Applied Research Associates, Inc. logo

Staff Missile Engineer

Applied Research Associates, Inc.

Indian Head, MDJob$120–130K/yrSeen 3w agoSeen in employer's feed 4 days ago

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At a glance

Compensation
$120–130K/yr
Location
Indian Head, MD
Work Authorization
US work authorization required

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Requirements

Credentials this posting asks for.

Explosives Medical CertificationSecret clearance

Job overview

Applied Research Associates seeks a Staff Missile Test Engineer to support Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Functional Ground Test capability in Indian Head, Maryland. The role provides software and simulation expertise for operating and maintaining a test platform and supports test planning, readiness reviews, reporting, and testing. Work is entirely onsite, and employment is contingent on obtaining at least an Interim Secret clearance.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Computer-Based Test SystemsGPS SimulatorsData Processing EquipmentSoftware Requirements InterpretationAlgorithm Specification InterpretationInterface Specification InterpretationSoftware Performance EvaluationSystem Performance EvaluationReal-Time Software DevelopmentMissile SimulationFlight SimulationSoftware ModelingInterface ProgrammingEthernetSerial I/OParallel I/OSpecialized Interface CardsUser Interface ProgrammingData Processing ProgrammingData Evaluation ProgrammingSoftware IntegrationSimulation Model IntegrationMicrosoft WindowsLinuxIntervalZero RTXMicrosoft Visual StudioFORTRANC/C++AdaPythonTechnical WritingTest Plan WritingTest Procedure WritingTest Report WritingSoftware DocumentationStandard Operating Procedures

Qualifications

Bachelor's in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or Aerospace Engineering5+ Years Related ExperienceUS CitizenshipSecurity Clearance EligibilityExplosives Medical CertificationRandom Drug Testing

Full job description

Description

Applied Research Associates (ARA) currently has an immediate opening for a Staff Missile Test Engineer . The Engineer will be responsible for providing engineering support and services to support Naval Surface Warfare Center, Functional Ground Test (FGT) capability. Work is located at Naval Surface Warfare Center – Indian Head, MD. Some travel may be required (CONUS).

Specific duties include: Providing software and simulation expertise for operating and maintaining a FGT platform; and providing engineering support in preparing test plans, presenting test readiness reviews, writing test reports, and conducting testing in accordance with approved SOPs and procedures.

Work Environment Details: This position operates entirely onsite in a high-activity environment that features an open-plan layout collaborative workspace where visual line-of-sight monitoring and immediate verbal team communication are required at all times. The workspace features active operational equipment, standard facility fluorescent light and ambient machinery noise. Regular, in-person interaction with on-site team members in this workspace are essential functions of this role.

Employment is contingent upon the successful attainment of at least an Interim Secret clearance, granted by the sponsoring agency.

Due to the nature of this work, candidates for this position must be US citizens residing within the US. This position is located at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head and will require you to be onsite. This position does not allow for a remote or hybrid work schedule.

Required Qualifications:

  • Minimum Education: Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or Aerospace Engineering from an accredited college or university is required and 5-7 years or related experience.

  • Experience with operating computer-based test systems and components including commercial systems such as Global Positioning System simulators and data processing/recording equipment. Ability to interpret software requirement, algorithm and interface specifications to support software and system performance evaluation. Ability to review test data in support of software and system performance evaluation.

  • Engineering knowledge and experience in real-time software development, missile/flight simulation and software models, interface programming (Ethernet, serial, parallel input/output, specialized interface cards), user interface programming, and data processing and evaluation programming. Experience in evaluating and integrating software and simulation models from external sources.

  • Familiarity with Microsoft Windows and optionally, Linux operating systems. Familiarity with IntervalZero RTX and programming tools such as Microsoft Visual Studio. Familiarity with FORTRAN, C/C++, Ada and optionally Python programming languages.

  • Engineering knowledge and technical writing skills to support writing and reviewing test plans, test procedures, and test reports. Technical writing skills to develop and maintain software documentation including software test plans, version description documents, and user manuals.

  • Engineering knowledge in how to conduct testing in accordance with approved standard operating procedures (SOPs) including operating of computer based test system components.

  • The candidate must be a US citizen with the ability to obtain and maintain a Security Clearance.

  • The candidate must be able to obtain medical certification for working with explosives and must be willing to submit to random drug testing.

Applied Research Associates, Inc. is a 100% employee-owned international research and engineering company recognized for providing technically superior solutions to complex and challenging problems in the physical sciences. We invite you to visit our website (https://www.ara.com/) to learn more about who we are (https://www.ara.com/who-we-are/) , what we do (https://www.ara.com/what-we-do/) , the excellent careers (https://www.ara.com/careers/) and each of the competitive benefits (https://www.ara.com/benefits/) we offer and explore some of our featured offices (https://www.ara.com/featured-offices/) .

Anticipated Salary Range: $120,000 – $130,000

Qualifications

Education

Preferred

  • Bachelor of Science or better in Aerospace Engineering

  • Bachelor of Science or better in Computer Engineering

  • Bachelor of Science or better in Computer Science

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.

For further information, please review the Know Your Rights (https://www.eeoc.gov/poster) notice from the Department of Labor.

How this job compares

Set against the 41,428 open Software Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 9, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$120–130K/yr
  • Maryland median$122–207K/yr1,006 salary ranges
  • US median$135–219K/yr32,987 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $125K, is 25% below the Maryland median midpoint ($166K) — in the lowest quarter of Software Engineer salary ranges in Maryland.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 1,234 open Software Engineer jobs in Maryland and 41,428 across the US. 8% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Maryland
Experience
This posting asks for at least 5 years of experience; Software Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for 5 years at the median (33,932 postings).
Education
12,957 of the 41,428 open Software Engineer jobs (31%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 9, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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