Senior Force Operations Subject Matter Expert (SME)

The Mission Concepts and Capabilities (MCC) Division of Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) is seeking a Senior Force Operations Subject Matter Expert (SME) with a background in or supporting the Government in the execution of large technology programs.  This position will support the Office of the Secretary of War Research & Engineering’s Prototyping & Experimentation Office.  This work requires a candidate with a background in highly classified technical program or project management, acquisition, or analytical support of government Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) and the DoW Acquisition environment.  Candidates must be able to:

• Demonstrate eight or more years’ experience as a supervisor or team/project lead working in the DoW
• Possess 8 years’ experience developing, implementing, and managing strategic planning that supports leadership priorities
• Demonstrate experience identifying, prioritizing, and leading high-interest projects across cross-functional teams
• Demonstrate experience serving as a key advisor to senior leadership and decisionmakers
• Possess excellent written and oral communication skills
• Perform and deliver work with limited direction

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited academic institution and 8 years’ of relevant experience or a master’s degree with 6 years’ experience (Command and General Staff College (or equivalent) education may be substituted for degree requirements)
• Top Secret security clearance with SCI and SAP eligibility
• 8-10 years’ experience designing, constructing, and implementing sophisticated ML and deep learning models to solve complex analytical problems
• Expertise in a wide range of algorithms, including supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning
• Experience leading the continuous improvement, re-architecting, and updating of existing AI/ML system to create efficient, scalable, and self-learning applications.
• Demonstrated experience in model performance tuning, feature engineering, and deploying models into production environments (MLOps)
• Experience designing and implementing robust MLOps pipelines for automated training, validation, deployment, and monitoring of models at scale
• Demonstrated experience with cloud-based AI/ML platforms and containerization technologies
• experience in statistical analysis, experimental design, and data storytelling to extract actionable insights from large, complex datasets
• experience in data governance, data quality, and ensuring the ethical use of data and algorithms

Desired Qualifications:

• Multidisciplinary IC experience and a broad understanding of the entire intelligence ecosystem
• Counterintelligence experience
• Senior Service School in residence
• 10 years’ relevant experience
• Master’s or Ph.D. degree from an accredited academic institution
• Experience writing for a DoW audience
• Experience supporting the Office of the Secretary of War supporting acquisition and R&D programs

This position is contingent upon award of a contract expected begin in August 2026.

COMPANY 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 2000 professionals. 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 generates 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). The motto, “Engineering and Science for Fun and Profit” sums up the ARA experience. For additional information and an opportunity to join this unique workplace, please visit our website at www.ara.com.

Please apply at www.careers.ara.com for the Senior Force Operations Subject Matter Expert (SME)position.