The Robotics Institute

The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University invites applications from outstanding candidates at all levels and tracks (tenure-track, research, and systems) with special interest in the areas of Medical Robotics, Dynamic Systems and Control, Materials and Mechanism Design, Human Robot Interaction, and Field Robotics.


Outstanding candidates in other areas are also welcomed.

• Position Descriptions
• Tenure Faculty

• Tenure faculty have a direct educational involvement with students inside and outside the classroom, including such activities as instruction, seminars, independent study project supervision advising undergraduate and graduate students, and supervision of graduate and postdoctoral research. Other educational activities include development of new or reformed courses, curricula, degree programs and training programs; educational publications, textbooks and other instructional materials; editorial work on professional journals.




• Tenure faculty also have an obligation to perform research activities that lead to the production of new knowledge; to increased problem-solving capabilities, including design and analysis.




• Every faculty member contributes by means of his or her expertise and the commitment of reasonable time and effort to the functioning and welfare of the university community, and of his or her academic unit in particular, through these activities.




• Faculty in this category are subject to the tenure procedure outlined in the Faculty Handbook. Titles included are Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor. Complete SCS policy on Criteria for Teaching Track Faculty is available.




• Research Faculty
• Research faculty are fully supported from sources external to the university; primary contributions most closely resemble regular faculty positions in regard to responsibility in designing, carrying out and managing research, including service as principal investigator when appropriate; are not required to teach, though many choose to do so; and are not subject to the tenure procedure, though performance is evaluated on a regular basis by department, school and university review committees. Research faculty have the same rights and responsibilities as tenure-track faculty. In particular, research faculty may supervise PhD students and be principal investigators on research proposals. Titles include Research Scientist, Senior Research Scientist and Principal Research Scientist. Complete SCS policy on Criteria for Research Track Faculty is available.




• Systems Faculty
• Systems faculty conduct and support research in basic and applied computer science, and advance the state of practice. The hallmark of these positions is creativity in the implementation of research ideas and problem solutions, and in the management of research programs. These positions, which range over computer science, computer architecture, communication, robotics, and related disciplines, are characterized by expertise, depth of knowledge, and sustained accomplishment in a particular specialization. Moreover, managerial positions are focal points of responsibility for formulating and achieving research goals that require the ability to lead and coordinate technical activities. All of these positions require persons of sufficiently high caliber and specific talent to justify the conferring of faculty status in order to attract and retain them, without requiring of them all the activities expected of regular faculty members.

  Primary contributions in this track may be other than original research, and therefore teaching or research faculty positions are not appropriate; it confers the rights and responsibilities of leadership associated with regular and research faculty, including service as co-principal investigator and co-supervision of research students where appropriate. Faculty in this track are evaluated on a regular basis by department and school review committees. Systems faculty are classified as Special Faculty, and receive staff benefits. Titles include Systems Scientist, Senior Systems Scientist, and Principal Systems Scientist. Complete SCS policy on Criteria for Systems Track appointments is available.

Please include a letter indicating the area of specialization and faculty track, a detailed curriculum vitae (including citizenship or current visa status for non-US citizens), a research statement (including both current and future directions) and a teaching statement (if appropriate for the track), copies of 1 - 3 representative papers, and the names, affiliations and email addresses of three or more individuals who have been asked to provide letters of reference.

Applications will be accepted from November 30, 2009 through January 1, 2010 (but may continue to be accepted for review after that date until all positions have been filled). Applicants should arrange for reference letters to be sent directly to the Robotics Institute Faculty Search Committee and are due no later than January 15, 2010. (Letters will not be requested directly by the Search Committee.) For more details, please see www.ri.cmu.edu/jobs/faculty_jobs.html.

Applications and reference letters (PDF format) may be submitted via email to robotics-facultysearch@ri.cmu.edu with area in the subject line or hardcopy to:

Robotics Institute Faculty Search Committee
ATTENTION: Rachel Shackelford
School of Computer Science
Gates Hillman Complex 5011
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3891

The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University was established in 1979 to conduct basic and applied research in robotics technologies relevant to industrial and societal tasks. Seeking to combine the practical and the theoretical, the Robotics Institute has diversified its efforts and approaches to robotics science while retaining its original goal of realizing the potential of the robotics field. Faculty members hold primary appointments in the Institute and also in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Machine Learning, and Computer Science.

Faculty candidates are expected to have a strong interest in research, outstanding academic credentials, and an earned Ph.D. Candidates for tenure-track appointments should also have a strong interest in graduate and undergraduate education. The highly selective graduate programs in the Robotics Institute and elsewhere in the School of Computer Science draw top students from around the world. Further information about the Robotics Institute and its programs may be found at www.ri.cmu.edu.

Carnegie Mellon University is an Affirmative Action / Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from women and members of underrepresented groups.