally funded research expenditure is about $5M. The department was ranked 28th among all public institutions in the 2026 U.S. News Best Graduate School Ranking. For additional information about the Department, please visit https://tickle.utk.edu/ise.
The Tickle College of Engineering (TCE) is in the midst of an unprecedented period of growth and success, including adding over 30 new faculty at all levels to the college over 4 years as part of ambitious hiring campaigns led by Chancellor Donde Plowman and Dean Matthew Mench. The college has set records in research expenditures, enrollment, incoming student GPA, intellectual property development, and USNWR rank in the past three years. Key partnerships with Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) through the University of Tennessee Oak Ridge Innovation Institute (UTORII) and Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) that manages the Y-12 National Security Complex have created an expanded opportunity space for faculty and students in the region. New facilities include the state-of-the art Zeanah Engineering Complex, the University of Tennessee Manufacturing and Design Enterprise (TN-MADE) facility, and the Innovation South building that houses UTK’s Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility (FCMF), a National Prototype Research Center (NSPC) as part of a partnership with CNS Y-12 under construction, and new facilities for the Biomedical Engineering department and a quantum foundry in planning stages.
TCE currently has 213 tenure/tenure track and over 80 non-tenure track faculty in its nine academic departments and offers 11 undergraduate, 16 MS, and 15 PhD/DE degree programs. Affiliated with TCE and located in Tullahoma, Tennessee, the UT Space Institute is a hub of aerospace and defense research. The college is also home to eight research centers and three interdisciplinary institutes. With approximately 4,800 undergraduate and 1,500 graduate students, the college sits 28th among public universities in the most recent U.S. News and World Report graduate rankings. Faculty in the college have won 33 early career awards (NSF, DOE, DARPA, AFOSR, AHA, and Sloan) since 2016. In FY25, the college had annual research expenditures of $113.9M.
Available effective August 1, 2027, the positions will include competitive compensation and a startup package. The Knoxville campus of the University of Tennessee seeks candidates who can promote an atmosphere where all members of the university community feel welcome and can thrive.
Requirements
The successful candidate will be expected to establish and maintain a scholarly and externally funded research program; supervise graduate students; develop and teach courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels; and provide service to the Department. The department is interested in candidates who conduct research in quantum computing, manufacturing systems, healthcare systems, human-robotics interaction, building construction, AI foundation and applications, agentic AI, and other ISE-related areas.
An earned doctorate in Industrial Engineering, Systems Engineering, Operations Research, Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, or a closely related field is required, and the PhD should be in hand by the time of appointment. The successful applicants will have strong problem-solving and communication skills and the ability to work in an interdisciplinary environment. A strong commitment to teaching excellence and publications in leading journals is expected. Preferred qualifications are teaching experience, industrial experience, and demonstrated ability to attract external funding.
Individuals interested in applying should apply through Interfolio (https://apply.interfolio.com/192401). Applicants must attach to their application a letter of interest addressing qualifications, research interests and teaching interests; a curriculum vitae; and a document containing the names and contact information for at least three professional references. Review of applications will begin on October 5, 2026 and continue until the position is filled. Inquiries should be directed to Dr. Jim Ostrowski, the search committee chair.
