Call for Academic Position Next-Generation Food Engineering

Tipo de planta académica: Regular Academic Track

Employment: Full time

 

The School of Engineering at UC Chile, one of the leading engineering educational institutions in Latin America and ranked among the top four emerging leader schools of engineering worldwide, invites outstanding candidates to apply to a full-time faculty position in Next-Generation Food Engineering. The position is presented by The Department of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering (DIQB), of the School of Engineering of the UC Chile.

The objective of this call is to promote teaching and applied research in next-generation food engineering, considering emergent technologies relevant to the current demands of the food industry.

Research areas of interest may include for example but not limited to

• Development and characterization of alternative proteins
• Cultured meat development
• Novel sustainable gelling agents and stabilizers
• Microstructural analysis and design of foods
• Nano and microencapsulation of food ingredients
• Sustainable packaging and food biomaterials
• Obtention of functional ingredients from local sources such as algae
• Emerging food processing technologies
• Gastronomic engineering and molecular cuisine
• Prototyping and sustainable scale-up of food processing
• Food design using artificial intelligence

Duties:  The position will require undergraduate and graduate teaching. It is expected to contribute with courses to the Biological or Chemical Engineering majors, for example IIQ2723 Food Engineering, IIQ2133 Chemical Processes, IIQ2003 Transport Phenomena, IIQ2023 Unit Operations II, or IIQ2930 Gastronomic Engineering. It is expected for this position to contribute to the revision and modernization of teaching food labs.

This position might create new interdisciplinary postgraduate courses contributing to the postgraduate programs of our academic unit. The position might also create and participate in professional courses and diplomas in the field of next-generation food engineering. This position could finally participate in master and doctoral programs guiding students and contributing to these programs.

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UC Chile is committed to providing equal employment opportunities, fostering an inclusive, diverse and fraternal community, and promoting the academic development of women and men.

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The applicant should have an outstanding publication track record in the area, with the potential to obtain external research funds and develop high-quality teaching. Applicants should be proactive in pursuing independent research lines, able to work collaboratively and show evidence of interdisciplinary collaboration. Applicants must possess at the time of hiring a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Food Engineering, or related areas. Undergraduate studies in biological engineering, biotechnology, chemical engineering, or similar are also expected.

Candidates do not need to be fluent in Spanish at the time of application, but should be prepared to learn the language well enough to teach in Spanish in the short term (two years maximum). Fluency in English is a requirement.

Applicants must demonstrate a strong commitment to all aspects of academic life and public good of the institution. They must be highly motivated to continuously improve their teaching skills, have a genuine interest in getting involved with our graduate programs (specially the doctoral program) and be able to develop and maintain an active research agenda leading to high quality publications, securing research grants, generating and participating in interdisciplinary projects, leading scientific and industry-liaison initiatives, strengthening and creating national and international academic networks, etc. The candidate will also be expected to create new undergraduate and graduate courses and teach traditional courses in related areas.

If selected for the position, foreigners that apply from abroad must obtain the appropriate visa in their country of residence, to join the University faculty.

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Applicants should submit their application through the website: https://tinyurl.com/2s3s6e2d (note A) by XXX, 2025 (late applications will be considered until the position is filled). Please select Faculty Position in Next Generation Food Engineering in the application form and consider that you will be required to provide the following information:

1. A research statement (in English) indicating the immediate and long-term goals of the applicant’s research
   plan and detailing potential collaboration networks with other researchers and plans for interactions with
   scientists in Chile and other countries.
2. A teaching statement of purpose (in English) indicating why the applicant should be considered for the
   position and the plans for teaching. The applicant should be as specific as possible by providing examples of
   the plan to transfer knowledge to undergraduate and graduate students.
3. An updated curriculum vitae (in English, see note B).
4. If available, copies of five recent Web of Science publications that are relevant to the context of the
   application (see note C).
5. At least, three letters of recommendation, which must be e-mailed directly by the signatories to facultypositions.ing@uc.cl.

Note A: 

• The applicant will get an email confirming that the documents have been received.

Note B: 

• The CV must be organized as follows:

I. Personal information: name, address, contact telephone number (with country and city codes), email
address, web page (if any).

II. Education: all academic and professional degrees, indicating the granting institutions and dates. If the
applicant is currently enrolled in a doctoral program, please indicate the expected date for the degree.

III. Educational experience (university or institution, courses taught and years).

IV. Professional experience (employer, duties, years).

V. Research:

a. List of Web of Science journal publications (see note C).

b. List of other publications such as reports, books or book chapters, conferences attended, research projects participated in, patents, etc.

VI. Other: awards, computer skills, languages, and any other relevant background information.

Note C:

• Please avoid padding the list with other publications, such as those published in journals not indexed in the Web of Science database, conference presentations and alike.

Once the complete set of application materials has been received, the applicant will be contacted within two months after the application deadline and informed whether the application has been accepted for further consideration. If this initial screening is successful, the candidate will be asked to continue the process following the steps described in Appendix 1.

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Other Chilean and University employment benefits may be found in:

• Foreign workers in Chile: https://www.dt.gob.cl/portal/1626/w3-article-93693.htm
• University rules and regulations: https://direcciondedesarrolloacademico.uc.cl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=286&Itemid=178
• All members of the UC Chile subscribe the Code of Ethics that can be found in
  https://www.uc.cl/codigodehonor

Application steps

1) Interviews/Seminar:

a. Interview with faculty members of the Department of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering

b. Interview with the Selection Committee

c. Psychological Interview

d. Seminar (open to faculty members of the School of Engineering)

The interviews and seminar are generally carried out within a week.

2) The interviews and seminar are generally carried out within a week.

3) Ratification of the selected candidate by the School Council

4) The selected candidate is informed (offer letter)

The time that elapses from the interviews until the final resolution is typically around two months.

 

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Applicants should submit their application through the website: https://tinyurl.com/2s3s6e2d (note A) by XXX, 2025 (late applications will be considered until the position is filled).

Additional information can be obtained by emailing the Department Chair, Dr Daniel Garrido, e-mail dgarridoc@uc.cl. For assistance with the online application form, please send an e-mail to: facultypositions.ing@uc.cl.

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