Tenure Track Assistant or Associate Professor, Inorganic Chemistry - Synthetic and Structural Chemistry, Faculty of Technology

The University of Oulu is a multidisciplinary, international research university, with about 4000 employees who produce new knowledge based on high-standards research and provide research based education to build a more sustainable, smarter, and more humane world. The University of Oulu community has about 19,000 people in total. Our northern scientific community operates globally and creates conditions for the emergence of innovations. The University of Oulu is ranked in the top 3% of the world’s universities.

Join us and shape the future of inorganic chemistry in an inspiring academic environment!

We are now looking for

Tenure Track Assistant or Associate Professor in Inorganic Chemistry (Synthetic and Structural Chemistry) to join the Environmental and Chemical Engineering (ECE) Research Unit at the Faculty of Technology.

The ECE research unit is a multidisciplinary and international research community with a unique combination of expertise in Chemical Engineering, Industrial Environmental Engineering, Control Engineering, and Inorganic Chemistry. Our mission is to provide new scientific knowledge for the development and design of environmentally benign and sustainable materials, unit operations, and production processes.

Core competence areas include:

• Synthesis and characterization of new inorganic molecules.
• Catalysis and separation processes.
• Modeling and design of sustainable unit operations and processes.

Our unit is now seeking an active and forward-looking assistant or associate professor to strengthen and expand our research in synthetic and structural inorganic chemistry.

About the Job

As an Assistant or Associate Professor, you will:

• Establish and lead an independent research group in synthetic and structural inorganic chemistry, focusing on areas such as transition-metal, organometallic, and main-group element chemistry.
• Design, prepare, and characterize novel inorganic compounds and molecule-based materials, combining advanced synthetic methodologies with state-of-the-art characterization techniques (e.g., X-ray diffraction, NMR spectroscopy, advanced spectroscopic methods, and/or computational modeling).
• Drive research that combines fundamental understanding with innovation potential, enabling advances in inorganic synthesis, molecular design, reactivity, and structure–property relationships, with possible relevance to areas such as homogeneous catalysis.
• Contribute to teaching at undergraduate and graduate levels, including advanced courses in your area of expertise, and supervise theses and research projects.
• Actively pursue competitive external research funding to support and expand your research activities.

Heterogeneous catalysis is a strong existing research area in the research unit and, although not the focus here, provides a potential platform for collaborative research.

What We Offer

We provide an inspiring academic community and excellent conditions for advancing your research and teaching career. In addition, you will benefit from:

• Opportunity to establish your own research group and collaborate within interdisciplinary and international networks.
• Access to modern research infrastructure and strong support for high-quality research.
• A supportive team of 50 experts in Environmental and Chemical Engineering, where you can share knowledge and grow professionally.
• Comprehensive staff benefits, including the ePassi wellness benefit covering sports, culture, and well-being. Read more about other staff benefits.
• Work-life balance and flexibility, with a workplace that values your well-being. Read more about working with us.
• Relocation support for candidates moving from abroad, ensuring a smooth transition to Oulu.
• Living in Finland, one of the most livable countries in the world, known for its high quality of life, safety, excellent education system, and competitive economy. Read more about living in Oulu.

Who Are You?

You should have excellent potential for a successful scientific career. The top candidates undergo an evaluation by external experts and are required to reach a rating of “excellent” or “outstanding”, both in the overall grade and in the category of “scientific excellence”. In addition, top candidates are asked to give a teaching demonstration as part of the assessment of teaching skills. In the evaluation of teaching skills, the person selected for the tenure track position must achieve at least the grade “good” (3/5). Find out more about our tenure track system, entry criteria, evaluation procedure, and advancement on our careers website.

To succeed and enjoy the position of Assistant Professor, you are expected to:

• Hold a doctoral degree in inorganic chemistry (obtained within the last ten years), with a strong background in synthetic and structural inorganic chemistry.
• Demonstrate the ability to engage in independent scientific research.
• Have proven teaching skills required for the position.
• Be fluent in English.
• In addition, publications and other demonstrated abilities and motivation for a scientific career are required. 

When assessing the candidate’s merits for the position of Assistant Professor, attention will be paid to scientific excellence, such as research outputs, international scientific activities and collaboration, supervision of undergraduate students, pedagogical competence, societal relevance, impact and potential of scientific activities, and services for the academic community.

To succeed and enjoy the position of Associate Professor, you are expected to:

• Hold a doctoral degree in inorganic chemistry, with a strong background in synthetic and structural inorganic chemistry.
• Possess proof of scientific research or artistic work, and the teaching skills required for the post.
• You must have the ability to lead a research group.
• Be fluent in English.
• In addition, publications and other demonstrated abilities and motivation for a scientific career are required. 

When assessing the candidate’s merits for the position of Associate Professor, attention will be paid to scientific excellence, such as research outputs, acquisition of competitive research funds, international scientific activities and collaboration, teaching, supervision of undergraduate students and doctoral researchers, mentoring activities and pedagogical studies, societal relevance, impact and potential of scientific activities, services for the academic community and leadership skills.

For both levels, we also appreciate:

• Finnish language skills or willingness to participate in courses to master basic skills in Finnish.
• Expertise in advanced synthetic methodologies and proficiency in multiple modern characterization techniques (e.g., diffraction, spectroscopy, computational modeling).
• Experience in mentoring doctoral candidates and developing innovative teaching approaches.
• Ability to build interdisciplinary connections within chemistry and related fields.

Salary and Terms

The position is fixed-term for five years (tenure track) starting on 1.1.2027 or as soon as possible thereafter.

In Assistant or Associate Professor positions, the salary is based on levels 6 – 7 of the demand level chart for teaching and research staff of Finnish universities. In addition, a salary component based on personal work performance will be paid (maximum of 50 % of the job-specific component). The starting gross monthly salary will be approximately between 4 500 – 5 800 € per month (before taxes), depending on qualifications and experience. A six-month trial period applies to the position.

How to Apply

Are you interested? If yes, please submit your application by 31.8.2026 (23:59 Finnish local time) through our online recruitment system.

Your application must be written in English and include the following documents:

1. Cover letter, stating the career level at which you would like to be evaluated, and including contact details of 2–4 persons available for recommendation.
2. CV following the guidelines of the Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity.
3. Narrative CV, using the given template (more information: principles for the assessment of research and researchers at the University of Oulu).
4. List of publications following the guidelines of the Research Council of Finland, with the ten most important ones marked.
5. Brief account of research merits.
6. Teaching portfolio (maximum five pages) containing:
   1. Teaching philosophy, teaching strategies, and methods.
   2. A description of oneself as a teacher and an implementer of educational work.
   3. Practical experience in teaching and efforts to improve teaching, digital teaching skills and giving feedback, possible participation in continuous learning provision, and international educational collaboration.
   4. Production and use of learning materials, including open educational resources.
   5. Maintaining and developing one’s own teaching and supervision competence; description of one’s pedagogical training; the significance of research in maintaining and developing one's teaching and supervision competence.
   6. Feedback received on teaching (student evaluations, peer evaluations, awards, and assessed test lectures).
   7. Vision for the development of one’s teaching.
7. Details regarding the acquisition of research funds. 
8. A brief research and action plan. 

The selection process follows the University of Oulu tenure track guidelines and is carried out by a recruitment committee. The candidates are subjected to publication analyses based on their publication lists. The candidates who are considered most suitable by the recruitment committee will undergo an expert evaluation. Top candidates will also be invited to an on-site or remote interview and asked to give a teaching demonstration as part of the assessment of teaching skills. All applicants will be notified during the selection process.

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, including people of different ages, genders, languages, cultures, and minority communities.

Contact Information

For further information about this post, please contact the Head of The Unit, Professor Mika Ruusunen, [email protected]. In technical questions you can contact the secretary of the nomination preparation committee Satu Pitkäaho, [email protected]. phone: +358403593434.

1. Satu Pitkäaho, [email protected]