Tenure-Track Faculty Position in Geotechnical Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and the Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation

The Pennsylvania State University • University Park, FL

5d • Onsite

About The Position

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and the Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation at The Pennsylvania State University invite applications for a tenure-track faculty position in geotechnical engineering. The appointment is for a 36-week academic year and will be filled at the Assistant Professor or Associate Professor level. The successful candidate will help shape the future of civil engineering research and education by integrating engineering and science to address critical civil infrastructure challenges.

Areas of interest include AI, digital twins, and data-driven geotechnics for the built environment; sensing, IoT, remote sensing, and smart monitoring of foundations, underground assets, and geotechnical/civil infrastructure; climate resilience and adaptation of built and natural infrastructure under extreme events; geo-energy systems for building and infrastructure decarbonization, including geothermal energy, subsurface thermal storage, and carbon management; coastal, offshore, and waterfront geotechnics; and sustainable, sensor-enabled, and low-carbon geotechnical materials and construction.

The faculty member will take a key role in interdisciplinary research collaborations and develop an internationally recognized, externally funded research program. They are expected to teach undergraduate and graduate courses and contribute through service to the department, college, university, and profession.

The position is housed in CEE, a unit with 37 faculty members and annual research expenditures exceeding $27 million. The department moved in 2024 to the LEED-certified Engineering Collaborative Research and Education (ECoRE) Building, which includes state-of-the-art laboratories, active-learning classrooms, and 51,000 square feet dedicated to research. Additional facilities include the Aramco High Bay Structural Testing Laboratory, the Civil Infrastructure Testing and Evaluation Lab, and shared user facilities managed by Penn State’s Interdisciplinary Research Institutes.

The Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation is a university-wide research institute within the Office of the Senior Vice President for Research. It brings together more than 150 interdisciplinary experts and offers faculty access to collaborators, industry and government partners, grant and proposal-development support, applied and industry-sponsored research opportunities, Living Laboratory projects and testbeds, and competitive seed funding. The position is based at Penn State’s University Park campus in State College, Pennsylvania.

Applicants must submit two PDFs through the Penn State application site: one containing the application materials in the specified order (excluding journal publications), and a second containing two selected journal publications. Each PDF must not exceed 5MB. The first PDF should include a cover letter addressed to the Geotechnical Faculty Search Committee (two pages), a CV, a research interests and plan statement (three pages), a teaching interests and philosophy statement including courses to teach or develop (two pages), an impact statement (one page), and the names, email addresses, and physical addresses of four references. The second PDF should contain two publications; preprints with DOI are acceptable. For full consideration, applications should be received by December 31, 2026. Review begins in January 2027. Employment requires successful completion of background checks in accordance with university policies.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Civil Engineering or a closely related engineering field by the start of the appointment.
• Assistant Professor candidates must demonstrate research ability and definite evidence of growth in scholarly or professional achievement.
• Associate Professor candidates must meet the Assistant Professor qualifications and provide evidence of an established reputation in teaching and scholarly and professional achievement.
• Successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.

Responsibilities

• Develop an internationally recognized, externally funded research program.
• Participate in and promote interdisciplinary research collaborations.
• Teach courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
• Contribute to the operation and promotion of the department, college, university, and profession through service.
• Integrate engineering and science to address critical civil infrastructure challenges.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Robust retirement plans.
• 75% tuition discount for employees and eligible spouses and children.
• Access to interdisciplinary collaborators across Penn State, industry and government partners, grant and proposal-development support, industry-sponsored and applied research opportunities, Living Laboratory projects and testbeds, and competitive seed funding.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree