Department Head

The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) at Utah State University (USU) invites applicants for a full-time Department Head with an anticipated start date of July 1 2026. The MAE Department Head is responsible for strategic and visionary leadership to support USUs land- and space-grant mission including leadership of teaching research and service activities in a dynamic and ambitious department within the College of Engineering. The successful candidate will be an experienced leader with a demonstrated commitment to excellence in teaching research mentoring and service. MAE seeks a Department Head that can broaden the departments engagements with USUs Space Dynamics Laboratory (a University Affiliated Research Center) national labs and other federal and industrial partners; collaborate with other departments and colleges; and interact collegially with faculty staff students administrators alumni and the community. This is a 12-month tenured position that reports to the Dean of the College of Engineering.

Applicants must have a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering or a closely related field. Candidate experience should be commensurate with appointment as a tenured full professor in MAE at USU. Applicants need to have demonstrated expertise in a relevant area of mechanical and aerospace engineering including but not limited to fluid dynamics combustion and propulsion flight mechanics advanced air mobility space dynamics hypersonic flow advanced manufacturing advanced materials including composites nuclear materials characterization thermal hydraulics controls systems engineering and computational modeling. Candidates should have a strong track record of research funding teaching service mentorship peer-reviewed publications or other research outputs engagement with a broad array of partners and a background in strong core fundamentals that allow them to work across multidisciplinary areas.

For full consideration applications should be submitted no later than January 2 2026.

• Promote an ambitious vision and mission for the department consistent with the vision and mission of the College and University.
• Mentor the departments faculty members in their teaching research and service activities.
• Oversee curriculum development and delivery assess educational outcomes and accreditation.
• Monitor the administrative financial and space management components of the department.
• Raise extramural funds in support of the departments teaching research and service activities and promote the development of research centers.
• Engage productively with academic industrial and government partners to advance an ambitious and impactful research and training programs.
• Enhance recognition of the department on national and international stages.
• Lead new faculty recruitment efforts and facilitate processes related to recruitment promotion and tenure.
• Actively participate in assigned college university and external duties.
• Serve as a catalyst for attracting and supporting undergraduate and graduate students.
• Participate in interdisciplinary efforts with other departments and initiatives at USU.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Ph.D. degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering or closely related fields.
• Demonstrated achievements appropriate for appointment at the Full Professor level.
• A strong background in engineering fundamentals.
• Evidence of success as a Principal Investigator or leader of an independent research program.
• Record of peer-reviewed publications in high-quality journals or other measures of research outcomes.
• Ability to engage industry partners and connect curriculum to the practice of engineering in the field.
• Effective interpersonal skills including the ability to collaborate effectively with faculty staff students and external partners.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills including demonstrated ability to teach inspire and mentor faculty and students.

• Ability to obtain a United States DoD Security Clearance

Preferred Qualifications:

• Active United States DoD or DoE Security Clearance
• Positive experience in research with demonstrated success in program development and leadership.
• Extensive experience in higher education and a commitment to the education mission of the college.
• Demonstrated ability to engage productively with external research training and service partners
• Experience working on multi-disciplinary research teams.
• Teaching experience at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
• Experience in developing high-impact experiential learning curricula.
• Record of involvement in seeking extramural funding.
• Passed the Fundamentals of Engineering exam or earned a Professional Engineering license.

Job offer will be contingent upon the successful completion of a background check.

Along with the online application please attach:

1. Resume/CV to be uploaded at the beginning of your application in the Candidate Profile under Resume/CV
2. Cover Letter describing your qualifications for the position and our vision of the role to be uploaded at the beginning of your application in the Candidate Profile under Documents 1-10
3. Contact information for 3 professional references to be added to your Candidate Profile

**Document size may not exceed 10 MB.**

Employees work indoors and are protected from weather and/or contaminants but not necessarily occasional temperature changes. The employee is regularly required to sit and often uses repetitive hand motions.

The MAE department has experienced significant growth over the past decade with enrollments of approximately 800 undergraduate and 100 graduate students and is the largest department in the College of Engineering. The department offers a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering; MS degrees in Aerospace Engineering Mechanical Engineering Composite Materials & Structures and Space Systems Engineering; and PhD degrees in both Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering. The department currently has 17 tenured/tenure-track faculty members and 4 professors of practice with additional part-time instructors from local industry and research institutions. Annual department research expenditures are approximately $3M. Successful applicants may have opportunities to work closely with scientists and engineers from the USU Research Foundation Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) one of 14 Department of Defense University Affiliated Research Centers (UARC). Further USU faculty also have access to the University of Utah Center for High Performance Computing (CHPC) facilities and the Utah Water Research Laboratory. USU is the nearest PhD-granting institution in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering to the Idaho National Laboratory and is also in close proximity to Hill Air Force Base and other defense-related organizations.

The College of Engineering at Utah State University is a regional leader in teaching and research. The college currently has 95 tenured/tenure-track faculty members with additional professors of practice and part-time instructors from local industry and research institutions. We are home to the world-famous Utah Water Research Laboratory and the National Science Foundation-funded ASPIRE Engineering Research Center for sustainable electrified transportation. Each year our college welcomes an average of 2000 undergraduate and 300 graduate students from around the globe. The college offers five ABET-accredited undergraduate degrees and 15 graduate degree 2023-24 the college generated $40 million in research expenditures. Our award-winning faculty regularly secure competitive funding and our students excel at national design and scholarships challenges. USU is in close proximity to the Idaho National Laboratory Hill Air Force Base and other energy- and defense-related organizations. For more information please visit: Highlights

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