Tenure-track Assistant Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Fall 2026 (1/2)

Applications and nominations are invited for two 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, and Ph.D. degrees in Industrial Engineering and MS and Doctor of Engineering degrees in Engineering Management. The Department currently has 13 tenured or tenure-track faculty members and an enrollment of more than 560 students, including 268 UG, 172 MS, and 121 Doctoral students. The Department will increase its faculty size to 25 by 2026, including 16 tenured or tenure-track faculty members and nine full-time teaching or research faculty members. ISE actively interacts with on-campus centers, including the Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment, the Reliability and Maintainability Center, the Center for Transportation Research, the state’s Institute for Public Service, and so on. Departmental strengths include optimization, data analytics, machine learning, quantum computing, 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 more than $5.4M. The department was ranked 26th among all public institutions in the 2025 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 to the college 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. 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, now under construction, that will house UTK’s Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility (FCMF). TCE currently has 203 tenure/tenure track and 79 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 4,300 undergraduate and 1,500 graduate students, the college sits 29th among public universities in the most recent U.S. News and World Report graduate rankings. Faculty in the college have won 29 early career awards (NSF, DOE, DARPA, AFOSR, and ARO) since 2016. In FY24, the college had annual research expenditures of $113.6M.

Available effective August 1, 2026, the positions will include competitive compensation and a startup package.  The Knoxville campus of the University of Tennessee is seeking candidates who have the ability to promote an atmosphere where all members of the university community feel welcome and can thrive. 

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 systems engineering and modeling, optimization, quantum computing, manufacturing, building construction, AI foundation and applications, agentic AI, human-robotics interaction, and other ISE-related areas.

An earned doctorate in Industrial Engineering, Systems Engineering, Operations Research, 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 are expected. Preferred qualifications are teaching experience, industrial experience, and demonstrated ability to attract external funding.

Individuals interested in applying should apply through Interfolio.  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 1, 2025 and continue until the position is filled. Inquiries should be directed to Dr. Jim Ostrowski, the search committee chair, at jostrows@utk.edu.  

All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment and admission without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, and parental status, or any other characteristic protected by federal or state law. In accordance with the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the University of Tennessee affirmatively states that it does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or disability in its education programs and activities, and this policy extends to employment by the university.

Requests for accommodation of a disability should be directed to the ADA Coordinator at Equal Opportunity and Accessibility, 1840 Melrose Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37996-3560, by email to  eoa@utk.edu , or by phone at 865-974-2498. Inquiries and charges of violation of Title VI (race, color, and national origin), Title IX (sex), Section 504 (disability), the ADA (disability), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (age), sexual orientation, or veteran status should be directed to the Office of Investigation and Resolution, 216 Business Incubator Building, E J. Chapman Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-3560, by email to  investigations@utk.edu , or by phone at 865-974-0717.