Position Description
The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the Edward J. Whitacre College of Engineering at Texas Tech University (TTU) invites applications for a full time, 9 month, tenure track faculty position at all ranks to begin in the fall of 2027. The areas of interest include (1) hypersonic propulsion, (2) hypersonic materials characterization, and/or (3) high speed aerodynamic and aerothermodynamic phenomena.
All prospective employees are encouraged to visit Work at Texas Tech to learn more about becoming a part of our campus community.
About the University
Founded in 1923, Texas Tech University began with a mission to serve the needs of West Texas, but its impact has always reached far beyond. Today, Texas Tech, located in Lubbock (pop. 300,000+), is home to a vibrant community of more than 42,000 students. Texas Tech's 1,800-acre campus showcases Spanish Renaissance architecture and is home to one of the country's largest public art collections. Its 13 colleges include a prestigious School of Law and a distinguished School of Veterinary Medicine. These programs equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in their respective fields. Built on the values of West Texas - hard work, grit and authenticity - the university graduates students who are deeply engaged in service to their communities and well-positioned to succeed in the world. Texas Tech is committed to achieving research and scholarly accomplishments that compare favorably to the member institutions of the Association of American Universities (AAU). For more than 100 years, Texas Tech has been a premier destination for those seeking a world-class education and a unique, personalized experience as a member of the Red Raider family.
About the College
The Whitacre College of Engineering (https://www.depts.ttu.edu/coe/) has about 4700 undergraduate and 1300 graduate students and 220 faculty and instructors. The college graduates about 900 BS, 450 MS and 60 PhD per academic year recently. All incoming first year students are enrolled to a common foundational curriculum for all undergraduate programs. Foundational students declare a program of choice and can move into upper division after completing the foundational classes with a minimum of 2.5 TTU GPA or higher. WCOE consists of the Departments of Chemical Engineering; Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering; Computer Science; Electrical & Computer Engineering; Industrial, Manufacturing and Systems Engineering; Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; and Petroleum Engineering. All BS programs and Environmental Engineering master's program are ABET accredited. All departments have master's and PhD programs. Yearly research expenditure at the college are around $20M.
Candidates should have a terminal degree in an engineering field. Candidates who have a strong record of scholarship and who have the proven capacity or clear potential to bring externally sponsored research to Texas Tech University are encouraged to apply. Service to the department, college, and university is expected. Service duties include program-building, as well as commitment to extra-curricular activities.
About the Department/School/Area
The Department of Mechanical Engineering awarded 212 undergraduate, 54 MS and 8 PhD degrees in AY 2025-26. Department enrollment includes 1841 undergraduate students and 148 graduate students. Among the 35 tenure-track, tenured, research professors and professors of practice, roughly 30% are women and minorities. In the last 5 years, department faculty have been awarded nearly 17.5 million dollars in externally sponsored research, of which 70% was from federal sources. Faculty are known for cited work on bio-inspired devices, computational mechanics, vortex dynamics, turbulence, microfluidics, nanoimprinting, physiological microstructure and translational nutrition, cardiovascular dynamics, nanomedicine, energetic and biological materials, and robust control methods. Department faculty recognitions and awards include membership in the US National Academy of Engineering and foreign Academies of Engineering and the Sciences, recognitions as Thomson-Reuters highly cited scholars, PECASE, and NSF CAREER awards. For more information about the mechanical engineering department, please visit http://www.depts.ttu.edu/me/.
The State of Texas has the resources and desire to become a leader in the disciplines of engineering, sciences, and knowledge-based careers in the nation and world. Texas Tech University is an R1 research university and is designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution.
Major/Essential Functions
In line with TTU's strategic priorities to engage and empower a varied student body, enable innovative research and creative activities, and transform lives and communities through outreach and engaged scholarship, applicants should have experience working with various student populations at the undergraduate and/or graduate levels within individual or across the areas of teaching, research/creative activity, and service.
The successful candidates will be expected to:
- Develop an externally funded, independent research program with a record of peer reviewed publication
- Collaborate with TTU faculty across various academic units
- Teach at the graduate and undergraduate level
- Provide service to the department, college, university, and professional societies
- Be a positive and contributing member of the department
Faculty Qualifications
- Applicants must have a doctoral degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering (or closely related field) at time of appointment.
- Applicants' research experience must be in (1) hypersonic propulsion, (2) hypersonic materials characterization, and/or (3) high speed aerodynamic and aerothermodynamic phenomena.
- Applicants must be able to teach courses in the undergraduate Aerospace BS program.
This position is designated as involving access to critical infrastructure systems, as defined by Texas Executive Order GA-48. As such, candidates must successfully complete a comprehensive background check prior to employment. Employees are required to comply with all applicable state and federal regulations related to the protection of critical infrastructure. Ongoing employment is dependent upon maintaining eligibility for access and successfully passing periodic security and compliance reviews.
Preferred Qualifications
In addition to the required qualifications, individuals with the following preferred qualifications are strongly encouraged to apply:
- Applicants should have demonstrated records of peer reviewed publication.
- Applicants should have proven capacity or clear potential to create an externally funded research program.
- Applicants should have experience or clear potential for teaching and supervising students at both the undergraduate and graduate level.
- Applicants should have a demonstrated record of, or a record indicative of, service and outreach activities.
Duty Point
TTU Lubbock, main campus and affiliated facilities
To apply, visit workattexastech.com.