Observatory Assistant Jobs in Minnesota (NOW HIRING)

Carleton College invites applications for a tenure-track position in experimental physics (Assistant Professor of Physics) that would normally begin September 1, 2027. Applications received by Sept. 15, 2026 will receive priority consideration. Members of groups traditionally underrepresented in physics, including those with non-traditional career paths, are strongly encouraged to apply.
Our Institution: Carleton College is a highly-ranked liberal arts college of 2,000 students located in the two-college town of Northfield Minnesota. Notable features include:

• Urban Access: Northfield is 45 miles from Minneapolis - St. Paul (where MSP International airport is a Delta hub) and a similar distance from Rochester, home of the Mayo Clinic.
• Outdoor Opportunities: Our campus includes an 800-acre arboretum, and the region contains a network of state parks, lakes, and trails.
• Student Body: Our students are our greatest asset. We are particularly interested in candidates committed to teaching students from a variety of backgrounds. Carleton is committed to developing its faculty to better reflect the composition of our student body and American society.

Our Physics & Astronomy Department:

• Who we are: We are eight faculty members and four staff members. Annually, we graduate 15-30 majors, and about 10% of the students on campus take introductory courses with us.
• How we grow: Our strong collegial culture of learning and innovating together enriches our approaches to teaching, research, and service, and informs how we adapt to ongoing changes across higher education and in our field.
• Facilities we have: We have recently built or updated our well-equipped and modern teaching and research spaces, including faculty research labs, a computational research suite, an instrument shop, and a makerspace. Goodsell Observatory has both historic and modern optical telescopes for curricular and co-curricular use.

You should have:

• A Ph.D. in Physics or a related field. Candidates who are near the completion of a Ph.D. may also be considered
• A strong experimental physics research background that expands the research specialities in the department.
• A strong interest in teaching undergraduates in a liberal arts environment.

Things you will do:

• Teach the equivalent of five courses per year. Lab sections count as half a course each.
• Advise students on their senior project (comps).
• Involve students in your research.
• Be a part of departmental initiatives and events.
• Serve as an academic advisor and on college committees (after your first year).

Things you can choose to do:

• Engage the community with outreach.
• Collaborate on teaching or research projects with other departments or campus centers.

Integrated within all that you do:

• Help cultivate a welcoming community where everyone feels a sense of belonging. We strive to foster an environment where all people can be themselves, build community, learn, and grow.

How we will support you:
We support new faculty in creating a professional trajectory that suitably balances teaching, research, and other interests. Carleton offers a competitive benefits package and is prepared to provide start-up funding to enable the successful candidate to establish and develop a research program suitable to an undergraduate institution of Carleton's quality where both teaching and research are prized. The Learning and Teaching Center provides resources and professional development for teaching as well as mentoring for new faculty. Some internal funding is available for supporting research, and the Grants Office supports external funding proposals.
To apply, submit online:

• Cover letter - describing why this particular position is of interest to you.
• Teaching statement - (2-3 pages) describing your approach to teaching that discusses ideas or techniques you would like to pursue or have tried in prior teaching experiences including TAing or tutoring. Address how your approach would engage a student body with broad diversity including preparation, career interests, identities, and the intersections between them.
• Research statement - (2-3 pages) describing your research interests for an audience of physicists who are not experts in your subfield. Provide examples demonstrating how undergraduates could participate in your research projects, including how they might engage, what they would learn, and what they would produce.
• CV

After passing through an initial screening process, applicants may receive a request for the contact information for three references who can speak to their abilities in teaching, research, and collaborative engagement. Letters of recommendation may be requested as soon as September 29th for potential finalists.
The expected starting salary range for this position is between $87,480 - $93,290. Actual pay will be adjusted based on job-related factors permitted by law, such as experience and training; licensure and certifications; market factors; departmental budgets; and responsibility. Carleton also offers a robust suite of benefits including:

• A generous 403(b) retirement plan with a 10% employer contribution and 2% employee contribution
• Medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for all employees

Carleton College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, marital status, veteran status, actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, status with regard to public assistance, disability, or age in providing employment or access to its educational facilities and activities.