The Min H. Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) is seeking candidates for a tenure-track faculty position at the assistant professor level in computer science for the Fall 2025 semester. Preference will be given to candidates with demonstrated research expertise in one or more of the following areas: software engineering, software systems, and programming languages. Candidates with exceptional research performance in other areas are also encouraged to apply.

The successful candidate will be expected to

1. Conduct and publish scholarly research
2. Pursue funding to support an active research agenda
3. Teach undergraduate and graduate courses in computer science
4. Mentor graduate students
5. Participate in departmental service.

Additionally, the Knoxville campus of the University of Tennessee is seeking candidates who have the ability to contribute in meaningful ways to the intellectual diversity and intercultural goals of the University.

About the University and Department

UT is the state’s flagship campus and leading research institution with a strong partnership with the nearby Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), where many UT faculty have ongoing joint positions and/or joint research projects.

The Tickle College of Engineering is in the midst of an unprecedented period of growth and success including adding over 30 new faculty as part of ambitious cluster hiring campaigns led by Chancellor Donde Plowman and Dean Matthew Mench. The college has set records in research expenditures, enrollment, incoming student GPA, diversity, intellectual property development, and USNWR rank in the past three years. New facilities include the state-of-the art Zeanah Engineering Complex, the University of Tennessee Manufacturing and Design Enterprise (TN-MADE) facility, and the Innovation South building now under construction that will house UT’s Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility (FCMF).

TCE currently has 185 Tenure/Tenure Track and 67 Non-Tenure Track faculty in its seven academic departments and offers 12 undergraduate, 16 MS, and 15 PhD degree programs. Affiliated with TCE and located in Tullahoma, Tennessee, the UT Space Institute is a hub of aerospace and defense research. The college is also home to eight research centers and three interdisciplinary institutes. With approximately 3,800 undergraduate and 1,150 graduate students, the college sits 29th among public universities in the most recent U.S. News and World Report graduate rankings. Faculty in the college have won 21 early career awards (NSF, DoE, DARPA, AFOSR, and ARO) since 2016. In FY22, the college had NSF HERD research expenditures of $109 million.

EECS at UT has 44 full-time T/TT faculty members, including two members of the National Academy of Engineering, 13 IEEE Fellows, and 13 NSF/DOE CAREER awardees. The department has a growing enrollment of more than 1,000 undergraduate and 300 graduate students across the three majors of Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Computer Science. In addition, the department offers undergraduate minors in computer science, cybersecurity, datacenter technology and management, and machine learning. Successful faculty candidates will be expected to contribute to the continued growth and excellence of EECS.

About Knoxville

The city of Knoxville is a hidden gem with an elegant and walkable downtown, rich and varied nightlife cultures, vibrant neighborhoods, eclectic restaurants, and amazing access to outdoor activities of all kinds as well as exciting cultural events throughout the year. UT is in Knoxville, TN, within an easy driving distance to Nashville, Atlanta, Asheville, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. From Knoxville’s TYS Airport, Knoxville has nonstop flights to 22 major airports in the US, including direct flights to cities such as DC, NYC, Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Phoenix, Orlando, and Miami.

In addition, Knoxville and the surrounding areas boast great K-12 schools and one of the most highly educated populations in the entire US. With one of the lowest costs of living in the country, Knoxville was recently recognized in U.S. News and World Report as the 29th best place to live in the U.S. In fact, in 2024, US News ranked the State of Tennessee as #5 in fiscal stability, #12 in economy, and #21 in infrastructure.

Qualifications