Assistant Professor in Engineering

Durham University - Engineering

The Department of Engineering at Durham University is currently undergoing a period of strategic growth and now seeks to appoint talented individuals to the role of Assistant Professor (2 posts) in Electrical / Electronic Engineering, Civil Engineering or Mechanical Engineering. We welcome applications from those with research and teaching interests in the broad field of Electrical / Electronic Engineering, Solid Mechanics, Structures, or Thermodynamics. Applicants who have a track record of current funding they could bring to Durham are likely to be in a stronger position than those that do not. Applicants must also balance their research expertise with the ability to teach our students to an exceptional standard and to fully engage in the services, citizenship and values of the University. Candidates with experience of working within a Joint Education Institute or a similar trans-national educational context , especially in China, are particularly welcome. Travel to China for up to 180 days per annum is expected and an essential requirement of this role.

This is an exciting opportunity to join an expanding, unified Engineering Department which is recognised as one of the very best in the UK, with a reputation for excellence in teaching, research and employability of our graduates. In the REF2021 exercise, 95% of our Engineering outputs were graded ‘Internationally Excellent’ or ‘World Leading’, and the Department is committed to an ethos of research-led education at all levels of our taught programmes. Engineering at Durham University was ranked 5th in The Complete University Guide 2026, 5th in The Guardian University Guide 2026, and 6th in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026. We were ranked 2nd in Engineering behind only Cambridge in a recent Institute for Fiscal Studies report on the difference in graduate earnings by UK university choice. We are a scholarly community that is open, representative and diverse: our commitment to this is expressed through work of the Department’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group, and our Athena Swan Silver award.

The Department of Engineering demonstrates significant depth of research excellence across a range of disciplines, with activities that are currently concentrated across eight Research Nodes which group together our day-to-day activities and expertise, yet feed into the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We are particularly proud of the collaborative interdisciplinary nature of our research, which also includes strong industrial partnerships.

This post offers an exciting opportunity to make a major contribution to the leadership and development of world leading and internationally excellent research and teaching while allowing you unrivalled opportunities to progress and embed your career in an exciting and progressive institution. For more information, please visit our Department pages at www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/engineering.

We are keen to hear from outstanding candidates who have already achieved Chartered Engineer status. As a minimum, if not already professionally qualified, candidates will be expected to demonstrate the ability and desire to become Chartered.

Responsible to: Head of Department

Working arrangements: Full Time (we will consider requests for flexible working arrangements)

Closing date: 23:59 on 10th April 2026

Start Date: Ideally 1st November 2026