Tier 2 CRC & Mitchell-Funded Tenure-Track/Tenured Faculty in Supercomputing & HPC

Queen's University - Electrical and Computing Engineering, Smith Engineering; Kingston; On-site; CAD 150,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Queen’s University invites applications for two tenure-track/tenured positions in Supercomputing/HPC within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Kingston, Canada. Starting date is September 1, 2027, with potential Tier 2 CRC chairs and reduced teaching duties to enable a strong research program.

Candidates should demonstrate leadership in modelling, AI infrastructure, and exascale systems and will be evaluated on research impact, teaching, and equity commitments.

Qualifications

• The ideal candidate will have a PhD or equivalent degree and a background in supercomputing systems.
• Demonstrated leadership in computing systems for modelling and simulation, AI infrastructure, and digital twins.
• Experience with batch systems, MPI libraries, and modern node-parallel programming models.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead a world‑class research program in HPC for Kingston and beyond.
• Contribute to teaching and mentoring at undergraduate and graduate levels.
• Engage with diverse scholarship and translation of knowledge in the department.

Skills

PhD in a relevant field

Supercomputing HPC expertise

Leadership in computing systems

SLURM experience

MPI/NCCL/RCCL

OpenMP

CUDA/HIP

Kokkos

Tier 2 CRC eligibility or track

Education

PhD or equivalent degree

Tools

SCR

Adios

HDF5

POSIX

Job description

Tenure-Track/Tenured Faculty Positions

in Supercomputing/ High-Performance Computing
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Stephen J.R. Smith Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
Queen’s University at Kingston, Canada
September 2026
Queen's University is situated on traditional Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee Territory.

The Stephen J. R. Smith Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Queen’s University invites applications for two tenure-track/tenured positions at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor with specialization in supercomputing, high-performance computing, and extreme-scale systems in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. We are seeking scholars with demonstrated leadership in computing systems for modelling and simulation, digital twins, and AI infrastructure, with a preferred starting date of September 1, 2027. This posting is for new positions within the University. The available positions are:
Tenure-Track or Tenured Tier 2 Canada Research Chair. Canada Research Chairs were established as part of a national strategy to foster research excellence (www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca). The successful candidate must submit an external application to the Tri-agency Institutional Program Secretariat that meets the requirements for the successful nomination of Tier 2 Chair as defined by the Canada Research Chairs Program:
• be an excellent emerging world‑class researcher who has demonstrated particular research creativity;
• have demonstrated the potential to achieve international recognition in their field in the next five to ten years;
• have the potential to attract, develop and retain excellent trainees, students and future researchers; and
• be proposing an original, innovative research program of high quality.
Decreased teaching and administrative responsibilities will be associated with this position to enable the candidate to develop a world‑class research program.
Tenure-Track or Tenured Faculty Position (made possible by a transformative $30M investment by Bruce Mitchell Sc’68, DSc'20). The successful candidate will receive direct research support for the first 5 years of their tenure from the Bruce Mitchell Research Program, including resources to support the recruitment of multiple postdoctoral researchers/students. Decreased teaching and administrative responsibilities will be associated with this position to enable the candidate to develop a world‑class research program.

Qualifications (both positions) The ideal candidate will have:

• a PhD or equivalent degree completed at the start date of the appointment. Note: the requirement for a PhD is that of the University and not the CRC program.
• a background in supercomputing systems and a solid understanding of the challenges of building and operating and/or using large supercomputers along with an understanding of most of the common software used on these systems, such as:
  • batch systems (e.g. SLURM)
  • communication libraries (e.g. MPI, NCCL/RCCL)
  • shared memory node parallel programming models (e.g. OpenMP, CUDA/HIP, Kokkos, etc.)
  • the composition of communication libraries and node parallel programming (e.g. MPI+X).
  • I/O communication libraries (e.g. SCR, Adios, HDF5 and concepts e.g., POSIX).
• deep expertise in one or more supercomputing/HPC research areas. Examples of possible expertise (not an exhaustive list) include:
  • Supercomputing compute system design and optimization
  • Filesystems, software and/or hardware
  • Application performance and optimization
  • Middleware and/or software in one or more of the above areas
  • Networking
  • Interaction of supercomputers with emerging compute paradigms including, but not limited to edge systems and quantum computers
• enthusiasm about teaching supercomputing/HPC to diverse groups.

The main criteria for selection are:

• Evidence of high-quality scholarly research expertise that complements existing research areas in the department that is demonstrated through peer-reviewed publications, research funding, and/or other evidence of scholarly impact;
• Evidence of the potential for research leadership, and the ability to build a research program with an international presence within the next five to ten years (as appropriate to the discipline);
• A commitment to translation of knowledge and scholarly impact through engagement with collaborative networks, and other diverse forms of scholarship
• Evidence of effective teaching and mentorship at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and an ongoing commitment to academic and pedagogical excellence;
• A demonstrated commitment to the principles of Indigenization, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Anti‑racism (I-EDIAA) in the teaching and research environment;
• Professional engineering licensure in Canada, or the eligibility to obtain licensure, is a requirement. Note that all forms of engineering licensure in Canada are considered acceptable (e.g. P.Eng., temporary engineering license, provisional engineering license, etc.);
• Postdoctoral and/or industrial experience will be considered an asset;

The successful candidates will be required to make contributions through service to the Department, the Faculty, the University, and/or the broader community.

Eligibility for Tier 2 Canada Research Chair
Nominees for Tier 2 Canada Research Chair positions must be within 10 years from their first independent academic research‑related appointment at the time of nomination. Applicants who are more than 10 years from their first independent academic research‑related appointment (and where career breaks exist) may have their eligibility for a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair assessed through the program’s Tier 2 justification process. Acceptable justifications are generally limited to breaks in the candidate’s research career due to maternity or parental leave, extended sick leave, clinical training, and family care. Please contact [e-mail] for more information on the Tier 2 justification process.

The diverse backgrounds of applicants and the type of scholarship appropriate to their research areas, as well as the diverse range of scholarly methodologies and ways of measuring impact, will be taken into account when assessing the quality of the scholarly or creative work. Candidates will be evaluated using the principles of the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and with attention to the diverse ways excellence can be demonstrated. The successful candidate will also be expected to make contributions through service to the Department, the Faculty, the University, and/or the broader community. The annual salary for this appointment is expected to be between $150,000 and $180,000. Actual Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Research Security
To ensure that the Canadian research ecosystem is as open as possible and is safeguarded as necessary, the Government of Canada has introduced the Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC Policy). Canada Research Chair nominees are required to comply with the STRAC Policy. Candidates in strong consideration for the Tier 2 CRC position will be supported by Queen’s to determine whether any mitigation steps are necessary to ensure eligibility for a Canada Research Chair award and relevant funding programs.

Vaccination Requirements
Prior to May 1, 2022, the University required all students, faculty, staff, and visitors (including contractors) to declare their COVID-19 vaccination status and provide proof that they were fully vaccinated or had an approved accommodation to engage in in‑person University activities. These requirements were suspended effective May 1, 2022, but the University may reinstate them at any point.

The Faculty and Department
Our rapidly changing world presents unprecedented opportunities and significant challenges.
Smith Engineering is changing the face of engineering education, so future engineers can be leaders in the face of complex and multidisciplinary global issues. This new model of engineering education will be technically rigorous, experientially focused, socially conscious and creatively inspired. It will ensure graduates have the knowledge and tools to not only create our technology and processes but to guide their evolution, and how they integrate with society and the world. To promote ongoing teaching success, there is support for course development and delivery provided by the Engineering Teaching and Learning Team, the Queen’s Centre for Teaching and Learning, the Department, and Smith Engineering.

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has 36 full‑time and 4 cross‑appointed faculty, approximately 1200 undergraduate students, and over 200 masters and doctoral students. The Department is deeply engaged with the Ingenuity Labs Research Institute and is home to the Queen’s Centre for Energy and Power Electronics Research (ePOWER). It also maintains strong connections with several multidisciplinary centres and initiatives, including the Center of Health Innovation, CMC Microsystems, Nanofabrication Kingston, GreenCentre Canada, Innovation Park, and the Dunin‑Deshpande Queen’s Innovation Connector.

Smith Engineering delivers 10 undergraduate programs to over 3000 undergraduate students, and 5 graduate programs to over 500 graduate students. The Faculty is well known for its record of leadership in interdisciplinary engineering education, including being one of the first engineering schools in Canada to establish an Integrated Learning Centre, significant community service learning modules in First‑Year instruction, an interdisciplinary “design spine” coordinated across all undergraduate programs in the Faculty, and a course in Technology Engineering and Management that draws students from engineering, business, arts and science, and law.

Among our top priorities in Smith Engineering is providing opportunities