Senior Mechanical Engineer with CFD Expertise

ARA’s Engineering Science Division is seeking an experienced mechanical engineer with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) expertise to support the design, development, prototyping, integration, and qualification of complex mechanical systems. The successful candidate will be able to move comfortably between computer-aided design (CAD), engineering analysis using CFD, prototyping, system-level reviews, and hardware integration. You should be comfortable working in a collaborative, technically demanding environment and communicating engineering decisions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. The ideal candidate can take concepts through detailed design and producing release-quality drawings for manufacturing and assembly.

This is an on-site position in the ARA office in Panama City, FL. Hybrid work may be possible for the right candidate, requiring attendance in the office a minimum of 3 days per week. This position also requires regular travel to Newport, RI (up to 15%). 

What you will do as a senior mechanical engineer:

• Perform engineering design evaluations on weapons systems.
• Use commercial and open-source CFD software, such as ANSYS Fluent or OpenFOAM, to perform transient CFD simulations involving turbulent flow, multiphase flow, mixing, and complex fluid interactions at high temperatures and high pressures.
• Perform post-processing and visualization of velocity, pressure, temperature, species concentration, and phase distribution.
• Validate CFD predictions against experimental measurements or empirical calculations.
• Utilize CFD simulations to drive design improvements through evaluation of flow characteristics, identification of performance limitations, and optimization of system geometry and operating parameters.
• Procure, assemble, and test advanced prototypes to inform design decisions, refinements, and to demonstrate performance.
• Prepare and present designs at various design reviews.
• Assist in the development of requirements for hardware.
• Ensure designs satisfy requirements and demonstrate performance in a thorough verification and validation program.
• Analyze data and make recommendations for improvement.
• Manage multiple issues at one time and develop an integrated solution.
• Work with fabrication and manufacturing departments to ensure final design is properly executed in the creation of mechanical products.
• Be agile and willing to assist in all areas of the development process to meet project milestones.

Senior mechanical engineer requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
• 8 years of related work experience including the areas below; graduate degree/research may serve to partially fulfill the experience requirement.
  • Skill in CFD modeling software in design work.
  • Design analysis and mechanical design requirements development.
  • Understanding of nominal and off-nominal operations for a technical system and its interaction(s) with other systems.
• Excellent verbal, written, interpersonal, leadership, and team working skills.
• Ability to obtain a DoD Secret clearance; active Secret clearance is highly desired.

Preferred Skills/Experience:

• Strong background in thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, heat transfer as applied to high pressure, high temperature systems.
• Experience developing first-principles engineering calculations to validate numerical simulations and support design decisions.
• Proficiency with CFD for compressible, high-temperature, high-pressure flow.
• Experience developing customized CFD models, user-defined functions (UDFs), and solver modifications.
• Ability to conduct static and dynamic structural finite element analysis (FEA) including thermal stress, pressure loading, vibration, and shock response.
• Experience with thermo-mechanical coupling to evaluate stresses resulting from rapid pressure and temperature transients.
• Knowledge of material behavior under elevated temperatures, high strain rates, cyclic loading, and thermal fatigue.
• Ability to correlate analytical models with experimental test data, identify model uncertainties, and improve predictive accuracy.
• Experience interpreting high-speed instrumentation data, including pressure, temperature, strain, and acceleration measurements.
• Understanding of reliability engineering, failure analysis, and root cause investigation.
• Strong cross-functional communication skills, with the ability to collaborate across mechanical, materials, manufacturing, and test engineering teams.
• Demonstrated ability to take complex engineering concepts from analytical modeling through prototype testing and production implementation.
• Understanding or previous experience in the Undersea Warfare domain.

About ARA:

ARA 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 more than 2,200 professionals and continues to grow. ARA offices throughout the United States and Canada provide a broad range of technical expertise in civil technologies, computer software and simulation, defense technologies, systems analysis, environmental technologies, and testing and measurement. The corporation also provides sophisticated technical products for pavement analysis, environmental site characterization, 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 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.