Professor, Industrial chemistry

Aalto University is where science and art meet technology and business. We shape a sustainable future by making research breakthroughs in and across our disciplines, sparking the game changers of tomorrow and creating novel solutions to major global challenges. Our community is made up of 16 000 students and 5 200 employees, including 446 professors, representing over 120 nationalities. Our campus is in Espoo, Greater Helsinki, Finland.  Diversity is part of who we are, and we actively work to ensure our community’s diversity and inclusiveness. This is why we warmly encourage qualified candidates from all backgrounds to join our community.

The unique competitive edge of the Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering in the School of Chemical Engineering is based on sustainable utilization of raw materials, designing more efficient processes and developing new materials and products. Our department’s areas of expertise enable sustainable future with high performance products and processes in circular economy and bioeconomy. The department is in a key position in research of chemical engineering, materials technology, metals processing, efficient energy technologies and digitalization of these. Our core competences include unit operations and processes in chemical engineering, hydro- and pyro-metallurgy, catalysis and polymer engineering, process control and process systems engineering.

The Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering at Aalto University School of Chemical Engineering invites applications for the position of

PROFESSOR IN INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY

The position can be filled at any level of the Aalto tenure track system (assistant, associate or full professor). The position is full-time and, depending on the positioning on the tenure track, either on fixed or permanent term.

The position and our expectations   

The core theme of the professorship is Chemical Reaction Engineering. We seek a candidate who can translate reaction chemistry into reactor and process solutions for industrial production, grounded in strong understanding of kinetics and thermodynamics.

Expected competencies include:

• Reaction engineering fundamentals: kinetics of catalytic and non-catalytic reactions, thermodynamics, and ability to combine molecular to catalyst and larger scale phenomena.
• Chemical reaction engineering, reactor design and scale-up for feasible, efficient, sustainable, and industrially relevant processes.
• Understanding unit processes and operations central to chemical industry production chains.
• Ability to lead and develop experimental work and modeling in the field of professorship.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Teaching and developing educational activities in the field of chemical reaction engineering at bachelor, master and doctoral levels, including theoretical courses and laboratory practice.
• Carrying out high-quality research and publishing in peer-reviewed journals, as well as disseminating research results to various interest groups including professionals, students, and academics.
• Contributing proactively and collegially to the success of the school and department and its societal impact, industrial relevance and international visibility.
• Attracting competitive funding to initiate and lead research projects, defining an ambitious research agenda and recruiting researchers to your group.

Your experience and ambitions

A doctoral degree in Chemical Engineering or a related field is a prerequisite for the position. The applicants will be reviewed based on their excellence and future potential in scientific research and teaching, and their active role within the international scientific community, adjusting expectations with the level of recruitment to the tenure track. We appreciate team players who can build collaborative projects with industry and other research groups within and outside Aalto University. The successful candidate should have a clear plan to develop an outstanding and dynamic research practice actively contributing to the community in the field. Industrial background is an asset; demonstrated ability to network and collaborate with industry is highly valued.

What we offer

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to join a vibrant community of researchers and contribute to the department's strong reputation for excellence in chemical and metallurgical engineering research and education.

At Aalto University you have the opportunity to work within a well-resourced learning community where the students are rigorously selected and highly motivated. This results in an unusually interactive and intellectually challenging atmosphere.

The successful candidate will have access to national infrastructure funded by the Research Council of Finland hosted at the School of Chemical Engineering. The Department has very good facilities for experimental work in chemical reaction engineering, as well as supporting staff and a workshop to support teaching, students’ learning and research work. Researchers at Aalto have also access to national computational infrastructure CSC: https://csc.fi/en/.

The salary is determined based on the experience and qualifications of the selected candidate. As an employer, Aalto University provides excellent staff training and mentoring programs, as well as occupational health care services, commuter ticket benefits and campus sport facilities. In addition, we offer extensive research support services such as grant writing and project management.

The Department is located in the Otaniemi campus of Aalto University in Espoo (Helsinki metropolitan area).

Ready to apply?

If you want to join our community, please submit your application through our recruitment system by 31.7 2026. (If you are already working at Aalto, please apply via our internal system Workday -> Find Jobs.)

To apply, please share the following application materials with us in English and in PDF:

• Application letter
• Curriculum Vitae - please use the template recommended by The Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity. Please also include names and contact information for potential references
• List of publications (with 10 most relevant publications regarding this position highlighted)
• Research statement describing your research experience and detailed plans for future research and activities
• Teaching portfolio (please see the University’s instructions and make sure your teaching portfolio complies with them). See  Teaching-competence-assessment_Guidelines-for-a-candidate_2024_Aalto-University.pdf

General instructions for applicants including evaluation criteria, language requirements and guidelines for compiling your CV and teaching portfolio are given at Interested in joining our tenure track? | Aalto University

Aalto University will use external reviewers to support the evaluation of applicants during the recruitment process. Based on the application materials and external evaluations, the Departmental Committee will choose the most suitable applicants to visit the Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering for interviews and short job talk presentations, and to deliver teaching demonstrations.

If you wish to hear more about the position, you can reach out to Professor Ville Alopaeus. In questions related to the recruitment process, please contact HR Partner Alice Björklund. Emails (firstname.lastname@aalto.fi).

Want to know more about us and your future colleagues? You can watch these videos:  

This is Aalto University! 
Aalto University – Towards a better world  
and Shaping a Sustainable Future. 

Read more about working at Aalto: https://www.aalto.fi/en/careers-at-aalto and check out our new virtual campus experience: https://virtualtour.aalto.fi 

Tenure track at Aalto University

The position is a tenure track position. Individuals appointed to the tenure track have the opportunity to conduct research and/or artistic work and teach in order to build academic merits towards qualifying for an appointment to a tenured position. 

Since 2010, the tenure track has attracted a wide range of international applicants, giving Aalto University the possibility of recruiting top experts and young talent to join the Aalto University community.  Throughout their careers, those in the tenure track system are expected to conduct and supervise artistic/scientific research and/or artistic/design work, to provide related academic education, contribute to developing their field or discipline, as well as contribute to academic service the university and beyond in the society. For more information on the tenure track system of Aalto University, please see https://www.aalto.fi/en/tenure-track.

About Finland 

Finland is a great place for living with or without family – it is a safe, politically stable and well-organized Nordic society. Finland is consistently ranked high in quality of life and was listed again as the happiest country in the world: World Happiness Report 2025 

For more information about living in Finland: Aalto Careers for International Staff. 

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