Assistant Professor in Management Engineering

About

The Faculty of Engineering and Science (ENG), Department of Materials and Production at Aalborg University, has an opening for one or more Assistant Professors in Management Engineering for a three-year position, starting August 15th, 2026, or soon thereafter.

The Department of Materials and Production (MP) is a broad research and educational environment at Aalborg University, focused on meeting future demands for new materials and production systems by directing the entire value chain from basic material understanding to materials' applications in mechanical constructions, industrial production, and management. The department hosts several strong, international, and innovative research groups covering basic science to strategic and applied research, including materials, mechanics, physics, production techniques, robotics, industrial management, and innovation. With world-class laboratory facilities, research activities often involve industry collaboration.

The position is within the research group Sustainable Operations and Innovation Management (SOIM), which focuses on the transformation, design, and governance of operations and production systems under digital, sustainability, and societal pressures. The group integrates engineering modeling, experimental validation, and managerial decision frameworks to advance knowledge on developing and reconfiguring complex production systems over time.

Job Description

This position will contribute to the group's strategic development towards Industry 5.0-oriented research, emphasizing human-centric, resilient, sustainable, and digitally enabled operations systems. The successful candidate will demonstrate research competencies in one or more of the following interconnected areas:

1) Digital Engineering of Production Systems and Supply Chains

Applying and developing engineering models for the analysis, simulation, and optimization of production systems and supply chains, including digital twins, virtual system validation, process modeling, and data-integrated decision models. Research should explicitly support managerial decision-making, system design, investment evaluation, and operational flexibility.

2) Human-Centric Operations & Workforce Transformation

Focusing on the integration of physical production systems with digital technologies from a socio-technical perspective, including human-machine interaction, XR-based interfaces, and engineering solutions for hybrid production systems. Candidates should study human-centric technology adoption, workforce skill transformation, and organizational readiness, ensuring productivity, safety, and human experience are considered in technology implementation.

3) Data-Driven Decision Support & AI-Enabled Operations

Conducting research on digital architectures and data-driven decision support for operations planning, system configuration, and continuous improvement. Emphasis is placed on robustness/uncertainty, data quality, and translating analytical insights into strategic and managerial decisions. This domain links technology adoption with operational performance, ensuring AI and analytics solutions are effective and aligned with human and organizational capacities.

4) Experimental Engineering & Living-Lab Research for Sustainability and Innovation

Conducting experimental and empirical research in laboratory and living-lab environments, including prototyping digitalized production setups, testing new interfaces and automation concepts, and evaluating human-technology interactions. Research in this domain should inform sustainable operations transitions (e.g., reverse logistics, circular economy, remanufacturing) and support innovation for resilience and learning, including the design of learning factories, competence development programs, and systemic change initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct high-quality research within one or more of the interconnected areas.
• Build and maintain a strong research profile.
• Publish research findings in leading international journals and conferences.
• Actively collaborate with industry partners on applied research projects.
• Participate in international research networks to enhance the department's global research profile.
• Deliver courses in both undergraduate and graduate programs, specifically within the B.Sc. ENG programs in Global Business Engineering, as well as M. programs in Management Engineering.
• Supervise student projects at both bachelor's and master's levels, providing guidance and mentorship.
• Develop and maintain course materials that reflect current industry practices and technological advances.
• Contribute to the department's administrative functions by participating in departmental committees and working groups.
• Contribute to the Department's strategic development and participate in regular faculty meetings and academic planning sessions.
• Collaborate with colleagues across different sections and departments to ensure integrated and effective program delivery.

Competencies

• Strong conceptual and methodological competencies, integrating .
• Research competencies within one or more of the following interconnected areas: Digital Engineering of Production Systems and Supply Chains, Human-Centric Operations & Workforce Transformation, Data-Driven Decision Support & AI-Enabled Operations, Experimental Engineering & Living-Lab Research for Sustainability and Innovation.