Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering

The Opportunity

Ohio Wesleyan University’s new Conrades School of Engineering invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering beginning in August 2027. This is an opportunity to help build an undergraduate engineering program from the ground up, combining rigorous technical education with the breadth of the liberal arts. We seek a collaborative colleague committed to excellent teaching, student mentorship, and research involving undergraduates. Candidates from all areas of mechanical engineering are welcome.

This job is part of a cluster of positions focused on flexibility, interdisciplinarity, and inclusivity. The faculty cohort will join an educational community that values interdisciplinarity and fosters close working relationships with students through our signature program in experiential learning, the OWU Connection. Incoming faculty will be provided with mentoring, professional development, startup funds, and opportunities to connect with faculty across the Ohio 5 and GLCA consortia. For more information about the cluster, please visit www.owu.edu/joinOWUfaculty.

About the Conrades School of Engineering

Supported by $17 million in alumni contributions, the Conrades School of Engineering represents a sustained investment in engineering education grounded in the liberal arts. The school will welcome its first mechanical engineering majors in fall 2027, offering a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and complementary minors in Engineering Science and Science and Engineering in the Public Interest. Its approach brings technical depth together with ethical reasoning, creative problem-solving, and an understanding of how engineering serves people and communities.

Working closely with the Founding Dean, the successful candidate will help shape the curriculum, establish teaching laboratories, develop student research and design experiences, and prepare for ABET accreditation. The school’s location in Central Ohio offers opportunities to build relationships with employers in advanced manufacturing, technology, and related fields. We seek a colleague who brings initiative and enjoys building connections across disciplines and between classroom learning and engineering practice.

Faculty support includes start-up funding, a pre-tenure sabbatical, student-faculty research opportunities through the Summer Scholarship & Research Program and the OWU Connection, and mentoring and professional development through the endowed Smith Center for Faculty Excellence.