Research Assistant Professor, Assistant Center Director

About the role

The Rail Center for Research Enhancing Short-line Transportation (Rail CREST) at Penn State Altoona invites applications for a Research Assistant Professor or open rank position to serve as Assistant Center Director. Rail CREST is a federally funded research center supported by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) through the CRISI program. The center focuses on developing affordable technologies, workforce development programs, and safety innovations for the U.S. short-line railroad industry.

Responsibilities

• Support the strategic planning and daily operation of the Rail CREST Center.
• Cook up research activities across multiple partner universities and industry collaborators.
• Facilitate engagement with the Industrial Advisory Board, railroads, and federal stakeholders.
• Aid in the development of new research proposals and technology transfer initiatives.
• Lead and contribute to research projects related to rail infrastructure sensing, structural health monitoring, instrumentation systems, data analytics, and artificial intelligence applications in rail transportation.
• Manage or oversee field deployments, laboratory testing, and instrumentation development.
• Teach occasional undergraduate or graduate courses within the Rail Transportation Engineering (RTE) program when needed.
• Assist with industry-facing testing, demonstrations, and commercialization activities related to rail technologies.
• Supervise research staff, graduate students, and project teams.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, Railroad Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated research expertise in rail infrastructure, structural health monitoring, sensing systems, instrumentation, or transportation infrastructure analytics.
• Experience working with data-driven technologies such as sensor networks, machine learning, or AI-enabled infrastructure monitoring.
• Strong organizational and communication skills with the ability to coordinate multi-institutional research projects.
• Ability to work effectively with industry partners, government agencies, and academic collaborators.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, Railroad Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated research expertise in rail infrastructure, structural health monitoring, sensing systems, instrumentation, or transportation infrastructure analytics.
• Experience working with data-driven technologies such as sensor networks, machine learning, or AI-enabled infrastructure monitoring.
• Strong organizational and communication skills with the ability to coordinate multi-institutional research projects.
• Ability to work effectively with industry partners, government agencies, and academic collaborators.

Skills

• Experience with railroad infrastructure systems including track, bridges, or railway operations.
• Experience deploying or managing field instrumentation systems or sensing networks.
• Experience working with federally funded research programs (e.g., FRA, USDOT, NSF).
• Leadership or project management experience within multi-institutional research initiatives.
• Teaching experience in engineering programs.
• Interest in technology transfer and industry collaboration.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Robust retirement plans.
• 75% tuition discount for employees, spouses, and children.

Pay

• This is a non-tenure-line 36-week research faculty position at the rank of Research Assistant Professor, or open rank, depending on qualifications and experience.
• The appointment is expected to be 12-month, renewable based on performance and funding availability.

Schedule

• The position is expected to be 12-month, renewable based on performance and funding availability.