Senior lecturer in Mechanical Engineering

Ref no: ORU 2.1.1-04240/2024

We are looking for a senior lecturer in Mechanical Engineering for a permanent position at the School of Science and Technology.

Subject area

The subject area for this position is Mechanical Engineering.

Background

The unit for Mechanical Engineering is looking to hire a senior lecturer with expertise in mechanical engineering, with a focus on numerical or logical modelling in a production development context.

The unit for Mechanical Engineering at Örebro University has been developing in recent years and is under continued expansion. The unit is responsible for four engineering programmes (three bachelor’s programmes and one master’s programme). Research is conducted by two research groups: “Mechanics and materials” and "Digitalized development and operation of sustainable products and production systems".  The applicant is expected to conduct research within the latter.

Duties and responsibilities

At Örebro University, a senior lecturer is expected to spend their working hours on teaching at all levels, research, and any associated public engagement activities. In addition to teaching, research and collaboration, duties and responsibilities include development work, administration and continuing professional development. Moreover, teaching encompasses supervision, examination, course development, planning and evaluation. 

The candidate is expected to carry out teaching and research in the areas of system risk and reliability modelling and digital twin simulation modelling which seek to answer global sustainability challenges and deliver real-world impact. The successful candidate will contribute to the design and delivery of teaching materials related to analysis of the availability and maintenance of complex engineering systems. Research duties involve collaborating with industrial and academic partners to develop state-of-the-art digital twin models and related concepts, ideally from a system-of-systems perspective.

The candidate should have a mechanical engineering or computer engineering background and have experience in for example discrete event simulation (DES) modeling and numerical/logical modelling in general, including in the broad sense AI. The candidate should be knowledgeable in techniques that are used in the analysis of system reliability, maintainability and availability, from either a numerical or logical perspective.  Experience from collaborating with computer science research groups or other alike experiences is a positive.

Research duties will include contributing to the development of research funding applications, writing project reports and supporting on-going digital twin research. This includes capability lead, coordinate and develop software systems to access and analyze data in engineering databases, CAD models, and from sensors on mechanical engineering equipment. Experience in computer science and engineering relating to data structures, data warehouses, CAD data bases, and/or data analysis is considered highly desirable for this post.

Qualifications

Those qualified for appointment as senior lecturer are applicants who have demonstrated teaching expertise and been awarded a doctoral degree in a subject relevant for the position, or have the corresponding research competence or other professional expertise that is of value in view of the subject area of the position and the duties that it will involve.

Assessment criteria

When appointing teaching staff, both the applicant’s research and teaching expertise will be assessed, and they are to be given equal attention. The applicant’s qualifications and experience of collaboration with the wider community, of which the university is a part, as well as national and international experience and mobility, are considered. Teachers must be able to communicate and disseminate information; collaborate and engage with the wider community; and facilitate utilisation of the university’s research. In addition, the applicant’s suitability for the position will be assessed.

Research expertise

Research expertise is to be demonstrated through independent research contributions, particularly in fields relating to expected duties and responsibilities, and continued scientific publishing following the award of the doctoral degree. Weight is also given to the candidate’s establishment in the research community as well as to their experience of planning, administrating, and leading their own research.

Teaching expertise

A general eligibility criterion for teaching staff at Örebro University is that they have completed courses on teaching and learning in higher education corresponding to 10 weeks. Knowledge and skills equivalent to such courses may also be assessed to establish whether these provide eligibility. A teacher who at the time of appointment lacks such training or the equivalent competence, must complete the required courses within two years of appointment.

At Örebro University, teaching expertise is assessed in the categories teaching approach, teaching approach in practice, and professional development as a teacher. Applicants’ teaching qualifications shall be documented in accordance with Örebro University’s template for teaching portfolios and clearly relate to Örebro University’s educational philosophy.

The assessment of applicant’s teaching expertise is based on the breadth and scope of various forms of working and teaching at the bachelor’s, master’s and/or doctoral levels, including experience of individual supervision. In addition, applicants’ ability to develop, plan, implement and evaluate teaching and examination formats is assessed, as is their ability to contribute to the pedagogical development of teaching, such as preparing teaching material, learning aids and/or governance documents for teaching. The assessment of teaching expertise is further based on applicants’ experience of pedagogical leadership responsibilities, such as course coordination, at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels. Applicants’ ability to link teaching to research and contribute to a scientific approach in their teaching will also be assessed.

Collaboration and public engagement skills

The ability to interact with the surrounding society is an important part of a university teacher’s role and it requires a good understanding of various societal processes and the impact of university activities on these. Assessment of collaboration and public engagement skills looks at three aspects: the ability to communicate, the ability to collaborate with the surrounding society, and the ability to facilitate utilisation of the university’s research.

Leadership skills

In assessing leadership and administrative skills, particular consideration should be given to leadership qualifications within education and research, such as contributions to development work. Depending on the specialisation and duties of the appointment, qualifications from operations outside of the higher education sector may be considered. The fact that applicants who have recently obtained their doctoral degree may only be able to demonstrate limited leadership skills should be particularly considered in the assessment.

Suitability

Suitability refers to the applicant having the personal qualities required to successfully perform the duties and responsibilities at hand, to cooperate with other members of staff, and to contribute to the development of the operations in question.

Other assessment criteria

Teaching in English is expected (and Swedish if the candidate has a professional god competence in Swedish), thus English language fluency is appreciated. The applicant should ideally have some experience of supervising MSc and PhD students.

Information

This is a permanent full-time position. At Örebro University, salary depends on the successful candidate’s qualifications and experience, and positions announced are, where appropriate, subject to a trial period.

For more information about the position, please contact Professor Magnus Löfstrand +46 19 30 32 83, email: magnus.lofstrand@oru.se, or Dr. Jens Ekengren, head of unit of Mechanical Engineering, +46 19 30 33 25, email: jens.ekengren@oru.se.

At Örebro University, we expect each member of staff to be open to development and change; take responsibility for their work and performance; demonstrate a keen interest in collaboration and contribute to development; and to show respect for others by adopting a constructive and professional approach.

Örebro University actively pursues equal opportunities and gender equality as well as a work environment characterised by openness, trust and respect. We value the qualities that diversity adds to our operations.

Application

The application is made online. Click the button “Apply” to begin the application procedure.

For the application to be complete, the following electronic documents must be included:

• Covering letter, outlining how you believe you can contribute to the continued development of Örebro University
• CV with a relevant description of your overall qualifications and experience
• Teaching portfolio (as per Örebro University’s guidelines)
• Research portfolio
• Publication list
• Relevant scientific publications (maximum of 10 and in full-text format)
• Copies of relevant course/degree certificates and references verifying eligibility and criteria met

Only documents written in Swedish, English, Norwegian and Danish can be reviewed.

The application deadline is 2024-08-29. We look forward to receiving your application!

After the application deadline, no supplements can be made electronically. If you have scientific publications that cannot be attached electronically to the application, you will, once the external experts have been appointed, receive instructions on how the missing publications can be submitted.

We decline any contact with advertisers or recruitment agencies in the recruitment process.

As directed by the National Archives of Sweden (Riksarkivet), we are required to deposit one file copy of the application documents, excluding publications, for a period of two years after the appointment decision has gained legal force.