Position Description

Tenure-Track Positions in Computer Science and Engineering – 2025

Applications are invited for multiple tenure-track positions at all levels (Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor) as part of a strategic cluster hire in Artificial Intelligence (AI) by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park campus.

This cluster hire is conducted in close partnership between CSE and the Penn State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS), and relevant candidates will also be supported by Penn State Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences or other institutes/departments at Penn State. Successful candidates will hold a tenure home in CSE and enjoy formal membership and support from ICDS and possibly Huck, which provide computational infrastructure, seed funding, and interdisciplinary collaboration opportunities across the University. A few areas of interest in core CS-AI, AI and engineering, and AI in science include:

●      Machine learning (ML) theory

●      Foundation methods and generative AI

●      Reinforcement learning and decision systems / autonomous agents

●      Hardware and system support for AI  

●      Edge intelligence and federated learning

●      AI-specialized privacy and security

●      AI safety, ethics and fairness

●      Quantum ML (QML)

●      Multimodal AI, robotics, and embodied intelligence

●      AI for discovery in science/engineering (e.g., AI-driven genomics and bioinformatics; ML-based computational drug discovery; and AI methods in infectious diseases; AI-aided biomanufacturing)

Candidates whose research bridges AI with computational science, data-intensive discovery, or domain sciences are especially encouraged to apply.  We expect our hires to establish a strong research program, supervise graduate and undergraduate students, and teach relevant undergraduate and graduate courses. Applicants should have the ability to create and maintain an inclusive and respectful environment for all students, faculty, and staff.

Qualifications

Applicants must hold a Ph.D. in Computer Science or a closely related field by the start date and should be committed to excellence in both research and teaching. Applicants for Assistant Professor positions must have demonstrated their ability as a teacher, instructor and mentor; a strong researcher and collaborator; evidence of growth in scholarly or professional achievements. The Associate Professor should possess the same qualifications as the Assistant Professor but must also provide evidence of an established reputation for scholarly or professional achievement. The Professor should possess the same qualifications as the Associate Professor but must also provide evidence of a substantial record of advanced research and/or creative work, and of leadership in their field of specialization.

Application Instructions

As noted above, the job posting is for an AI cluster hire supported by CSE and ICDS, with possible joint appointments in other Penn State institutes or departments (e.g., Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, the College of Engineering, or others). CSE will be the tenure home for each hire, but faculty will also hold formal appointments in ICDS and possibly other departments/institutes.

Applications will be reviewed starting December 15, 2025, and continue until the positions are filled. Applicants should submit i) a detailed curriculum vita listing all publications, ii) a research statement, iii) a teaching statement, and iv) the names and email addresses of four references. Links to academic social media such as GitHub repositories or academic web sites are considered part of the application materials.

Below is the link to the posting where applicants submit their application materials.    Applicants seeking further information can send email to the following members of the CSE hiring committee: Mehrdad Mahdavi (mzm616@psu.edu); Becky Passonneau (rjp49@psu.edu).

Early Action

Full consideration will be given to all candidates who submit applications by December 15, 2025. Early applications, however, give us the opportunity to schedule fall semester interviews, and consequently the potential to extend offers early, before candidates proceed to spring interviews, concurrently with our giving all applications received by December 15 our full consideration.

Academic Environment and Community

Penn State is one of the largest land-grant universities in the U.S., with sixteen academic colleges, seven major interdisciplinary institutes, and countless research centers. The Department of Computer Science and Engineering is a part of the School of EECS in the College of Engineering. CSE has 42 tenure or tenure track faculty, 18 teaching faculty, 193 doctoral students, 173 masters students and over 1,500 undergraduates. CSE has hired 26 faculty in the last five years across all core areas in computer science. In our current search, we aim to continue our rapid growth by focusing on AI in all aspects. Our current search builds upon PSU’s commitment to AI literacy for its students and faculty, as reflected in multiple new AI-related degree programs, courses, and initiatives, including a new bachelor’s degree in AI Engineering. The large and active Penn State academic environment provides unusually rich collaboration opportunities, and excellent internal support for successful grantsmanship.

Pennsylvania State University is committed to and accountable for advancing equity, respect, and belonging. We embrace individual uniqueness, as well as a culture of belonging that supports equity initiatives, leverages the educational and institutional benefits of inclusion in society, and provides opportunities for engagement intended to help all members of the community thrive. We value belonging as a core strength and an essential element of the university’s teaching, research, and service mission.  This AI cluster hire builds upon Penn State’s campus-wide momentum in AI, data, computational sciences and life sciences, reinforced by the strong partnership between CSE, ICDS, and Huck.

The University is located in State College, PA, which is ranked one of the best college towns in the U.S. The area offers a wide variety of cultural and outdoor recreational activities, and outstanding University events from collegiate sports to fine arts productions. The public-school system is excellent, with a nationally ranked high school by U.S. News and World Report.

This cluster hire represents a university-level investment in Artificial Intelligence, uniting the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences to advance Penn State’s next generation of interdisciplinary AI research.