Job title: Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering
Grade and Salary: Grade 7 - £38,448 - £48,337 / Grade 8 - £48,337 - £59,390 (per annum)
Contract Type: Full time (35 hours per week), Open-ended
Rewards and Benefits: 33 days annual leave, plus 9 buildings closed days.
Detailed Description
We welcome applications for one position at Assistant Professor level to join the Mechanical Engineering Teaching discipline at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. We are seeking a new colleague to join our thriving global community of academics. We invite applications from industry or outstanding early career academics with relevant experience for an open-ended Assistant Professorship (Teaching and Educational Enhancement) position.
We are looking for candidates with expertise in one or more of the following areas:
- Engineering Design and Manufacture, including Engineering Drawing and CAD (2D and 3D), Workshop Practice, Product Engineering and Process Planning
- Materials Engineering, including Materials Fundamentals, Alloying and Strengthening, Fracture and Fatigue, Polymers and Composites
- Dynamics, including Newtonian Dynamics and Energy-Momentum Dynamics, Vibration Analysis, Control Engineering
The successful candidate will be required to lead and contribute to the delivery and assessment of a number of undergraduate, and postgraduate taught courses within the Mechanical Engineering discipline. Of particular relevance is Heriot-Watt's highly successful Graduate Apprenticeship in Engineering: Design and Manufacture (Mechanical), BEng (Hons).
Teaching will involve the delivery of lectures, tutorials, and practical classes and may involve organisation of external expert speakers and field trips (e.g. to industry). It will be expected that the role holder will reflect on the delivery of courses and enhance and develop courses based on student feedback. Supervision of project students will also be required. The successful candidate will also be a personal tutor to undergraduate students.
About Us
Heriot-Watt is an internationally leading University, recognised for its world-class research, emerging from a strong collaborative and multi-disciplinary research culture. The University is a global institution delivering high-quality international teaching programmes, not only at its lead campus in Edinburgh, but also at its Malaysia and Dubai campuses. The present opening is for a teaching and educational enhancement position in Edinburgh, in the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPS).
Our Mechanical Engineering degrees are shaped by our strong industry connections. We work closely with an Industrial Advisory Board of engineers and business leaders to ensure that our courses reflect the needs of future employers. We also offer many opportunities for students to apply their learning with practical workshop sessions and lab work. Our graduates go on to work in manufacturing, aerospace, and automotive sectors, as well as energy and renewable energy.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
The successful candidate will be based at our Edinburgh UK campus. Reporting to the Global Head of Mechanical Engineering, responsibilities include:
- Delivery of taught content of the mechanical engineering programme (lectures, tutorials, workshops and laboratories) as directed by the Global Head of the Mechanical Engineering Discipline, and this may include topics across all mechanical engineering subjects as well as the job holder’s specialist area.
- Act as personal tutor to assigned tutees.
- Supporting undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and other relevant areas by carrying out assessment and moderation of coursework and examination marking as required.
- Further developing existing learning materials in Mechanical Engineering related subjects. This may include, but is not limited to, course notes, video podcasts and course assessments.
- Engaging in administrative tasks within the School’s teaching ambitions and initiatives.
Education, Qualifications and Experience
Essential criteria
- A good first degree in Mechanical Engineering, or related discipline.
- Expertise in either Engineering Design and Manufacture, or Materials Engineering.
- Ability to communicate Engineering concepts clearly to various audience profiles.
- Excellent oral and written communication, team working and organisational skills.
- Commitment to adopting principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.
Desirable criteria
- A higher degree (PhD/MSc) within the area of Mechanical or related engineering (e.g. Aerospace Engineering)
- Chartered Engineer and Member of the IMechE – or equivalent engineering institution.
- Experience in teaching and assessment of undergraduate and graduate engineering students in mechanical engineering topics, and/or of developing/delivering training material.
- Relevant industrial experience, or evidence of engagement with industry.
- Experience with work-based learning programmes including Graduate Apprenticeships and equivalent programmes
- A Postgraduate certificate in teaching in higher education.
- Familiarity with online communication and learning tools such as Teams, Canvas and/or Blackboard.
How to Apply
Formal applications should consist of a single PDF including a motivation letter, CV, and names of 3 references, to be submitted as single document via the Heriot-Watt Job Portal.
Applications can be submitted until 23:55 on Friday 13 November 2026.
Any queries on the post should be sent to the Global Head of Discipline (Dr Alan Faulkner-Jones alan.faulkner-jones@hw.ac.uk
We may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications. We therefore encourage you to submit your application promptly.
We recognise that many candidates use AI tools during the application process and are comfortable with AI being used as a supporting aid. However, we want to hear from you, not AI.
Your application should be an authentic representation of your skills, experience and achievements. Applications that appear to have been fully generated by AI may not accurately reflect your suitability for the role and are therefore discouraged.
At interview, candidates will be expected to discuss and provide evidence of the experience, skills and examples included in their application.
At Heriot Watt we are passionate about our values and look to them to connect our people globally and to help us collaborate and celebrate our success through working together. Our research programmes can deliver real world impact which is achieved through the diversity of our international community and the recognition of creative talent that connects our global team.
Our flourishing community will give you the freedom to challenge and to bring your enterprising mind and to help our partners with solutions that can be applied now and in the future. Join us and Heriot Watt will provide you with a platform to thrive and work in a way that also helps you live your life in balance with well-being and inclusiveness at the heart of our global community.
Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.
Heriot-Watt University values diversity across our University community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/equality-diversity.htm and also our award-winning work in Disability Inclusive Science Careers https://disc.hw.ac.uk/.
We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns e.g. part-time working and job share options.
Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.
About Heriot Watt University
Heriot-Watt University has established a reputation for world-class teaching and leading-edge, relevant research, which has made it one of the top UK universities for innovation, business and industry.
Heriot-Watt University has five campuses: three in the UK (Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Orkney), one in Dubai and one in Malaysia. The University offers a highly distinctive range of degree programmes in the specialist areas of science, engineering, design, business and languages. Heriot-Watt is also Scotland's most international university, boasting the largest international student cohort.