Description

The Cullen College of Engineering at the University of Houston invites applications for a full-time, non-tenure track, Research Scientist.

The Research Scientist conducts and leads applied research, technology translation, and knowledge-transfer activities that move university-developed and evidence-based engineering methods into industrial practice. Working within the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center (TMAC) and under the direction of a faculty Principal Investigator or Faculty Director, the Research Scientist formulates technical questions arising from manufacturing challenges; designs and executes applied investigations; analyzes operational and experimental data; develops and validates solutions; and disseminates findings through technical reports, training, demonstrations, and direct implementation with small and medium-sized manufacturers.

The position is supported by external sponsored funding whose explicit purpose includes transferring knowledge and technology from academia to industry. Administrative coordination, project budgeting, stakeholder communication, and sponsor reporting are performed in support of the research and technology-transfer portfolio and are not the position's primary purpose.

Primary Research Domains

Manufacturing systems, industrial engineering, and production optimization
Digital manufacturing, automation, data analytics, and artificial intelligence
Product and process development, testing, validation, and scale-up
Technology adoption, innovation diffusion, and measurement of economic and operational impact

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Leads applied research and technology-transfer projects addressing complex manufacturing and engineering problems. Defines research questions, technical objectives, methods, milestones, and measures of success in collaboration with faculty investigators and industry partners.
Designs and conducts field-based studies, assessments, experiments, pilots, and demonstrations involving manufacturing processes, industrial systems, automation, data analytics, artificial intelligence, product development, and related engineering technologies.
Collects, integrates, and analyzes quantitative and qualitative data; interprets results; evaluates technical feasibility, implementation risk, and operational impact; and develops evidence-based findings and recommendations.
Translates findings and advanced engineering knowledge into deployable tools, prototypes, workflows, decision frameworks, and implementation plans for small and medium-sized manufacturers. Validates solutions in operational settings and refines methods based on observed results.
Develops technical reports, case studies, presentations, training materials, and other research products for sponsors, faculty collaborators, industry partners, and professional audiences. Contributes to publications and conference presentations when appropriate and permitted by sponsor and confidentiality requirements.
Serves as a technical liaison among university researchers, students, external sponsors, manufacturers, and subject-matter experts to identify relevant university capabilities and accelerate responsible transfer of knowledge and technology to industry.
Contributes technical content, preliminary data, scopes of work, methods, evaluation plans, and impact projections to proposals for grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and other externally sponsored research and technology-transfer activities.
Provides engineering and technical leadership to interdisciplinary project teams. May guide research staff, engineers, students, or external collaborators in research methods, data quality, technical implementation, safety, and documentation; does not exercise primary administrative supervision unless separately assigned.
Maintains current expertise in emerging manufacturing technologies and research methods through literature review, professional development, technical certification, collaboration, and participation in scholarly and professional communities.
Ensures research and technology-transfer activities comply with sponsor requirements, university policies, applicable research protocols, data-security obligations, export-control requirements, intellectual-property provisions, and industry confidentiality commitments.
Tracks and evaluates research outputs and translational outcomes, including technical performance, adoption, productivity, cost savings, workforce effects, and other sponsor-defined measures. Maintains documentation necessary for rigorous sponsor reporting and reproducibility.
Performs other research-related duties consistent with the purpose and funding of the appointment.

Expected Allocation of Effort

Primary (60%) - Technical Analysis, engineering solution development and deployment, validation, and technology transfer
Research Support (30%) - Engineering knowledge dissemination, industry training, technical publications, and project development
Incidental/Supporting (10%) - Project documentation, budgets, and compliance reporting

Required Qualifications

Master's degree in engineering, manufacturing, industrial engineering, systems engineering, computer science, data science, or a closely related discipline.
Substantial directly related experience conducting applied engineering research, developing or evaluating advanced manufacturing solutions, and transferring technical knowledge into operational environments.
Demonstrated ability to formulate technical questions; select appropriate research or evaluation methods; analyze complex data; and develop, test, and communicate defensible conclusions independently.
Demonstrated ability to lead complex externally funded technical projects involving university, sponsor, and industry stakeholders.
Strong written and oral communication skills, including preparation of technical reports, sponsor deliverables, research presentations, and practitioner-oriented training.

Preferred Qualifications

5 or more years of directly related applied research, manufacturing engineering, industrial technology, or technology-transfer experience.
Record of technical publications, patents, validated implementations, industry case studies, externally funded projects, or other evidence of research and translational impact.
Experience with federal or state-sponsored programs supporting manufacturing innovation, economic development, or university-industry collaboration.
Relevant professional licensure or technical certifications, when applicable to the assigned research portfolio.

Independence and Complexity

The position applies advanced, specialized knowledge to nonstandard and complex problems for which established procedures may be incomplete or unavailable. The Research Scientist exercises substantial independent judgment in selecting methods, adapting research designs to industrial settings, interpreting incomplete or conflicting evidence, and recommending among technically viable alternatives. Work is reviewed principally through achievement of sponsored-project objectives, rigor of methods, quality of research products, and documented translational impact.

Supervision and Collaboration

The position receives programmatic direction from a faculty Principal Investigator or Faculty Director. It may provide scientific or functional direction to project personnel, students, and collaborators but is not primarily responsible for administrative staff management. The position collaborates extensively with faculty, research personnel, sponsors, manufacturers, and external technical experts.

Measures of Success

Rigor, technical quality, and timely completion of sponsored research and technology-transfer deliverables
Demonstrated adoption and validated technical or economic impact of research-derived solutions
Quality and usefulness of datasets, methods, technical reports, tools, prototypes, training, and dissemination products
Contribution to externally sponsored proposals, continuation funding, and university-industry research partnerships
Compliance with sponsor, research, intellectual-property, data-security, and university requirements

Appointment and Funding Statement

This is a non-tenure-track, non-promotion-eligible Research Scientist appointment. Continuation is contingent upon satisfactory performance, continuing programmatic need, and availability of external sponsored funding. The appointment does not create an expectation of tenure, promotion, or renewal beyond the stated appointment term.

Employees are expected to have a home address in the state of Texas for the duration of their appointments.

Official transcripts are required for a faculty appointment and will be requested upon selection of the final candidates.

All positions at the University of Houston-System are security sensitive and will require a criminal history check. Individuals conducting research in critical infrastructure areas (i.e., communication infrastructure systems, cybersecurity systems, electric grid, hazardous waste treatment systems, and/or water treatment facilities) are subject to regular review to ensure the security and integrity of the research is maintained.

The University of Houston System and its universities are Equal Opportunity Institutions. Everyone is encouraged to apply

Research Scientist - Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center - (497230 )