This is a collection of thoughts complied throughout my tenure track job search during the Fall 2025-2026 application cycle.

• When and where to apply
• Responses
• Reflections

One can read the similar page for my (unsuccessful) search two years earlier here.

Statements

Here are sample copies of my statements:

• Job Talk
  • Big emphasis on what the area of research is.
• Research Statement
  • Compared to last time, I emphasized my past work a bit more. I also modified the research statement for the schools I was applying to.
• Teaching Statement
  • This statement was almost identical to my past statement.
• CV, with some updates based on the additional teaching/mentorship I had done.
  • This is my CV at the time of applying. I updated my CV throughout the process as new papers were posted or accepted.

Deciding when and where to apply

I originally planned on going on the market the previous year, but a job in an industry research group landed in my lap. The general consensus among the people I talked to was that, as long as I was still reasonably research-active, being out of academia for a year or two wouldn’t be a big barrier to getting a faculty job. I decided to take the job which I figured was a good hedge against the variance of the academic job market, would let me stay in NYC, and would give me a chance to learn about computational science in industry. However, after a year and some unexpected/unforseeable changes to the job description, it was clear that it was time for me to move on.

The main constraint in my job search was geography; I was very set on staying in NYC or moving to Shanghai. I applied for basically every open position in Math and Computer Science in NYC and a few positions in Shanghai. This included a variety of types of instuitutions, ranging from undergrad teaching-heavy positions, research institutes, large reserach univerisites, and NYU Shanghai.

Responses

I heard about first-round interviews in mid Febraury, which seemed very late compared to past years. I recieved my official offer from NYU Shanghai in mid April.

Reflections

I’ve been interested in NYU Shanghai since my PhD and made a number of deliberate career decisions (including taking my postdoc at NYU) with this in mind. So the fact that I actually got the job is a bit surreal.

More broadly, I’m relieved to be done with job searches and am looking forward to the stability the new job provides. Finding a faculty position has been a lurking stressor for the past decade, and while I enjoyed getting to see many different cities, the constant uncertainty of what’s next was draining. While my tenure evaluation (6 years from now) is still ahead and the impact of AI on the discipline is uncertain, I feel much more at ease about my career than I have at any point prior.