The posting
Job Description
The Department of Physics and the Engineering Studies Program at St. Olaf College invite applications for a full-time, tenure track position in Engineering Physics at the Assistant or Associate Professor level to begin August 2027. This position offers the unique opportunity to contribute to the launch of a new Engineering Physics major designed to meet ABET accreditation standards.
Teaching responsibilities include five course equivalents per year primarily within the Engineering Studies Program, such as:
- Introductory and advanced design courses
- Systems and Controls
- Statics
- Engineering Thermodynamics
- Fluid Dynamics
Service expectations for this role include academic advising of students and leadership within the Engineering Studies Program as appropriate for the applicant’s career stage.
Salary: $82,200 - $92,200
Qualifications Required:
- PhD in an engineering discipline
- Engineering research that substantively involves undergraduates and is competitive for external funding (startup funds are available)
Preferred:
- The flexibility to contribute to the physics academic program through teaching
- Prior experience in teaching, working in industry, or conducting postdoctoral research
About the Department The Physics Department provides a collegial, supportive and intellectually vibrant environment for faculty and students. The department graduates around 25 students in a typical year and provides summer and academic year research opportunities to students in engineering, applied physics, soft matter physics, biophysics, geophysics, theoretical physics, and physics education. An Engineering Physics major designed to meet ABET accreditation standards is slated to launch in the 2027-28 academic year. The Physics Department is at the forefront of inclusive excellence work, drawing from recommendations of the TEAM-UP report (AIP, 2020). The department ranks nationally in the top ten as a producer of physics bachelor’s degree recipients. It is housed in a Platinum LEED certified science building with facilities to support cutting-edge teaching, research, and fabrication.
For more information about department efforts to promote inclusivity and sense of community, please visit our TEAM-UP website, wp.stolaf.edu/physics/physics/team-up/. For more information about the department, visit wp.stolaf.edu/physics.
We strive to be a campus of welcome where students, faculty, and staff thrive by bringing their full humanity—gender identity, sexuality, race, ethnicity, national origin, socioeconomic class, disability, religion, spirituality, and age—to St. Olaf each day. Our goal is to generate conversations and processes that over time create greater clarity, transparency, trust, cooperation, consensus, respect, and measurable outcomes. Practices that support this goal include listening, cultivating a growth mindset, respecting those with different views, being informed by data, and understanding that the work is ongoing, collaborative, organic, and ever evolving. We encourage applicants to familiarize themselves with our Community and Belonging website to learn more about our commitment and to identify how you might contribute to these efforts.
How to Apply Throughout your materials, include how you would contribute to the development of a diverse and inclusive learning community at our college through your teaching, research, and/or service. A complete application includes the following:
References: Provide contact information for three professional references who can speak to your abilities in teaching and scholarship. Letters will be solicited from references by the search committee for candidates who advance to the interview stage.
Supporting Documents and URLS:
- Cover letter outlining your qualifications and why you are interested in this particular position at St. Olaf College, a liberal arts institution. Please outline your vision for contributing to the Engineering Studies Program through leadership and service such as assisting with ABET accreditation, advising engineering students, expanding internship opportunities, and building connections with industry.
- Curriculum vitae
- Graduate transcripts (unofficial)
- Teaching Statement (no more than three pages): Describe your approach to teaching and pedagogical strategies in engineering. Provide specific details addressing engineering design courses and core engineering courses. Briefly indicate any physics courses you would be comfortable teaching as need or interest allow.
- Professional Statement (no more than five pages): Clearly lay out the research you plan to complete over the next five years, including the role that undergraduates will play and strategies for attracting external funding
Review of applications will begin on October 1, 2026, and will continue until the position is filled. Applications received by that date will receive fullest consideration. Finalist interviews are expected in December. Questions about the position, department, or College may be directed to Brian Borovsky, Search Committee Chair, at [email protected].
About Us
Join Our Community - Work at St. Olaf!
Founded in 1874, St. Olaf College is a residential, coeducational liberal arts college with approximately 3,000 students and 800 faculty and staff. The college is located on a picturesque 300-acre campus in Northfield, Minnesota, a vibrant, historic river town of 20,000 located 45 minutes south of culturally rich and diverse Minneapolis and St. Paul.
The college offers an academically rigorous, nationally ranked liberal arts education that fosters the development of the whole person in mind, body, and spirit and emphasizes learning in an inclusive and globally engaged community. We encourage applications from candidates committed to multicultural understanding and the enrichment of our diverse community.
The college offers a comprehensive benefits package, including a 9% retirement match, contributions to eligible employees' health savings accounts, a significant tuition discount (up to a 90% reduction) at ACM, GLCA, and ELCA colleges and universities for employees' children, and generous paid time off. For a full review of the college's benefits, please see the summary of our benefits here: https://wp.stolaf.edu/hr/benefits/
To provide a safe and secure educational environment, St. Olaf College verifies the accuracy of all credentials presented by applicants and conducts a criminal background check on every new hire.
A summary of the Flexible Work Policy for staff: https://wp.stolaf.edu/hr/flexible-work-policy/
A link to our Community and Belonging page: https://wp.stolaf.edu/equity-inclusion/
A virtual campus tour: https://www.stolaf.edu/multimedia/play/?p=483
An overview of Northfield: https://wp.stolaf.edu/admissions/visit/northfield/
An overview of the Twin Cities: https://wp.stolaf.edu/admissions/visit/twincities/
For Staff Application Assistance:
507-786-3068
For Faculty Application Assistance: [email protected] 507-786-3356
Nondiscrimination Policy
St. Olaf College does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, creed, national origin, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, marital status, veteran status, or status with regard to public assistance. St. Olaf College prohibits discrimination and harassment based upon these and any other legally protected status in any education program or activity that it operates, including in admissions and employment.
Inquiries about this nondiscrimination policy may be referred to St. Olaf College's Director of Equal Opportunity, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, or both. St. Olaf's Director of Equal Opportunity (who serves as the College's Title IX, Title VI, and Section 504 Coordinator) is Pamela McDowell, Tomson Hall, [email protected], (507) 786-3465.
