Professor of Smart Manufacturing

Department Department of Engineering Location City Centre Campus (Millennium Point) Salary £70,564 to £79,840per annum Permanent Post Type Full Time Release Date 09 September 2026 Closing Date 23.59 hours BST on Friday 09 October 2026 Reference ABCE
26056

At Birmingham City University, we are a diverse and inclusive learning community of over 31,400 students from more than 120 countries. We aim to become an exemplar anchor institution, creating and sharing knowledge for a better and more inclusive society. We are committed to providing a transformational educational experience, supporting world‑class research, and fostering a collaborative and supportive working environment for our staff.

Recognised as one of the UK’s Top 250 employers (Financial Times & Statista), we pride ourselves on being a place where colleagues feel valued, supported, and able to grow their careers while contributing to the success of our students and communities.

Our student demographic reflects the rich cultural and ethnic diversity of Birmingham itself, with a significant proportion of students from minoritised ethnic backgrounds and the majority of our home students coming from the West Midlands. This diversity is a strength, and it calls for a workforce that is equipped to challenge deficit narratives and thinking — those assumptions that position students from underrepresented groups as lacking rather than recognising their assets, strengths and potential.

By embracing this perspective, we aim to create an environment where all students and colleagues can thrive, and where our work contributes positively to the social, cultural and economic life of Birmingham and beyond.

We are seeking a Professor of Smart Manufacturing to join our School of Architecture, Built Environment, Computing and Engineering
, providing strategic academic leadership across teaching, research, enterprise and external engagement.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a department undergoing significant transformation through its Re‑imagining Engineering initiative, the development of the Smart and Sustainable Engineering Research Centre, and the expansion of industrial partnerships. The successful candidate will play a key role in delivering the School's ambitions for research excellence, innovation, knowledge exchange and regional economic impact.

As Professor, you will lead the development of internationally recognised research in Smart and Sustainable Manufacturing, Industrial Innovation and Enterprise. You will drive externally funded research, develop strategic partnerships with industry, expand Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), consultancy and commercial activity, and strengthen the Department's contribution to industrial innovation at regional, national and international levels.

You will play a pivotal role in preparing for REF
2029 by leading high‑quality research outputs, developing impact case studies, supervising doctoral researchers and mentoring colleagues to foster a vibrant research culture. You will also promote interdisciplinary collaboration across Engineering, Computing and the Built Environment.

Within education, you will contribute to the Re‑imagining Engineering curriculum by embedding contemporary manufacturing practices, Industry 4.0 and 5.0 technologies, digital engineering, artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing and challenge‑based learning into teaching. Working closely with industry, you will enhance student employability and help develop graduates with the advanced technical, professional and entrepreneurial skills required by the future engineering workforce.

The successful candidate will be an internationally recognised academic with an established…