Assistant Professor in Distributed System for Smart Agriculture, Schulich School of Engineering

We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the traditional territories of the people of the Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta. The City of Calgary is also home to Métis Nation of Alberta, Districts 5 and 6.

Position Description

The Department of Electrical and Software Engineering at the University of Calgary is pleased to invite applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Distributed Systems for Smart Agriculture with an anticipated start date of July 1, 2024. Candidates with an earned doctoral degree (or equivalent) in Software Engineering or a closely related discipline and demonstrated excellence in research and teaching are invited to apply.

At the University of Calgary, smart agriculture is aligned with the University’s One Health research theme, which is inherently transdisciplinary and supported by growing partnerships between researchers in the Schulich School of Engineering and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. The University of Calgary is also home to a unique facility to support smart agriculture: W.A. Ranches is a working cow-calf ranch with a land base of 19,000 acres for cattle, farmland for feed production, and wildlife habitat. This unique facility enables us to conduct cutting-edge research on a bona fide working ranch and provides endless teaching opportunities.

The successful candidate should be familiar with current challenges for the agricultural industry across the supply chain and opportunities for technologies. The development and/or application of smart technologies along the agri-food value chain includes technologies for automated operations, tools for monitoring or analysis aimed at optimizing production, and traceability technologies for supply chains. Within the broad topic of Distributed Systems for Smart Agriculture, the successful candidate will have research experience in Cloud, Edge, or Fog Computing. Experience in one or more of the following areas is required:

• Distributed systems applications in smart agriculture
• Sensors and internet of things for smart agriculture applications
• Applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning for smart agriculture
• Blockchain for traceability and security in supply chain management
• Programming models that enable large-scale distributed data processing
• Automated and autonomous management systems
• Distributed resource and service management
• Microservices and serverless computing
• Scheduling and fault tolerance in large-scale, data-intensive systems
• Interoperability of services
• Cloud and mobile edge computing

Position Requirements

• A record of high-quality research and publications
• The potential to establish an externally funded research program, and to achieve international recognition within five years
• The alignment between their research interests and the research priorities of the Schulich School of Engineering and the University of Calgary
• The ability to attract and develop excellent trainees, students, and future researchers
• Ability to teach a range of undergraduate and graduate courses related to the topics in the position description above
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• A commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Engineering
• Should be eligible for registration as a Professional Engineer with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA)
• Experience working in industry or on industrial projects is considered an asset

How to Apply
Interested candidates are encouraged to apply online via the 'Apply Now' link. Please submit your application in one document in pdf format (which may require you to merge documents). A complete application should contain the following:

• Cover letter, including a brief description of alignment of research interests with smart agriculture and One Health and list of 3 research contributions most relevant to the position (maximum of 2 pages)
• Curriculum vitae
• Names and contact information of three referees
• Statement of research interests, accomplishments and vision (maximum of 2 pages)
• Statement of teaching philosophy (maximum of 2 pages)
• Statement on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (maximum of 2 pages)

Questions may be addressed to:
Dr Andy Knight
Head, Department of Electrical and Software Engineering
[email protected]

Application Deadline: January 15, 2024

The University of Calgary has launched an institution-wide Indigenous Strategy  committing to creating a rich, vibrant, and culturally competent campus that welcomes and supports Indigenous Peoples, encourages Indigenous community partnerships, is inclusive of Indigenous perspectives in all that we do.

As an equitable and inclusive employer, the University of Calgary recognizes that a diverse staff/faculty benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We are committed to removing barriers that have been historically encountered by some people in our society. We strive to recruit individuals who will further enhance our diversity and will support their academic and professional success while they are here. In particular, we encourage members of the designated groups (women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible/racialized minorities, and diverse sexual orientation and gender identities) to apply. To ensure a fair and equitable assessment, we offer accommodation at any stage during the recruitment process to applicants with disabilities. Questions regarding [diversity] EDI at UCalgary can be sent to the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion ([email protected] ) and requests for accommodations can be sent to Human Resources ([email protected] ).

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority. In this connection, at the time of your application, please answer the following question: Are you a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada? (Yes/No)

The University of Calgary recognizes that candidates have varying career paths and that career interruptions can be part of an excellent academic record. Candidates are encouraged but not required to provide any relevant information about their experience and/or career interruptions to allow for a fair assessment of their application. Selection committees have been instructed to give careful consideration to, and be sensitive to the impact of career interruptions, when assessing the candidate’s research productivity.

Additional Information

To learn more about academic opportunities at the University of Calgary and all we have to offer, view our Academic Careers website . For more information visit Careers in the Schulich School of Engineering .

The University strongly recommends all faculty and staff are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

About the University of Calgary
UCalgary is Canada’s entrepreneurial university, located in Canada’s most enterprising city. It is a top research university and one of the highest-ranked universities of its age. Founded in 1966, its 36,000 students experience an innovative learning environment, made rich by research, hands-on experiences and entrepreneurial thinking. It is Canada’s leader in the creation of start-ups . Start something today at the University of Calgary. For more information, visit ucalgary.ca .
About Calgary, Alberta

Calgary is one of the world's cleanest cities and has been named one of the world's most livable cities for years. Calgary is a city of leaders - in business, community, philanthropy and volunteerism. Calgarians benefit from a growing number of world-class dining and cultural events and enjoy more days of sunshine per year than any other major Canadian city. Calgary is less than an hour's drive from the majestic Rocky Mountains and boasts the most extensive urban pathway and bikeway network in North America.