Staff Engineer, Systems Engineer

Job Category
:
Engineering Support Services

Requisition Number
: STAFF
010085

• Posted :
  September 15, 2026
• Full-Time

Showing 1 location

Panama City, FL 32401, USA

ARA is seeking an experienced staff engineer to support the design, development, integration, testing, qualification, and fielding of complex underwater and undersea systems. The successful candidate will be a hands‑on engineer who can work comfortably across requirements development, system architecture, engineering analysis, prototype development, integration, test, and system‑level technical reviews.

The ideal candidate will have experience working with multidisciplinary engineering teams and complex hardware/software systems in technically demanding environments. The candidate should be capable of understanding system‑level performance, decomposing operational needs into engineering requirements, managing interfaces between subsystems, supporting prototype development and testing, and communicating technical decisions to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.

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 staff engineer:

• Support the design, development, integration, test, qualification, and implementation of complex underwater and undersea systems.
• Develop, analyze, document, and manage system, subsystem, hardware, software, and interface requirements.
• Translate customer needs, operational concepts, and mission requirements into measurable engineering requirements and system performance criteria.
• Perform system‑level engineering evaluations and trade studies to assess design alternatives, technical risks, performance, cost, and schedule impacts.
• Support engineering design reviews, including System Requirements Reviews (SRR), System Functional Reviews (SFR), Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR), Critical Design Reviews (CDR), Test Readiness Reviews (TRR), and other program technical reviews.
• Support the development, procurement, assembly, integration, and testing of advanced prototypes to inform engineering decisions and demonstrate system performance.
• Analyze engineering and test data, identify performance trends and anomalies, and develop recommendations for system improvements.
• Support failure investigations, root cause analysis, corrective‑action development, and system troubleshooting.
• Identify and manage technical risks, requirements issues, interface conflicts, and integration challenges while developing coordinated system‑level solutions.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Systems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Ocean Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• 5-7 years of recent and relevant engineering experience supporting complex systems development.
• Demonstrated experience applying systems engineering principles to the development, integration, and testing of complex engineered systems.
• Experience with requirements decomposition, traceability, verification, validation, and technical baseline management.
• Strong problem‑solving skills and demonstrated ability to manage multiple technical issues while developing integrated system‑level solutions.
• Ability to prepare and communicate technical information during customer meetings and formal engineering design reviews.
• Candidates selected may be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.

Preferred skills/experience:

• Understanding of underwater system operating environments, including hydrostatic pressure, hydrodynamic loading,…