Description
The College of Engineering at Texas A&M University seeks candidates for the position of Department Head in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the tenured full professor level. This is a full time position expected to start in the fall of 2026. Competitive applicants must have notable accomplishments and experience in academic, government, or industry leadership, technical research, and scholarship consistent with an appointment to the rank of Professor of Aerospace Engineering with tenure. Highly qualified candidates will have rich combinations of experience in national-level society service, academic/institutional governance, teaching and curriculum development, and student development/advisement for this position. Candidates must be innovative and visionary leaders with strong communication skills and a clear vision for collegial and collaborative practices to serve as Department Head for a top-ranked engineering program. We seek candidates who will recruit, develop, retain, and lead an outstanding team of faculty and staff members to enhance the research and educational missions of the department.
Specific duties and responsibilities include:
- Lead faculty, staff, and students to define and achieve departmental goals.
- Manage the department resources, including facilities, finances, budget, and others.
- Serve as department ambassador and principal liaison to the College of Engineering and the Texas A&M University System.
- Represent the department to state and federal agencies, private organizations, partners and collaborators, key industry groups, etc.
- Promote the department’s research and educational opportunities to other aerospace engineering departments, other universities, partners, donors, and collaborators.
- Lead the continuing acquisition of internal and external resources for the department.
- Applicants are invited to consult the department’s website to review our academic and research programs (https://engineering.tamu.edu/aerospace). The candidates can access the College of Engineering’s Strategic Plan 2025-2030 – Achieving Engineering Excellence at Scale at https://engineering.tamu.edu/about/strategic-plan/index.html.
As a major department within the College of Engineering, the Department of Aerospace Engineering hosts undergraduate and graduate programs that rank among the top 10 aerospace engineering programs in the nation (U.S. News and World Report). The department provides cutting-edge educational and research opportunities, including space exploration, national defense, air transportation, aerospace materials, and sustainable energy. Our students are offered a modern curriculum that spans aerodynamics and propulsion; dynamics and control; materials and structures; and systems, design, and human integration. The program also benefits from strong connections with large aerospace industries, small businesses, the Department of War, and NASA.
The department has a current enrollment of approximately 715 undergraduate and 270 graduate students. Our undergraduate and graduate programs are ranked 6th among U.S. public universities. The 39 tenured and tenure-track and 13 academic-track faculty members in the department are internationally recognized for their outstanding contributions in research, education, and service. Seven of our faculty are members of the National Academy of Engineering. Many faculty members are engaged in interdisciplinary research, with expertise spanning the range from basic to applied, with especially notable strengths in hypersonics, space engineering, propulsion, materials, human health in space, and computational science and engineering.
The faculty, staff, and students within the department strive for a synergistic and collegial environment. The majority of graduate students are funded via research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and fellowships. The undergraduate program has received accreditation from the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET.
The department also serves as the home for the new engineering programs in Space Engineering to address the emerging challenges of space exploration, offered in collaboration with other departments and select programs across the university. The newly created B.S., M.S., and M.Eng. programs will provide state-of-the-art technical education and workforce development programs to grow and sustain the emerging space economy.
Texas A&M University is located in the twin cities of Bryan and College Station, Texas, with a population of more than 280,000, and is conveniently centrally located in a triangle formed by Dallas, Houston and Austin. Texas A&M has more than 79,000 graduate and undergraduate students enrolled. Research expenditures total more than $922 million annually, ranking Texas A&M in the top tier of universities nationwide. The Texas A&M University System has an endowment valued at more than $13.6 billion and Texas A&M University ranks 3rd among U.S. public universities and 8th overall. With more than 820 faculty members and over 24,700 students, the College of Engineering is one of the largest engineering schools in the country. The college is ranked 9th in graduate studies and 9th in undergraduate programs among public institutions by U.S. News & World Report. The college is also ranked 1st in research expenditures by the American Society for Engineering Education. Texas A&M is aware that attracting and retaining exceptional faculty often depends on meeting the needs of two careers and having policies that contribute to work-life balance.
Requirements
Applicants must have an earned doctorate in aerospace engineering or a closely related engineering or science discipline.
Preferred Qualifications: Candidates should possess proven leadership and administrative skills and an established national reputation as a leader and a scholar consistent with an appointment to the rank of Professor of Aerospace Engineering with tenure. Candidates should possess a proven record of successful management and leadership of externally funded projects, and they are expected to have excellent interpersonal skills. To assure a candidate’s ability to understand and effectively perform the duties expected of the department head, candidates are expected to have an established track record of leadership in academic organizations or in organizations with close ties to academic institutions.
Application Instructions
Applicants must submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, personal statement to include philosophy and plans for research, teaching and service, and a list of four references (including postal addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses) when applying for this specific position at apply.interfolio.com/176668. Applicants should also submit a two-page statement summarizing his/her personal vision and goals for the Department of Aerospace Engineering’s education and research, as well as his/her philosophy of academic leadership for achieving those goals. Prospective candidates are strongly encouraged to make inquiries and submit applications as soon as possible, but to receive full consideration, applications should be submitted by January 19, 2026. It is anticipated that interviews will be conducted in Spring 2026, and the appointment should begin on August 1, 2026.
For questions regarding the application process or other inquiries, please contact Mr. Kyle Broxon at kbroxon@tamu.edu or Dr. Ibrahim Karaman (ikaraman@tamu.edu, the committee chair).
