Job Description

Looking for a career in an industry focused on designing, developing, and rapidly deploying solutions to problems of national importance? Applied Research Associates (ARA) is seeking engineers and scientists excited to work in a fast-paced environment involving hands-on hardware development, mechanical design, prototyping, and system integration. ARA’s Littleton, Colorado facility supports basic and applied research in the following areas:

• Acoustics – human hearing/injury, ultrasound, signal processing
• Physics – sensor development, blast–structure interaction, modeling and simulation
• Impact dynamics – terminal ballistics modeling and experimentation
• Design & Prototyping – software, electronics, and mechanical systems
• Advanced sensor R&D – remote sensing, system development, instrumentation

Our work spans basic scientific studies through concept development and productization, allowing our teams to transition early-stage ideas into functional prototypes and field-ready systems.

We are currently seeking excellent candidates to support a growing portfolio of research and prototype development programs. These projects involve mechanical design, fabrication and machining, assembly of complex hardware systems, and integration of sensors and electronics. Candidates will work closely with subject matter experts, engineers, scientists, program managers, and customers to create novel solutions and improve existing capabilities.

Candidates must be eager to learn, highly hands-on, and able to collaborate effectively with diverse technical teams. Candidates applying for this position must be a US citizen and be able to obtain a security clearance.

This position will initially support active contracts based on the candidate’s skills and program needs. As part of a collaborative research team, a successful candidate will have opportunities to grow into new technical areas and develop new capabilities that directly serve customer needs.

What you’ll do as an ARA Staff Engineer/Scientist:

• Design, build, and test mechanical components and assemblies for prototype systems.
• Develop and iterate mechanical prototypes using hand-operated and CNC machine tools.
• Build, integrate, and troubleshoot electromechanical systems, including mounting of sensors, wiring, structural components, and test fixtures.
• Conduct mechanical and environmental testing in areas such as vibration, impact, alignment, and structural evaluation following both new methods and standards.
• Use analytical tools and benchtop instrumentation to characterize mechanical performance, validate designs, and document results.
• Collaborate with internal and external personnel, vendors, and subcontractors to source components and coordinate fabrication.
• Work with project managers and technical leads to plan and execute research tasks aligned with customer goals, ensuring high quality, on time deliverables.
• Contribute to technical reports, standard operating procedures, and proposals.
• Contribute to physics-based model development through data analysis, running models, and evaluating performance.
• Serve as a technical resource for mechanical design and hands-on prototyping within the company.

Education

• Requires B.S. or higher in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, engineering physics, or a related field.

Requirements

• B.S. or M.S. or equivalent experience.
• At least 2 years of relevant engineering experience (or equivalent).
• US Citizen.
• Ability to obtain a security clearance.
• Onsite work at ARA’s Littleton, Colorado facility.
• Periodic travel (<10%) to other ARA offices, subcontractor sites, and customer locations.
• Demonstrated ability to work well both independently and within a team.
• Proficiency in mechanical CAD tools (e.g., SolidWorks, Creo, or similar).
• Hands-on experience with fabrication, machining, or machine shop tools.
• Experience with data collection/analysis tools (e.g., MATLAB, LabVIEW, Python).

Preferred Skills

The ideal candidate will possess one or more of the following:

• Experience designing and executing mechanical tests, building test fixtures, and validating hardware performance.
• Demonstrated ability to design mechanical systems from concept through prototyping and test.
• Hands-on experience using machine tools (manual or CNC) and collaborating closely with a machine shop.
• Experience integrating mechanical components with sensors and/or electronics.
• Experience with structural, thermal, and/or fluid analysis, either analytical or simulation based. • Experience with dynamics, solid mechanics, and material science.
• Data analysis skills including identifying physical trends and behaviors, sub-grouping data based on specific characteristics, and making comparisons across a wide range of data sets.
• Experience in verification and validation (V&V) and/or error quantification of simulated results against experimental data.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills demonstrated through technical reports, documentation, presentations, or publications.
• Interest or experience executing contract-based R&D related to national defense.
• Experience mentoring others.
• Ability to develop new experimental setups, fixtures, and laboratory capabilities.

About ARA:

ARA is an employee-owned research and engineering company recognized for providing technically superior solutions to complex and challenging problems in the physical sciences. The company, founded in Albuquerque, NM, in 1979, currently employs over 2,200 professionals and continues to grow.

ARA offices throughout the country provide expertise across a broad range of engineering and science technologies. At ARA, employees are our greatest assets. We realize that employee ownership spawns greater creativity and initiative along with higher performance and customer satisfaction levels. ARA gives employees the tools, training, and opportunities to take more active roles as owners. The culture is challenging; innovation and experimentation are the norm. Employees are eligible for contributions which not only add to the company’s success, but also their own through the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). The motto, “Engineering and Science for Fun and Profit,” along with the ARA values (Freedom, Passion, Service, Growth), sums up the ARA experience.