Assistant Professor - Robotics and Autonomous Systems, School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering

The School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Washington State University seeks a tenure-track Assistant Professor in robotics and autonomous systems, emphasising intelligent robots that operate in complex, unstructured and dynamic environments, with applications such as agriculture, advanced manufacturing, environmental monitoring, nuclear systems, underwater and marine robotics, infrastructure inspection, construction and disaster response.

Areas include robot perception and sensing, navigation and localisation, planning and control, manipulation, robot learning and embodied AI, human-robot interaction, multi-robot systems, mechatronics and autonomous decision-making, with particular interest in integrating AI and machine learning with physical robots. The nine-month appointment begins 16 August 2027 (workload 40% research, 40% teaching, 20% service) with an academic-year salary of $100,000-$115,000.

First consideration was given to applications submitted before 1 November 2026.

PhD in mechanical engineering, robotics engineering, electrical engineering or a related field by the date of hire; a strong peer-reviewed publication record with potential for external funding; proven or potential teaching success.