Space Systems Engineering, Assistant or Associate or Professor

About the role

The ECE Department invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in space systems engineering, with emphasis in one or more of the following areas: Space-based electro-optical (EO) and/or RF sensor systems, Space-weather sensor systems and instrumentation, and/or Spacecraft systems engineering (smallsats/CubeSats, spacecraft instrumentation, mission design, integration, and operations).

Responsibilities

• Build a high-impact, externally funded research program;
• Publish in peer-reviewed venues;
• Mentor graduate students.
• Teach and develop undergraduate and graduate courses aligned with departmental needs and their expertise.
• Contribute to departmental, college, and university service and demonstrate professional engagement and leadership.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, Aerospace, or a closely related field by the start date.
• Demonstrated expertise in one or more of the focus areas above and the ability to teach in the aligned curriculum.
• Ability to obtain a United States DoD Security Clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Flight or proto-flight hardware contributions (payloads, sensors, avionics, RF/EO subsystems), integration/test artifacts, or mission operations roles.
• Competitive funding trajectory (PI/co-PI history, proposal leadership, or a fundable near-term plan).

Required Documents

• Curriculum Vitae to be uploaded at the beginning of your application in the Candidate Profile under “Resume/CV".
• Names and contact information of at least three professional references (we will only solicit reference letters from final candidates).
• A concise statement of up to three pages that conveys your vision of how your proposed research program will: 1) address specific topical areas in your research area, 2) complement existing ECE Department research, and 3) integrate with other interdisciplinary research/faculty collaborators at USU.
• Your most relevant peer-reviewed publications.

Startup and Mentoring Support

USU offers a competitive startup package commensurate with rank and program needs. For hardware-intensive programs, departments frequently assemble startup support that can include equipment, lab build-out, and graduate student support. New faculty receive structured mentoring support (e.g., mentoring committee, teaching support, and proposal development resources).

Pay

The anticipated start date is August 1, 2026.

Schedule

This is an academic year (9 month) funded position.