{"id":1620197,"url":"https://alion.io/job/ara-senior-mechanical-engineer","title":"Senior Mechanical Engineer","company":{"id":2028479,"name":"Applied Research Associates","domain":"ara.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/ara-com","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"UltiPro","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":75,"open_postings":17,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":1,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":null,"computed_at":"2026-10-05T05:45:15Z"}},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"senior","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Arlington, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":120000,"max":148000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":148000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":6,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":true,"technologies":[{"name":"AutoCAD","optional":false},{"name":"SolidWorks","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-01T17:15:12Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-01","last_verified_at":"2026-10-05T23:32:38Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":4,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":4},"description":"ARA is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to support the design of equipment, tooling, and equipment interfaces for energetics chemical manufacturing systems and unmanned systems (UxS) programs supporting U.S. Government customers. This role spans a broad range of mechanical design applications, from process equipment and facility integration to mobile/field hardware platforms. The ideal candidate is an expert in SolidWorks and AutoCAD, capable of taking concepts through detailed design and producing release-quality drawings for manufacturing and assembly. T he salary range is between $120K-$148K. This is a hybrid position with occasional travel to Arlington, VA and Indian Head, MD (15% travel).\nKey Responsibilities\nDesign mechanical equipment, components, and equipment-to-facility interfaces for chemical/energetic material manufacturing systems and unmanned systems hardware.\nDevelop 3D models and assemblies in SolidWorks and produce 2D drawings/layouts in AutoCAD.\nCreate manufacturing- and assembly-ready drawing packages, including GD&T per ASME Y14.5.\nPerform structural and mechanical analysis (FEA) to validate designs for strength, fatigue, and operational loading.\nManage CAD data and revisions through a PDM system (e.g., SolidWorks PDM/Vault).\nCoordinate with chemical and process engineers to align equipment design with process requirements and DoD facility standards.\nSupport design reviews, technical interchange meetings, and site visits with government customers at Indian Head, MD.\nGenerally consider hazard classification, explosive safety, and facility siting requirements when designing equipment for energetic material applications.\nProvide informal technical mentorship to junior engineers on design practices, drafting standards, and tools.\nRequired Qualifications\nBachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering.\n8 years of relevant mechanical design experience.\nDemonstrated proficiency in SolidWorks (modeling, assemblies, drawings) and AutoCAD.\nStrong working knowledge of GD&T (ASME Y14.5).\nExperience with FEA/simulation tools for mechanical design validation.\nExperience using a PDM system for CAD data management.\nAbility to produce drawing packages suitable for manufacturing and assembly release.\nU.S. Citizenship required; must be eligible to obtain a security clearance.\nWillingness to travel regularly between Arlington, VA and Indian Head, MD.\nPreferred Qualifications\nMasters in Mechanical Engineering with 6-8 years of relevant mechanical design experience.\nPhD in Mechanical Engineering with 3-5 years of relevant mechanical design experience.\nExperience designing equipment for chemical processing, energetics, or hazardous material manufacturing environments.\nFamiliarity with DoD facility design standards (UFC) and explosive safety requirements.\nExperience supporting unmanned systems (UxS) hardware design.\nPrior experience interfacing directly with government program offices or customers.\nC ompany & Division Information\nApplied 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 2,240 professionals and continues to grow. 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.\nAt 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 employees the tools, training, and opportunities to take more active roles as owners. The culture is challenging and 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. We invite you to visit ourwebsite to learn more aboutwho we are,what we do, the excellentcareers andbenefits we offer and explore some of our featured offices.","description_format":"text","description_chars":4471,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":6,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":true},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Design & Creative","Industrial Design","IT Help Desk & Service Desk"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-01T20:42:43Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"US","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"H-1B filings in 12 months: 4 · green card filings: 3","filings_12m":4,"filings_prev_12m":5,"green_card_filings_12m":3,"median_offered_wage_usd":80357,"route":null,"cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-10-03T21:08:04+00:00","sources":["US Department of Labor: LCA disclosure data (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3)","US Department of Labor: PERM disclosure data (green cards)"],"filings_for_role_12m":0}],"liveness":{"score":63,"band":"ok","label":"Likely open","p_open":1,"p_active":0.632,"p_room":1,"age_days":3,"expected_fill_days":30,"reasons":["conf:0","stale_co","velocity","win:early"],"computed_at":"2026-10-05T05:45:15Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":148000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/ara-senior-mechanical-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/ara-senior-mechanical-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-06T01:30:18Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":2098,"day_limit":5000,"remaining_today":2902,"minute_limit":60,"resets_at":"2026-10-07T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":2028479},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=2028479"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fara-senior-mechanical-engineer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fara-senior-mechanical-engineer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fara-senior-mechanical-engineer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/ara-senior-mechanical-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fara-senior-mechanical-engineer"}]}