The School for the Environment seeks a full-time non-tenure track position as a Visiting Assistant Professor in Coastal Engineering to contribute to teaching in the environmental sciences and research in coastal engineering to begin January 1, 2027. The position is for one year with a potential for a second-year contingent upon performance and funding. This position offers an opportunity to work at the interface of engineering, ecology, and applied coastal management, contributing to research that directly informs planning, policy, and implementation in Boston Harbor and beyond. The candidate will be expected to make significant contributions in the field of coastal engineering for the Stone Living Lab. The teaching load is one class per semester, and the candidate will be expected to mentor students across the Environmental Studies and Sustainability BA and/or Environmental Science BS, MS and PhD programs. The candidate will be expected to contribute to the research program in the Stone Living Lab with a focus on coastal processes, flooding from e.g. storm surges, wave overtopping etc., nature-based/hybrid infrastructure and climate adaptation. The Visting Assistant Professor will be expected to contribute to and help lead interdisciplinary Stone Living Lab research projects and produce peer-reviewed publications and collaborate on translational outputs including reports, datasets and decision-support tools. The candidate will be expected to participate in relevant Stone Living Lab working groups and committees and serve on committees within the university and develop strong engaged scholarship with their scientific community.

The candidate must have a PhD in Coastal Engineering, Civil Engineering, Ocean Engineering, or a related field by the start date of appointment. Demonstrated expertise in measurement/interpretation of coastal processes and coastal engineering. Experience applying coastal engineering principles to real-world challenges involving coastal flooding, shoreline change, nature-based infrastructure, and climate adaptation. Evidence of interdisciplinary research, collaboration, and publication. Experience teaching/TAing in relevant courses. Professional engineering licensure (PE) or eligibility for licensure. Experience planning, designing, implementing, monitoring, or evaluating coastal engineering or nature-based infrastructure projects.

UMass Boston is an urban public research university with a teaching soul, whose impact is both local and global. We are the third most diverse university in the country - more than 60% of our undergraduate students come from minority communities and groups and more than half of our students are the first in their families to attend a college or university. Thus, our students come to us from richly diverse life experiences and backgrounds; they bring to our classrooms and research settings the robust range of perspectives growing out of the socio-cultural, economic, and historical contexts in which they have lived, along with the challenges they encounter, engage, and strive to overcome. We invite applications from candidates who celebrate the diverse life experiences of our student body, who appreciate that students bring their holistic selves into the academic setting, and who recognize and articulate how their own life experiences and backgrounds have shaped their journeys, practices, and commitments as researchers, scholars, and educators. 

The School for the Environment’s (SFE) mission is to examine the natural world and explore diverse challenges in natural, built, and social environments, as well as the intersections among them. Using transdisciplinary and equity-informed approaches to research, teaching, and action, we expand environmental knowledge and understanding and create cutting-edge transdisciplinary solutions to environmental and social problems in Boston and beyond. SFE faculty support undergraduate (environmental science, environmental studies), master’s and PhD programs (environmental science, marine science and technology). 

The Stone Living Lab (SLL) is a research center in the School for the Environment focused on testing and scaling up nature-based approaches to climate adaptation in Boston Harbor and beyond. The Lab is a unique partnership including government agencies and nonprofits: UMass Boston School for the Environment, Boston Harbor Now, the City of Boston, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs, the National Park Service, and the Massachusetts Tribe at Ponkapoag. As a “Living Lab,” SLL brings research into the real world by engaging scientists and the community in collaborative design and exploration. 

Application instructions:

Interested individuals can initiate the application process through the UMass Boston Career Portal: 

Please submit the following via the UMass Boston Employment Portal:

• A cover letter (2-pages max).
• Curriculum vitae.
• Contact information for three academic references.

Review of candidates will begin as soon as possible.

For more information, please contact the search committee chair, Prof. Katherine Dafforn, at katherine.dafforn@umb.edu

UMass Boston expects to pay within an approximate range between $70,000 and $90,000 for this position.  

UMass Boston is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact HR@umb.edu or 617-287-5150.