"Professor in Rural Technology Innovation – Tenure-track Position (AP26-01-73555)"

Work location

Institut national de la recherche scientifique
Ruralités durables Research Centre
63 rue Ambroise-Fafard
Baie-Saint-Paul, Québec
G3Z 2J7

Join INRS!

Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) is a university on a human scale, dedicated to research and graduate education. Since 1969, our 700 employees have been committed to supporting innovation and excellence in a dynamic and multidisciplinary work environment.

Are you looking for a meaningful job? Do you want to make a difference? Join an institution that stands out. It’s more than a university—it’s a community!

As a member of the Ruralités durables Research Centre team, you will contribute to the training and research mission of a unique institution whose scientific activities are entirely focused on strategic issues for the development of Québec society.

Your role

The Ruralités durables Research Centre at Institut national de la recherche scientifique is a new intersectoral research centre entirely dedicated to rural issues. This new centre on a human scale, provincial in scope but rooted in the Charlevoix region, promotes empowerment, resilience, governance, and sustainability of resources related to rural areas in a way that benefits current and future generations.

Reporting to the centre’s management, you will conduct research and teach at the graduate level as a professor. You will also play a major role in developing a world-class intersectoral research and training centre integrating the natural sciences, engineering, health, and social sciences sectors to solve, with and for rural communities in Québec, the strategic issues identified by these communities.

Learn about the new Ruralités durables Research Centre

Your responsibilities

Rural areas are located at the interface of natural, inhabited, agricultural, and industrial environments. Their specific characteristics—their size, remoteness, geology, natural habitats, communities, etc.—shape the activities that take place there. Rural areas offer opportunities, but also constraints that local populations must deal with, including in terms of technological development.

While Québec as a whole lags behind in terms of technological adoption, rural communities face their own unique and increasingly diverse technological development challenges. High purchase, installation, or maintenance costs, limited local expertise, and/or poor internet connectivity are just a few of the factors that hinder technology adoption. In this era of climate, geopolitical, and social change, the technological development needs of rural areas nonetheless require the advancement of knowledge tailored to rapidly growing needs.

The Ruralités durables Research Centre seeks to recruit a researcher interested in rural technology innovation, applied in one or more sectors such as:

• treatment of contaminated water and soil;
• drinking water and groundwater supply;
• energy;
• sustainable agriculture;
• industrial equipment;
• or any other sector requiring the development of technologies adapted to rural areas.

More specifically, you will have the following duties and responsibilities:

• Establish an independent and innovative research program focused on developing technologies adapted to rural areas
• Develop internal collaborations with faculty at the centre and other INRS centres
• Develop external collaborations with communities and stakeholders
• Help establish the centre’s research infrastructures
• Secure funding for your own research activities by obtaining external grants
• Participate in creating the centre’s training programs
• Participate in graduate teaching, supervision and training
• Dedicate a significant portion of your teaching duties to community service in the form of citizen partnership research, scientific consulting, or other activities in the field with various communities and stakeholders in rural areas

The list of tasks and responsibilities listed above is brief and indicative. It is not a complete and detailed list of the duties and responsibilities that may be performed by the employee in this position. However, duties and responsibilities not listed should not affect the assessment.

Desired profile

Education

• Have (or be in the process of obtaining) a doctoral degree in a discipline relevant to the job description
• Postdoctoral experience is an asset

Experience

• Excellent track record of research achievements
• Demonstrate strong potential to obtain research funding from granting agencies or external partners
• Significant research experience with stakeholders (co-construction research, partnership, citizen participation, etc.)

Skills and other abilities

• Demonstrated skills in teaching and supervising graduate students
• Research and academic expertise related to the initial scientific program of the Ruralités durables Research Centre
• Demonstrated ability to secure research grants from granting agencies
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Proven ability to work within intersectoral and interdisciplinary teams while collaborating with public and private partners
• Interest in intersectorality is an asset
• Proficiency in spoken and written French
• Proficiency in spoken and written English. As INRS has international collaborations, a good command of English is required

Inclusive environment

INRS values diversity, recognizes its role as an agent of change, and strives to ensure an inclusive environment for all. INRS encourages applications from Indigenous people, women, visible and ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities, in accordance with the equal opportunity employment and employment equity programs to which it subscribes. If you anticipate requiring accommodation, or if you have any questions regarding equity, diversity, and inclusion at INRS, please write to edi@inrs.ca in confidence.

Additional information

The position will be advertised internally and externally from February 9 to April 12, 2026.

In accordance with the salary scale, compensation varies based on experience and education, ranging from a minimum of $100,863 for an assistant professor to a maximum of $194,538 for a full professor. This position is covered by the collective agreement of the Syndicat des professeurs.es de l’INRS.

To apply

INRS encourages applicants who meet the requirements of the position to apply online via the INRS website in the “Careers” section no later than April 12, 2026, at 4 p.m., including:

• A cover letter
• Their complete résumé
• A copy of their three most important publications
• A three-page summary of their future research program and its structuring impact in the context of the creation of the Ruralités durables Research Centre
• A text outlining their philosophy of supervision and teaching in the context of the creation of the Ruralités durables Research Centre
• The name and contact information of three references