Assistant Professor of Physics

Carleton College invites applications for a tenure-track position in experimental physics (Assistant Professor of Physics) that would normally begin September 1, 2027. Applications received by Sept. 15, 2026 will receive priority consideration. Members of groups traditionally underrepresented in physics, including those with non-traditional career paths, are strongly encouraged to apply.

Carleton College is a highly-ranked liberal arts college of 2,000 students located in the two-college town of Northfield Minnesota. Notable features include:
Urban Access:
Northfield is 45 miles from Minneapolis - St. Paul (where MSP International airport is a Delta hub) and a similar distance from Rochester, home of the Mayo Clinic. Outdoor Opportunities:
Our campus includes an 800-acre arboretum, and the region contains a network of state parks, lakes, and trails. Student Body:
Our students are our greatest asset. We are particularly interested in candidates committed to teaching students from a variety of backgrounds. Carleton is committed to developing its faculty to better reflect the composition of our student body and American society.

Who we are:

We are eight faculty members and four staff members. Annually, we graduate 15-30 majors, and about 10% of the students on campus take introductory courses with us. How we grow:
Our strong collegial culture of learning and innovating together enriches our approaches to teaching, research, and service, and informs how we adapt to ongoing changes across higher education and in our field. Facilities we have:
We have recently built or updated our well-equipped and modern teaching and research spaces, including faculty research labs, a computational research suite, an instrument shop, and a makerspace. Goodsell Observatory has both historic and modern optical telescopes for curricular and co-curricular use.

• A Ph.D. in Physics or a related field.
• Candidates who are near the completion of a Ph.D. may also be considered.
• A strong experimental physics research background that expands the research specialities in the department.
• A strong interest in teaching undergraduates in a liberal arts environment.

• Teach the equivalent of five courses per year. Lab sections count as half a course each.
• Advise students on their senior project (comps).
• Involve students in your research.
• Be a part of departmental initiatives and events.
• Serve as an academic advisor and on college committees (after your first year).

• Engage the community with outreach.
• Collaborate on teaching or research projects with other departments or campus centers.

Help cultivate a welcoming community where everyone feels a sense of belonging. We strive to foster an environment where all people can be themselves, build community, learn, and grow.

We support new faculty in creating a professional trajectory that suitably balances teaching, research, and other interests. Carleton offers a competitive benefits package and is prepared to provide start-up funding to enable the successful candidate to establish and develop a research program suitable to an undergraduate institution of Carleton's quality where both teaching and research are prized. The Learning and Teaching Center provides resources and professional development for teaching as well as mentoring for new faculty.

Some internal funding is available for supporting research, and the Grants Office supports external funding proposals.

• Carleton offers a competitive benefits package and is prepared to provide start-up funding to enable the successful candidate to establish and develop a research program suitable to an undergraduate institution of Carleton's quality where both teaching and research are prized.
• The Learning and Teaching Center provides resources and professional development for teaching as well as mentoring for new faculty.
• Some internal funding is available for supporting research, and the Grants Office supports external funding proposals.

The expected starting salary range for this position is between $87,480 - $93,290. Actual pay will be adjusted based on job-related factors permitted by law, such as experience and training; licensure and certifications; market factors; departmental budgets; and responsibility.