Job description

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a Carnegie R1, opportunity, and community engaged university at the heart of the U.S.-Mexico border region that is increasing access to excellent higher education. We advance discovery of public value and positively impact the health, culture, education, and economy of the community we serve. UTEP enrolls more than 25,000 students – 85% of whom are Hispanic and half of whom are the first in their families to attend college. UTEP offers 171 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top-tier research university in America.

The city’s location on the Rio Grande in the Southwest where two countries and three states meet makes it an ideal venue for academic programs and research studies on topics of national interest, including bilingual education/language acquisition, health and health disparities, international relations, international trade, migration, and environmental sustainability and infrastructure. The University enjoys strategic partnerships with two DOE national laboratories in the region and sits on the edge of White Sands Missile Range, making engineering and scientific research both a priority and an opportunity.

Along with its top designation as an R1 research university, UTEP is also nationally recognized as an Opportunity University by the Carnegie Classification for its positive impact on economic mobility for students after graduation. In 2024, Forbes found that UTEP students graduate with the lowest average debt of any college or university in Texas and go on to earn a median salary of more than $100,000 10 years after graduation.

Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, El Paso is set against the backdrop of the Franklin Mountains and the Chihuahuan Desert in one of the largest binational communities in the world. The city’s active arts and culture community features the state’s longest-running symphony orchestra, a nationally recognized chamber music festival, a vibrant street art and mural scene, art galleries, museums, and a full schedule of seasonal events and festivals. In 2024, El Paso opened La Nube, a unique hybrid institution that merges the educational aspects of a science center and children’s museum experiences. UTEP adds to the arts and entertainment scene with concerts and live events at the city’s largest indoor and outdoor venues; theater, music and dance productions; contemporary and student art galleries; and a natural history museum and desert gardens. El Paso residents can also easily travel to the sister city of Ciudad Jurez, Mexico, to enjoy great food, markets and cultural events.

El Paso/Jurez is the fifth largest manufacturing region in North America and the center of commerce, education and health services for the region. A family-oriented community, the cost of living in El Paso is very reasonable for a large metropolitan area with the average home value of $224,000 in 2025. Texas has no income tax and, when it comes to public safety, El Paso is the fifth safest large city in the United States. In 2025, U.S. News and World Report named El Paso as the second best big city in the United States in which to live.

El Paso is also an ideal location for people who love the outdoors. It is home to one of the nation’s largest urban parks – Franklin Mountains State Park – and many options for year-round hiking, mountain biking and rock climbing at Hueco Tanks State Park and nearby White Sands, Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns national parks.

For sports fans, the UTEP Miners offer exciting Division I college athletics at several campus venues including Sun Bowl Stadium – where one of the oldest football bowl games takes place annually – and the Don Haskins Center arena. Southwest University Park, located a mile away in lively downtown El Paso, is home to the El Paso Chihuahuas, the Triple-A baseball affiliate of the San Diego Padres, and the El Paso Locomotive FC, a professional soccer team founded in 2019.

ABOUT THE ECE DEPARTMENT: The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UTEP (http://ece.utep.edu) offers Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Master of Science (M.S.) degrees in Electrical Engineering and in Computer Engineering, and a Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering. The department has an enrollment of close to 800 undergraduate and graduate students. The ECE faculty is actively involved in sponsored research with annual expenditures of more than $4.9 million in fiscal year 2024. Research activities are carried out in multiple research laboratories at the Department and at research centers in the College and the University.

The ECE department has developed significant capabilities, which include faculty hires and development of laboratory and metrology infrastructure to support research, workforce development, and commercialization in microelectronics and semiconductors. The faculty in the area are currently conducting funded multidisciplinary semiconductor research in various areas of expertise. In one example, UTEP is the lead institution of a funded 5 year, $5M Consortium for Electronics in Extreme Environments (E3C) comprised of two universities and three national labs with the mission to establish an enduring research capacity and pipeline of highly skilled professionals ready to enter employment in the nuclear security enterprise. In another example, UTEP is a partner in the $840M project funded by DARPA’s Next Generation Microelectronics Manufacturing program and led by the Texas Institute for Electronics to build a Microelectronics Manufacturing Center. Moreover, UTEP is a partner of the Scalable Asymmetric Lifecycle Enhancement (SCALE) network to train the workforce for microelectronics led by Purdue University. Other significant external funding agencies in the area include NNSA, DOE, NSA, Sandia National Labs, Intel, DARPA, and NSF.

ECE department manages a cleanroom facility designed for fabrication and characterization of semiconductors. The cleanroom is a 6,000 square-feet facility with 2,500 square-feet of class-100 and class-1000 space. Major fabrication capabilities include; nanoscale 3D printing, thin-film deposition, plasma etching, photolithography, oxidation, and diffusion. Major characterization capabilities include; scanning electron microscopy, optical digital microscopy, temperature-controlled Raman and photoluminescence, film thickness measurement via stylus profilometry and light interferometry, UV-vis-IR spectrophotometry, Hall-effect measurement, four-point probe for resistivity, deep-level transient spectroscopy, and a semiconductor parameter analyzer.

Job Description:

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) invites applications for a tenured faculty position at the rank of Associate or Full Professor in the area of microelectronics and semiconductors. This position is part of a broader institutional effort to grow a world-class research cluster in microelectronics and semiconductor technologies, supported by the University of Texas System Regents’ Research Excellence Program.

Candidates must have a strong record of scholarship, funding, and impact consistent with appointment at an R1 institution at the associate or full professor level. Applicants should have a record of high-impact publications, success in securing extramural funding, and experience mentoring graduate and/or undergraduate students in a research setting. Exceptional candidates currently holding a tenure-track Assistant Professor position who clearly meet the criteria for promotion and tenure to Associate Professor are encouraged to apply. We also welcome applicants with at least 10 years of research-intensive experience in a national laboratory or industry setting, with a demonstrated record of project leadership, external funding, and high-impact dissemination. This senior-level position is designed for individuals with a demonstrated trajectory of academic or professional advancement. Competitive candidates will typically have progressed beyond early-career stages, with substantial accomplishments following their Ph.D. in research leadership roles.

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• Develop and maintain a vigorous, externally funded research program;
• Contribute to undergraduate and graduate teaching and mentoring;
• Engage in institutional and professional service activities;
• Provide leadership and collaborate within interdisciplinary research initiatives, particularly within UTEP’s growing cluster in microelectronics and semiconductors.

Application materials should clearly demonstrate the candidate’s qualifications for the position.

As part of the UT Regents’ Research Excellence Program, faculty hired at the rank of Full Professor with tenure will be awarded the honorific title of Regents’ Distinguished Research Professor. Faculty hired at the Associate level will be eligible to receive this title upon promotion to Full Professor.

Requirements:

• A Ph.D. in electrical and/or computer engineering with a focus on microelectronics and semiconductors or a related field.
• A minimum of six years of progressive research experience in a university, national laboratory, or industry R&D setting following the completion of the Ph.D. or postdoctoral training, with a demonstrated track record of scholarship, extramural funding, and research leadership appropriate for appointment at the associate or full professor level.
• Commitment to undergraduate and graduate education.
• Substantial original contributions to research, knowledge, or innovation, as evidenced by a strong record of scholarship, patents, or other creative/entrepreneurial activities stemming from the candidate’s independent research work.
• Evidence of substantial success in obtaining extramural funding as a principal investigator and/or co-principal investigator.
• Demonstrated success in mentoring students, postdocs, junior faculty and/or junior scientists.
• Demonstrated significant service roles to major technical societies.
• Demonstrated national and international recognition in the field, evidenced by honors, awards, invited presentations, or high-impact publications.
• Excellent communication skills.

Candidates are expected to have the scholarship and funding record consistent with appointment as a tenured Associate or Full Professor at a R1 university, and application materials should provide clear evidence of this.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience serving as a principal investigator or co-principal investigator on major federally or industry funded research centers, or consortia.
• Recognition such as Fellow status in a major technical society, membership in the National Academies, or service on national-level advisory committees or boards.
• Outstanding service contributions, such as leadership role on a technical society, serving as editor-in-chief or on the editorial board of a major peer-reviewed journal.

Additional Information:

In keeping with its access, excellence, and impact mission, The University of Texas at El Paso is committed to an open, diverse, and inclusive learning and working environment that honors the talents, respects the differences, and nurtures the growth and development of all. We seek to attract faculty and staff who share our commitment.

The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or sexual orientation and gender in employment or the provision of services in accordance with state and federal law. Discrimination on the basis of sex includes an employee’s or prospective employee’s right to be free from sexual harassment under Title IX of the Higher Education Amendments of 1972. Inquiries-including the filing of a Formal Complaint or reporting an incident-about the application of Title IX may be referred to the Title IX Coordinator, who can be reached by phone at (915) 747-8358, by email at [email protected], or by mail at 500 W. University Ave., El Paso, TX, Kelly Hall, Room 312.

For accommodation information for employees and applicants with disabilities, please contact UTEP’s Equal Opportunity Office at [email protected].

To the extent that this position involves research, work, or access to critical infrastructure as referenced in Executive Order GA-48, being hired for and continuing to be employed in this position requires the ability to maintain the security or integrity of the infrastructure.

How to apply

Apply now
Applicants must submit the following: 1) a cover letter describing their interest in the position and how they meet position requirements; 2) a detailed curriculum vita; 3) name and complete contact information of at least three references; 4) research and vision statement (up to 4 pages); 5) teaching and mentorship statement (up to 4 pages).

Review of applications will begin immediately. Applicants are encouraged to apply by October 1, 2025. For information/inquiries regarding the position, please email, [email protected].