Job Description

The Engineering Science Division (ESD) of Applied Research Associates, Inc. is seeking a Staff Scientist 1 to support on-going research and development with the Tyndall Reactive Materials Group (TRMG) onsite at Tyndall AFB, Florida USA. Our mission is to provide research, development, test and evaluation services to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Transportation Security Laboratory (TSL). An ideal candidate has experience in analytical techniques, good laboratory practices, quality control and exposure to high hazard chemical processes. Candidates for this position must be a US citizen residing within the US and hold active DOD SECRET Security Clearance.

Responsibilities

• Assist in synthesis of a variety of homemade explosive (HME) energetic materials.
• Perform characterization and analytical techniques to identify and quantify chemicals/materials.
• Support explosives effects research, including HME sensitivity analysis, scale-up testing, and thermal stability testing.
• Support development of test plans, reports, presentations, laboratory safety assessment plans, standard operating procedures, and other support documentation.
• Maintain qualification in chemical, radiation, and laser safety, and explosive handling as mandated by facility procedures and training.
• Report research results using standard formats and templates in a timely manner.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or equivalent with 2 – 4 years experience or a Masters with 0 – 2 years experience
• Analytical method implementation for chemical analyses and quality control.
• Experience following standard operating procedures (SOPs) for analytical chemistry methods and/or bench scale synthetic processes.
• Working knowledge of analytical chemistry methods for development of quantitative instrumental chemical analyses.
• Experience maintaining and calibrating laboratory equipment.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, team oriented, detail oriented, and customer focused.
• Ability to lift 50 pounds.
• Experience with MS Office applications.
• Active DOD SECRET Security Clearance
• Eligibility and willingness to obtain and maintain DHS Suitability.
• Sole US Citizenship.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with handling explosives such as military ordnance, pyrotechnics, and incendiary materials.
• Experience with the application of test instrumentation techniques.
• Experience with small scale chemical synthesis.
• Experience with LabVIEW, SOLIDWORKS, or AutoCAD software.
• Experience following and updating SOPs under ISO 9001 certification and ISO 17025 accreditation.
• DHS Suitability

COMPANY INFORMATION:

Applied Research Associates, Inc. is an employee-owned international 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 2,300 professionals. ARA offices throughout the United States and Canada provide a broad range of technical expertise in defense technologies, civil technologies, computer software and simulation, systems analysis, environmental technologies, and testing and measurement. The corporation also provides sophisticated technical products for environmental site characterization, pavement analysis, and robotics.

At ARA, employees are our greatest assets. The corporation realizes that employee ownership spawns’ greater creativity and initiative along with higher performance and customer satisfaction levels. ARA gives its 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” sums up the ARA experience.