Canada Impact+ Emerging Leaders

Proud of its 150 years of history, it now welcomes more than 10,000 students and relies on the expertise of nearly 1,600 staff members with diverse skills, including more than 300 professors.

Polytechnique has been certified Gold by STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System). Polytechnique is known for its innovative approach, and its active role in technological, economic, and social development. It values the diversity of its employees and adheres to an equal employment opportunity program for women, visible and ethnic minorities, Indigenous people and those with disabilities. Having received the Gold Parity Certification from Women in Governance, it offers excellent working conditions, focusing on work-life balance and the well-being of its employees. Adaptive measures are available upon request from persons with disabilities or in other circumstances. Candidates requiring adaptive measures are invited to contact Maria-Gracia Girardi, the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Advisor, by e-mailing edi@polymtl.ca.

CANADA IMPACT+ EMERGING LEADERS

The Canada Impact+ Emerging Leaders program a complementary component of the Eddie Goldenberg Canada Research Chairs Program (formerly Impact+ Canada). It aims to help institutions that are awarded an Eddie Goldenberg Canada Research Chair to recruit an exceptional early career researcher (ECR) to a tenure-track faculty position in the same strategic priority area. The successful candidate will receive dedicated funding of up to $100,000 per year for six (6) years, along with institutional support from Polytechnique Montréal. This will help them quickly build an independent research program and, alongside the Eddie Goldenberg Canada Research Chair, help revitalize and strengthen Canada's technological sovereignty.

The key objectives of the Canada Impact+ Emerging Leaders program are to support institutions to:

• Attract and retain exceptional early career researchers in Canada in the country's strategic priority areas;
• Provide these researchers with the resources and mentorship they need to quickly establish an independent, innovative and internationally competitive research program;
• Together with the institution's Eddie Goldenberg Canada Research Chair, build a critical and sustainable mass of expertise in the targeted priority area;
• From the earliest years of the holder's career, foster cross-sector collaborations (private sector, industry partners, other institutions) to speed the move from research to practice.

For more information about this initiative, please visit the Canada Impact+ Emerging Leaders program website.

RESEARCH AREAS

A protectionist agenda is jeopardizing global free trade and undermining Canada’s autonomy. The country’s manufacturing sector and various supply chains, in particular, are tightly integrated with those of other countries. To help enhance Canada’s resilience, durability, environmental stewardship and national security, Polytechnique Montréal is seeking exceptional candidates whose work targets development and adoption of technologies critical to the strengthening of Canada’s sovereignty and autonomy.

Polytechnique expects the research work to be carried out in co-construction with the communities established in the territory, while respecting the values and needs of these communities, and to generate both short- and long-term strategic benefits for Canada in at least one priority area. The advances achieved may also be transferable to Arctic and space-based contexts. This proposal is in keeping with Polytechnique’s 2024–2028 Strategic Plan as well as the federal government’s strategic priorities.

This Impact+ Canada Emerging Leader position is part of the “strategic cluster” of chairs that Polytechnique Montréal is building to help advance Canada's prosperity, autonomy, security and resource development. The successful candidate will carry out research in the strategic priority area of advanced manufacturing and materials.

In particular, the chosen candidate will lead an ambitious research program on the fabrication, characterization or numerical modelling (digital twins) of innovative materials for advanced manufacturing applications. Areas of interest include : inorganic and organic semiconductor materials, thin films, materials discovery and digital twins, and quantum materials. Application areas include : energy (solar panels, energy-efficient information technologies), biomedical applications, microelectronic and electro-optical devices, and sensors and imagers. Applications in related and similar fields are encouraged.

The Canada Impact+ Emerging Leaders Chair held by the chosen candidate will be part of a dynamic environment comprising, among others:

• IVADO (research, training and knowledge mobilization consortium in artificial intelligence);
• Trottier Energy Institute (IET);
• Multidisciplinary Institute for Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience (IMC2);
• Institute for Disruptive Innovations (catalyst for innovation in the high-technology field);
• TransMedTech Institute (transdisciplinary institute for development of novel medical technologies for the healthcare system);
• Astrolith (transdisciplinary research unit for space resource and infrastructure engineering);
• Centre d'études interuniversitaire des structures sous charges extrêmes (CEISCE, strategic research cluster dedicated to safety of civil engineering structures);
• Northern Engineering Centre (CINEP);
• Clean Technology Innovation Centre (CITP);
• Centre for Characterization and Microscopy of Materials ((CM)2);
• Poly-Grames Research Centre (centre of excellence in radio frequency, microwave, millimetre-wave and microwave photonics science and engineering);
• Centre for Applied Research on High-Performance Polymers and Composites à (CREPEC);
• Research, Development and Validation Centre for Water Treatment Technologies and Processes (CREDEAU);
• Thin-Film Physics and Technology Research Group (GCM).

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

The successful candidate will carry out the responsibilities of this position with dynamism and creativity. Among other duties, they will:

• Exercise leadership in the targeted areas, establishing and maintaining collaborations with other research groups at Polytechnique and at other institutions;
• Supervise undergraduate and graduate students, providing coaching and training for their research projects;
• Promote the transformation of discoveries into concrete applications and marketable products that will benefit Canada and the world socially and economically;
• Commit to integrating equity, diversity and inclusion into their team and their research design, once awarded the Canada Impact+ Research Chair;
• Actively contribute to the teaching and research activities of the department to which they are assigned;
• Contribute to enhancing Polytechnique Montréal's visibility and influence in Québec and internationally.

CANADA IMPACT+ EMERGING LEADERS PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

Candidates must:

• Be an early career researcher (ECR), meaning no more than five (5) years of experience since starting their first independent research position, as defined in the Recruitment Requirements of the Eddie Goldenberg Canada Research Chairs Program. Eligible leaves (parental, medical, family caregiver) and career interruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic are taken into account and may extend this period;
• Be based abroad (working and living outside Canada) as of June 2026, the date the Eddie Goldenberg Canada Research Chair was accepted;
• Have a promising research record that matches their career stage;
• Conduct innovative, high-quality research in their field of expertise, with demonstrated potential for international scientific leadership;
• Be eligible for appointment to a tenure-track faculty position at Polytechnique Montréal, in line with the requirements of the Impact+ Canada Emerging Leaders Program.

PROFILE SOUGHT BY POLYTECHNIQUE

• Hold a PhD¹ in engineering or equivalent in a relevant field to innovative materials, for example in materials screening, materials characterization, solar panels, etc.;
• Have demonstrated, even at this early career stage, potential for international recognition and promising scientific contributions that could have significant societal impact;
• Have a research record demonstrating ability to fund research through external sources to supervise graduate students;
• Be capable of building a diverse and high-quality research team that will significantly contribute to Polytechnique Montréal’s reputation in the field;
• Demonstrate leadership that has helped establish collaborations and transformative initiatives;
• Demonstrate ability to attract and mentor a diverse group of students, trainees and research staff, and create an equitable and inclusive research environment;
• Commit to integrating equity, diversity and inclusion into their team and research design;
• Demonstrate a strong commitment to and skills in teaching, if possible supported by teaching evaluations.

Polytechnique Montréal will provide the candidate with the necessary assistance and support to be registered on the roll of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ) and to learn French.

¹Polytechnique requires that the chairholder holds a doctoral degree. This requirement comes from our institution and not from the Program.

INSTITUTION'S COMMITMENT TO EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

In accordance with its recruitment policies, and in particular its “Equal Access and Employment Equity Program,” Polytechnique Montréal is committed to fostering excellence in research and research training and to guaranteeing equal opportunities for all candidates.

Further to its commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, Polytechnique Montréal encourages applications for this Canada Impact+ Emerging Leaders from persons who belong to under-represented or equity-seeking groups, including Indigenous Peoples, women, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, and persons who identify as sexually or gender-diverse.

Polytechnique Montréal also recognizes that career slowdowns or interruptions are part of the trajectory of many people in the research ecosystem. Where appropriate, candidates may signaler any leave or special circumstances (e.g., maternity leave, parental leave, caregiving for family members, community responsibilities, situations of disability, health problems or prolonged disability immigration procedures, or repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic) that have had an impact on their performance or career trajectory so that they can be fairly considered in the evaluation process. Candidates are under no obligation to provide details about their personal life or other information that they consider confidential.

As a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), Polytechnique is committed to adopting exemplary practices to ensure fair, transparent and thorough evaluation of the merit and excellence of researchers' scientific work, based on the quality, importance or impact of their contributions as a whole.

ADVANTAGES OF WORKING AT POLYTECHNIQUE MONTRÉAL

This is a tenure-track position.

Salary and benefits will be determined in accordance with the collective agreement (text in French). It provides for, among other things:

• Provisions for work-family balance, such as maternity, paternity and adoption leave, in addition to the Québec Parental Insurance Plan;
• The possibility of benefiting from paid respite periods;
• A defined-benefits pension plan.

In addition, relocation and immigration support is available to the successful candidate and their family.

To learn more about Polytechnique Montréal and the benefits of contributing to its mission, please see: Avantages et milieu de vie (in French).

HOW TO APPLY

Interested candidates are urged to submit their application package via e-mail to the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on November 13, 2026.

The package must include, in the order listed below, in a single PDF file:

• A cover letter stating, among other things, the candidate’s suitability for the field of advanced manufacturing and materials by this Canada Impact+ Emerging Leaders;
• An Emerging Leader's research program (maximum 5 pages or 3,000 words), including:
  • a description of the proposed research program;
  • the program's objectives;
  • the research approach;
  • the contribution to training highly qualified personnel (HQP);
  • how the program could be disseminated and applied in practices, products and/or services, and how it will generate tangible economic or social benefits for Canada.
• A detailed curriculum vitae, outlining the candidate's leadership and significant achievements, as well as the concrete impact of their work;
• Two reference letters attesting to the candidate's ability to lead a research program independently and their potential to build an international reputation during their term. Each letter must come from an established authority in the field who is not in a conflict of interest with the candidate.

Conditional upon the award of a Canada Impact+ Emerging Leader by the Program, candidate will be integrated into a faculty position, in accordance with hiring procedures in effect at Polytechnique Montréal. Selected candidate must take up the position no later than June 2027.

This Impact+ Canada Emerging Leader position is directly tied to the Eddie Goldenberg Canada Research Chair awarded to Polytechnique Montréal in the priority area of advanced manufacturing and materials. Recruitment follows the Requirements for Research Chair recruitment (chairholders and early career researchers).

For more information and questions, please contact the Office of the Vice-President of Research and Innovation.

The Program imposes no restrictions on candidates with regard to nationality or country of residence. Employment and Social Development Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada have established procedures to allow non-Canadian chairholders to work in Canada. Please refer to the Global Skills Strategy process and the information about the dedicated service channel, where the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) – Tri-Agency Institutional Programs Secretariat (TIPS) is identified as a referral partner.