Staff Pavement Engineer

ARA’s Transportation Division is seeking staff civil engineers with a passion for pavement behavior and materials to support pavement evaluation and structural analysis projects, with an emphasis on pavement design and deflection data analysis from various devices. At ARA, you will be part of a team that delivers decision-making information to our clients.

This is a full-time position on-site in our office in Austin, TX.

What you will do as a staff pavement engineer:

• Collaborate with senior staff and staff technicians to produce results from nondestructive pavement testing methods and modeling to develop engineering evaluation, design, and rehabilitation strategy recommendations.
• Participate in field work, both local and nationwide.
• Work with large datasets from project- and network-level pavement testing to support state DOTs, local agencies, and federal sponsors.
• Conduct analyses using data from Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD), Traffic Speed Deflectometer Devices (TSDD), Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), vehicle-based condition assessment platforms, and other equipment.
• Assist with the production of deliverables to meet project objectives, including technical reports.
• Participate in writing proposals in response to RFPs for existing and new lines of business.
• Engage in marketing and networking activities.

Staff pavement engineer requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher degree in Civil Engineering or a closely related engineering discipline from an ABET-accredited institution.
• 2+ years of experience in pavement engineering, as described below; graduate/academic research may be considered in partial fulfillment of experience requirements, if directly applicable.
• Demonstrated proficiency in:
  • Pavement modeling that may include pavement material behavior for flexible and rigid pavement, pavement layer response and mechanistic parameters, remaining life, or pavement degradation.
  • Pavement design concepts, application, and development using various software tools.
  • Data analyses and representation that may include deflections, pavement condition metrics, pavement layer properties, and similar data.
• Working knowledge/experience with:
  • Logical pavement design development, from data collection to final reporting.
  • Integrating multiple pavement datasets to arrive at pavement rehabilitation strategy recommendations.
  • Database manipulation of large datasets.
  • Geographic information system (GIS) tools.
  • Preparation of technical proposals.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to travel as needed for field work and marketing/networking activities.
• Valid driver’s license to drive and operate company vehicles, including pavement testing equipment (generally less than 10% time).

Preferred skills:

• Passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam strongly preferred.
• Pavement management concepts and data usage.
• ArcGIS data modeling and visualization.
• Use of Python, R, and other programming languages.
• Application, data analysis, and representation of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR).
• Advanced statistical analysis techniques and inference of data.
• Highway construction and maintenance practices for pavement layers.
• Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) pavement evaluation and design methods.
• Knowledge of TxDOT materials nomenclature and application.

About ARA:

ARA is an employee-owned international research and engineering firm recognized for solving complex challenges in the physical sciences. We provide cutting-edge services in civil and geotechnical technologies, pavement analysis, software and simulation, environmental testing, and defense systems.

As an employee-owned company, ARA fosters a culture of innovation, collaboration, and ownership. Our motto - “Engineering and Science for Fun and Profit” - captures the spirit of our work: technically challenging, impactful, and rewarding.