This page is only for postdoctoral appointment requests for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, ASSIST Center, or FREEDM Center at NC State University being paid fully or partially (50% or greater) on ECE, ASSIST, and/or FREEDM funding. The request should be initiated by the supervisor/host.

External Partners

If this appointment is funded fully or has more than 50% funding with any of the following affiliates below, please reach out to the appropriate contact or follow the process outlined for that respective center/unit:

CLAWS: College HR, COE_humanresources@ncsu.edu

Funding Approval

To avoid any delays in processing, please upload all external funding approvals to the request if there is any funding that is outside of ECE, ASSIST and/or FREEDM.

Eligibility Requirements

A complete list of eligibility requirements can be found in REG 10.10.08 – Postdoctoral Scholars, we wanted to highlight key requirements when selecting your postdoctoral candidate:

• Doctorate Degree Documentation: Candidates must have at least a letter of degree completion of their doctorate degree prior to the submission of a hiring proposal. The candidate must have defended and submitted the final, approved version of their dissertation. The candidate’s department at their academic institution where the doctoral degree is obtained will need to submit a letter on their letterhead stating that the candidate has completed all of the requirements for the degree.  
• Doctorate Award Date*: The doctorate degree must have been awarded no more than five (5) years prior to the postdoctoral appointment.
• Appointment Length: Postdoctoral appointments are limited to a maximum of five (5) years.
• Appointment Salary: The required minimum salary for a postdoctoral scholar is $58,656
• Appointment FTE: Postdoctoral appointments must be at a minimum 0.50 FTE, however we recommend that postdoctoral appointments are 1.0 FTE to ensure the appointment meets immigration requirements and medical coverage eligibility, and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exemption requirements. 

*Candidates are asked a supplemental question in their job application that answers this question

Hire Date & Timelines

Post Doc appointments for a pre-selected candidate require us to post the job internally for a minimum of 3 business days

Once a candidate has been selected, please refer to the following timeline outlined below.

Pre-Selected Candidate: From the time a request is submitted to ECE HR to when a pre-selected candidate is identified is typically 2-3 weeks

Open Recruitment: Varies depending on search committee timeline

Letter of Degree Certification or Fully Conferred Degree	J-1 Sponsorship	H-1B Sponsorship*	Location of Candidate	Estimated Time to Hire
✅			In the U.S.	2 months
✅	✅		In the U.S.	2 months
✅	✅		Outside the U.S.	3 months
✅		✅	In the U.S.	Premium Processing – 5 months Regular Processing – 11 months
✅		✅	Outside the U.S.	Premium Processing – 6 months Regular Processing – 12 months

*H-1B Processing Fees (as of 7/1/2025) (Reference: HRNow Immigration Fees)

H-1B Fees	Fee Amount
Initial Filing Fee	$460
Anti-Fraud Fee	$500
Premium Processing Fee	$2,805

Timeline is contingent on the candidate’s timely signing of the offer letter, submission of the background check, providing all required documentation for the position’s required academic requirements, and documentation for either J-1/H-1B processing.

ECE Salary Information – Post Docs

The required minimum salary for a postdoctoral scholar is $58,656. Furthermore, the University recommends hiring all incoming postdocs hired at 1.0 FTE.

Minimum Wage Limit	$58,656
Average ECE Post Doc Salary*	$60,000 – $75,000
Average Post Doc FTE	1.0 FTE (40 hours per week)

Recruitment Information & Resources

Post Doc appointments for an open recruitment recommends us to post the job externally for a minimum of 10 business days

Check out these recruitment resources from the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA)

Resume/CV

For a pre-selected candidate please be prepared to include a copy of the candidate’s CV/resume in your request.

Form Completion

Please complete the form with accurate and detailed information. Incomplete forms or forms with insufficient information will add to the processing timeline. Requests that are submitted with complete and accurate information will be given priority.

J-1 Sponsorship

The Office of International Services (OIS) has recently updated the requirements for J-1 Sponsorship. You and the visitor will be notified once we initiate the J-1 sponsorship request with email prompts from OIS’ system, GlobalHome. Please review the following information prior to submitting an unpaid appointment request.

• ECE Template for Invitation Letter – This link will generate a copy of the invitation letter as required for J-1 sponsorship. Please go ahead and create a letter to give to the visitor to include in your request. For further guidance when creating an invitation letter, please refer to this guidance on required content for the invitation letter: J-1 Invitation Letter Guidelines (Office of International Services). 

• J-1 Visitors are required to submit documentation of English proficiency. Please refer to OIS’ webpage for English Language Proficiency for J-1 Scholars.

More information on the requirements for hosting a J-1 Exchange Visitor can be found on OIS’ webpage here: https://internationalservices.ncsu.edu/faculty-and-staff/

Performance Evaluations & Mentoring

All post docs at NC State will receive an evaluation of their performance at the conclusion of the review cycle period.

The performance review cycle runs between April of the current year through March of the following year. The post doc will be evaluated based on performance in that review cycle period.

ECE HR will send out communications to all supervisors to gather performance evaluations typically in early April

To create a successful mentorship for your newly onboarded postdoctoral researcher, we recommend leveraging the following resources:

Mentoring for Post Docs (OPA)

Relocation Allowance

Candidates in postdoctoral appointments are not eligible for a relocation allowance (Reference: University Controller’s Office – Relocation Allowance)