Staff Software Engineer 1
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 13, 2026. First seen by Alion on Oct 13, 2026. Applied Research Associates scores B on the Alion truth index.
If you want to accelerate your career growth and are passionate about applying your expertise to solve problems of national importance, then we have an amazing opportunity for you! You will be able to achieve your personal and professional goals in an environment that emphasizes and rewards the entrepreneurial spirit. Not only will you solve challenging core problems, you will be able to grow your career in an exciting environment that promotes teamwork and cross-training in a wide range of related disciplines.
ARA’s Integrated Products Division is seeking a Software Engineer at our Greenville, SC location. You will join a dynamic team working on our Robotic, Sensor, and Geotechnical product lines working closely with other Software, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers to solve complex problems. You will be part of a team that designs, prototypes, integrates, and troubleshoots next generation technology: bringing state of the art ground and aerial vehicle robotic solutions to both our warfighter and commercial customers. Our technology stack is diverse and varies per product but most recently it ranges from embedded Linux to Windows applications and Android devices using a variety of programming languages: C, modern C++, C#, Java, Flutter and Rust while our development infrastructure includes Gitlab and Gitlab CI for continuous integration. Our robotics stack is heavily based around C++ and ROS 1 and ROS 2 while using NixOS for deployment.
- What you’ll do as a Software Engineer 1
- Work with a team to develop Open and Modular Software Architectures on a variety of platforms during all phases of development: requirements generation through product delivery and support.
- Integrate sensors, algorithms and software for optionally manned and optionally autonomous robotic systems.
- Work on a collaborative team with other software developers, electrical and mechanical engineers, program managers, and technicians.
- Develop application software for sensor and platform control systems for both the defense and commercial products.
- Software Engineer 1 Requirements
- BS Computer Science, Software Engineering or equivalent
- 2-4 years of experience
- C/C++, C#, Python, Java, Rust or other modern object-oriented programming
- Familiarity with Linux (preferably NixOS or Ubuntu)
- Experience with software application design and development principals and standards
- Ability to develop in a Linux environment
- Experience with git
- Due to the nature of the work, qualified candidates must be current US Citizens
- Software Engineer 1 Preferences
- Familiarity with Linux and Windows development
- Experience with embedded systems and/or electrical engineering
- Automotive experience
- Experience with CI/CD (Gitlab CI, Jenkins, Circle CI, Travis etc.)
- Robotics, ROS 1 or ROS 2
- Familiarity with C++, Python, CMake, Nix
- Familiarity with NGC2 requirements
- Familiarity with TAK systems a plus
- Familiarity with UI development on handheld devices for controlling systems
- Familiarity with MAVLink, Ardupilot, Mission Planner or QGroundControl
- Integration of communication amongst multiple optionally manned or autonomous vehicles
- Experience with CAN Bus
- Familiarity with Control Theory
- Ability to read a schematic
- Networking
- Video decoding
- Sensors or robotic autonomy algorithm (CPU or GPU based) development
- Computer Vision
- Machine Learning
ARA 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 and is rapidly growing. 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. We realize 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). Our motto is “Engineering and Science That Matters for Fun & Profit” and we live our core values of Passion, Freedom, Service and Growth every day.