Senior Fellow - California Climate and Energy Policy

The Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment is searching for a senior fellow in California Climate and Energy Policy.

Senior fellow appointments are designed to help the university deliver impact in areas that go beyond traditional scholarship. The Woods Institute for the Environment seeks to hire an established and engaged scholar and policy expert who is a leader in both academic and applied work in climate and energy policy in California, including research in support of policy initiatives and collaborations with governments, communities, companies, tribes and NGOs. 

A core priority for the Woods Institute, and for this position, is adaptation – advancing solutions that are important to moderating the impacts of a changing climate; building a future that is richer, safer, and more secure; and ensuring that solutions are fair, affordable, and sustainable. The Senior Fellow will play an important role in advancing this work in California and, in particular, will work with the growing community of scholars in the Institute who are addressing the many dimensions of the wildfire challenge.

The successful candidate will teach and mentor graduate and undergraduate students in interdisciplinary courses and in courses or programs that offer opportunities to gain practical policy experience.  They will be expected to maintain an externally funded program that delivers both academic papers and policy support.  Performance will be evaluated based on the combination of policy and academic impact. This is a five-year appointment with the possibility of reappointment, subject to funding and performance.

Senior Fellows are members of the Professoriate and of the Academic Council. As members of the Academic Council, Senior Fellows are eligible to serve as principal investigators and advise graduate students. The standard of accomplishment for appointment as Senior Fellow is high, similar to that for a tenured professor, though Senior Fellows are not members of the tenure line faculty,

Application packages should be submitted online at this link by November 1, 2025.

Packages Must Include:

1. Cover letter
2. Curriculum Vitae
3. Combined Research and Teaching Statement

The Woods Institute, Doerr School of Sustainability, and Stanford University value faculty who will help foster an open and respectful academic environment for colleagues, students, and staff with a wide range of backgrounds, and perspectives. Candidates may choose to include as part of their research and teaching statements a brief discussion about how their work and experience will further these values.

Stanford is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Stanford welcomes applications from all who would bring additional dimensions to the University’s research, teaching, and clinical missions.

Consistent with its obligations under the law, the University will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process should contact disability.access@stanford.edu.

The expected nine-month base pay range for this position is $174,000 - $350,000.

Stanford University has provided a base pay range representing its good faith estimate of what the university reasonably expects to pay for the position. The pay offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors including (but not limited to) the experience and qualifications of the selected candidate including years since terminal degree, training, and field or discipline; departmental budget availability; internal equity; and external market pay for comparable jobs.

For general questions regarding this position, please contact Stephani Leatigaga at sleatiga@stanford.edu.