Assistant Professor - Mechanical Engineering

Position overview

Position title : Assistant Professor

Salary range : The current salary range for this position is $107,100 - $157,800 (9-month academic year salary); however, off-scale salary and other components of pay, which would yield compensation that is higher than this range, are offered to meet competitive conditions.

Anticipated start : July 1, 2026, or a later, mutually agreed-upon date.

Application Window

Open date : September 19, 2025

Next review date : Sunday, Nov 9, 2025 at 11 : 59pm (Pacific Time)

Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date : Sunday, Nov 9, 2025 at 11 : 59pm (Pacific Time)

Applications will continue to be accepted until this date.

Position description

The University of California, Berkeley, Department of Mechanical Engineering seeks applicants for a tenure-track faculty position at the Assistant Professor level. The department is conducting a broad area search, with a particular focus on candidates whose research is in the following areas of critical need : Human Health and Biomechanical Engineering; MEMS and Nanoscale Systems Engineering; and Materials for Mechanical Engineering. We seek candidates that can develop and lead a vibrant research program that will advance the department's efforts to address society's grand challenges, as well as provide instructional excellence in undergraduate and graduate education. Applicants whose research connects strongly to the area of Fluid Mechanics are advised to apply to our separate targeted search in that area.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering is part of the College of Engineering in the University of California, Berkeley, a premier public university. The Mechanical Engineering undergraduate and PhD programs are both consistently ranked among the top programs nationwide, attracting talented and diverse students and researchers.

Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, the foremost technology hub in the United States, the ME department has strong connections with many of the world's leading companies in a variety of industries. Department faculty benefit from affiliations and strong collaborations with a variety of pre-eminent research centers located in proximity to campus, including the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, UC San Francisco Medical Center, NASA Ames Research Center, and many others.

The department is committed to addressing the family needs of faculty, including dual career couples and single parents. We are also interested in candidates who have had non-traditional career paths or who have taken time off for family reasons, or who have achieved excellence in careers outside academia. For information about potential relocation to Berkeley, or career needs of accompanying partners and spouses, please visit :

For more information about the Department :

Qualifications

Basic qualifications (required at time of application)

Applicants must have a PhD (or equivalent international degree), or be enrolled in a PhD-granting program (or equivalent international degree) at the time of application.

Application Requirements

Document requirements

• Cover Letter - Please introduce yourself as a candidate, summarizing your accomplishments in research, teaching, and service, and highlighting synergies between your research interests and ongoing work in the department or campus.
• Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
• Research Statement - Please discuss research accomplishments including significant publications or other research products. Highlight the originality, creativity, and significance of your work in the field, as well as broader impacts, or potential impacts, of this work. Describe a compelling vision of your research to be conducted in the next 5-10 years with an emphasis on how you will establish a successful, extramurally-funded program aligned with critical needs areas of the department. Describe any applicable synergies with collaborators or resources at UC Berkeley or the surrounding ecosystem.
• Teaching, Mentoring, and Service Statement - Please discuss prior teaching experience, teaching approach, and future teaching interests, including specific efforts and plans to support the success of all students through curriculum, classroom environment, and pedagogy. Please also discuss your prior experiences and approach for mentoring students in research and in the classroom, including large class sizes (e.g., ~100 students). Please also discuss specific prior and proposed academic, professional and / or public service activities. This can include, for example, participating in professional or scientific associations, serving on committees that advance department, campus or discipline goals, and conducting outreach activities that can remove barriers and increase participation of academics in your field.
• Publication (1 of 3) - One publication is required, and up to three may be submitted.
• Publication (2 of 3) (Optional)
• Publication (3 of 3) (Optional)
• Authorization to Release Information Form - A reference check will be completed only if you are selected as the candidate to whom the hiring unit would like to extend a formal offer. Download, complete, sign, and upload the Authorization to Release Information form .

Reference requirements

Please provide names and contact information for three professional references. We will only contact your references to request letters if you are advanced to the second round of review for the position.

Apply link :

Help contact : brettl@berkeley.edu

About UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in our public mission of research, teaching, and service, consistent with UC Regents Policy 4400 and University of California Academic Personnel policy ( APM 210 1-d ). These values are embedded in our Principles of Community , which reflect our passion for critical inquiry, debate, discovery and innovation, and our deep commitment to contributing to a better world. Every member of the UC Berkeley community has a role in sustaining a safe, caring and humane environment in which these values can thrive.

The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status.

For more information, please refer to the University of California's Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment Policy and the University of California's Anti-Discrimination Policy .

In searches when letters of reference are required all letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality prior to submitting their letter.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and / or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

The University of California is committed to creating and maintaining a community dedicated to the advancement, application, and transmission of knowledge and creative endeavors through academic excellence, where all individuals who participate in University programs and activities can work and learn together in a safe and secure environment, free of violence, harassment, or discrimination. Consistent with this commitment, UC Berkeley requires all applicants for Senate faculty positions to complete, sign, and upload an Authorization of Information Release form into AP Recruit as part of their application. If an applicant does not include the signed authorization, the application will be considered incomplete, and as with any incomplete application, will not receive further consideration. Although all applicants for faculty recruitments must complete the entire application, applicants will only be subject to institutional reference checks if and when they are selected as the candidate to whom the hiring unit would like to extend a formal offer. More information is available on this website .

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.

Job location

Berkeley, CA