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ARA is seeking a Staff Electrical Engineer to support the design, integration, and controls development for large-scale industrial machinery and equipment on advanced manufacturing and defense-related programs. This role bridges electrical engineering, controls integration, and — on select programs — small-scale electronics design in support of unmanned systems (UxS) hardware.

The ideal candidate is comfortable moving between large equipment-level electrical/controls work and PCB and wire harness design, and is capable of owning electrical scope from concept through commissioning on programs supporting federal defense customers.

This position is located out of our Arlington, VA office, and will require up to two trips a month to our Government client’s site in Indian Head, Maryland. This is an on-site position (Hybrid eligible after 6 months). The range for this position is between $105K - $123K.   

Key Responsibilities

• Design electrical systems for large industrial machinery and process equipment, including power distribution and equipment-level control architecture.
• Develop and integrate controls for automated and semi-automated equipment (PLC/HMI programming, control panel design, interlocks, and safety circuits).
• Produce wiring diagrams, schematics, and electrical design packages for equipment integration projects.
• Support smaller-scale electronics scope, including PCB design and layout for specialized subsystems.
• Design wire harnesses for unmanned systems (UxS) and drone-related hardware, including connector selection, routing, and documentation.
• Coordinate with mechanical, process, and program engineering teams to ensure electrical designs integrate cleanly with overall system/facility design.
• Support vendor coordination, factory acceptance testing (FAT), and commissioning activities for integrated equipment.
• Prepare technical documentation, design packages, and deliverables in accordance with program and customer requirements.
• Support proposal efforts with technical input, level-of-effort estimates, and design approach narratives as needed.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related.
• 5+ years of relevant electrical engineering experience, with demonstrated work on industrial equipment integration and controls.
• Hands-on experience with wiring diagram development, electrical schematics, and control panel design.
• Experience with Allen Bradley PLC/controls programming and equipment automation.
• Ability to work onsite and support hardware integration, testing, and commissioning activities.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance (U.S. citizenship required).

Preferred Qualifications

• Masters' degree in Electrical Engineering or related with 3-5 years of relevant experience.
• PhD in Electrical Engineering or related with 0-2 years of relevant experience.
• Experience with PCB design and layout for specialized or low-volume electronics.
• Experience with wire harness design for unmanned systems, robotics, or drone platforms.
• Familiarity with hazardous area/intrinsically safe electrical design.
• Prior experience supporting DoD or federal defense manufacturing programs.
• Experience working within an A&E (architecture & engineering) or multidisciplinary integrated design team.

Company & Division 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 2,240 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.

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 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 our website to learn more about who we are, what we do, the excellent careers and benefits we offer and explore some of our featured offices.