Applied Research Associates - ARA

• Negotiating and administering contracts, non-disclosure agreements, teaming agreements, and other contractual agreements • Coordinating approval of negotiations and contract awards with appropriate management staff • Advising program managers and senior executives on Data Rights Assertions and IP protection • Providing advice and interpretation of contract requirements to program managers and senior executives; advising on FAR/DFAR and other government and commercial contract terms, clauses, representations and certifications • Administering contract terms from proposal stage to project close-out in accordance with relevant regulations • Leads organizational conflict of interest (OCI) assessments and OCI mitigation plans • Work with other functions to include subcontracts, purchasing, government property, and accounting • Maintaining and expanding your functional knowledge of government and commercial contracts • Other duties as assigned

Role Description As a Business Development Manager, you will be a valued member of a team of passionate, service-focused professionals, located all around North America. Ideally, you will work from our office in Ballston, Arlington, VA but we are open to other ARA office locations and teleworking with the right candidate. What you’ll do as a Business Development Manager: - Provide input into a long-range business plan and develop a detailed associated marketing/business plan, including a marketing strategy. - Capture and interpret market intel (directly from customers and indirectly from publications, trade shows, and other sources) and share intel with others through regular communications and through entry into ARA’s customer resource management (CRM) system. - Develop and maintain Air Force business relationships with partners at the Pentagon. - Contact customers on a regular basis to understand their needs/plans and to describe how ARA technologies may help their efforts. - Serve as the ARA Customer Portfolio Manager (CPM) for the Air Force. - Assist with preparation/delivery of briefings to ARA senior leadership. - Collaborate with ARA subject matter experts to develop value propositions to customers. Qualifications - M.S. degree or equivalent in physics, engineering, mathematics, chemistry, biology, or other hard science. - Prior service in the U.S. Air Force strongly preferred. Company Description 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 over 2,300 professionals and continues to grow. - ARA offices throughout the United States and Canada provide expertise across a broad range of engineering and science technologies. - Our Better Fuels Group develops and deploys innovative fuels technologies, converting waste products to renewable fuels, and creating high value products for a sustainable future. - ARA employs traditional refinery equipment and novel water-based technologies to make fuels and chemicals, including sustainable jet fuel that meets petroleum specifications without blending and diesel fuel that is virtually indistinguishable from petroleum. - At ARA, employees are our greatest assets. We realize that employee ownership spawns greater creativity and initiative along with higher performance and customer satisfaction levels. - ARA provides employees the tools, training, and opportunities to take active roles as owners. - The culture is challenging; innovation and experimentation are the norm. - Our employee-owners are the keys to our success, and they share our achievements through career advancement and through company contributions to the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). - The motto, “Engineering and Science for Fun and Profit” sums up the ARA experience.

• Provides professional HR support to multi-state locations in support of multiple ARA Divisions, including benefits and compensation administration, employee relations support, performance management, training support, policy interpretation and compliance assistance with applicable local, state, and federal employment laws. • Communicates regularly with employees, local HR Administrators, and management on various policies, procedures, laws, standards, and government regulations. • Partners with local HR Administrators, Corporate HR Team, and managers to build relationships of trust, work through problems, and find constructive resolution to various human resources matters. • With guidance from Senior HR Staff and HR Director, supports complex employee relations issues such as employee complaints, harassment, discrimination and retaliation allegations, and civil rights complaints. • Regularly uses HR Information System (HRIS) to ensure data integrity by verifying changes and thoroughly reviewing documentation, including new hires, employee and organizational changes, performance reviews, and terminations. • Actively participates and collaborates as a member of the vibrant Corporate HR team. • Assists with policy review for accuracy, legality, and cultural alignment with diverse needs of organizational units, and makes recommendations accordingly. • Coordinates with Corporate HR Specialists to develop, align messaging, and conduct trainings on relevant HR topics based on the division’s need. • Responds to unemployment claims as needed. • May assist with special projects as assigned. • Other duties as required.

• Deliver Cradle-to-Grave subcontracts support from solicitation through subcontract closeout • Collaborate with Subcontract teammates and Program Managers (PMs) • Ensure subcontracts are consistent with legal requirements, customer specifications, and government regulations • Provide training to PMs and Division Administrators on subcontract requirements • Prepare and disseminate information to appropriate employees regarding subcontract status • Stay up to date on subcontracting standards, legislation, plans, and policies • Build positive relationships with division partners and subcontractors

• Conduct finite element analyses (FEA) of challenging dynamic structural applications that include contact, nonlinear material behavior, transient heat transfer and fracture using the explicit finite element code LS-DYNA. • Lead design and analysis of vehicle structures • Lead test planning and data analysis with potential for onsite test support. • Develop digital twins of complex structural tests including test response, data analysis and comparison with simulations. • Perform engineering analyses on a variety of structures projects. • Lead proposals for new research and development opportunities with government and industry clients. • Conduct face-to-face meetings and prepare technical and cost proposals.

• Conduct finite element analyses (FEA) of challenging dynamic structural applications that include contact, nonlinear material behavior, transient heat transfer and fracture using the explicit finite element code LS-DYNA. • Construct finite element meshes of complicated geometries. • Assist in test planning and test data analysis with potential for onsite test support. • Develop digital twins of complex structural tests including test response, data analysis and comparison with simulations. • Perform engineering analyses on a variety of structures projects. • Identify and qualify new research and development opportunities with government and industry clients. • Conduct face-to-face meetings and prepare technical and cost proposals.

• Lead the deployment, integration, and operational support of AI platforms, tools, and services, ensuring compatibility with existing systems and enterprise processes. • Design, implement, monitor, and optimize AI infrastructure, working with server, cloud, and platform engineering teams. • Operationalize machine learning workflows and support AI-enabled applications from development through production deployment and sustainment. • Build and maintain CI/CD and MLOps pipelines for model packaging, testing, deployment, rollback, and lifecycle management. • Implement infrastructure automation using scripting, Infrastructure as Code, and configuration management practices. • Provide ongoing technical support, troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and documentation for AI platforms and user-facing AI services. • Maintain observability across AI systems through logging, metrics, performance monitoring, alerting, and incident response practices. • Ensure security, compliance, and governance requirements are met, including participation in audits, vulnerability management, and secure architecture reviews. • Assess and implement system enhancements to improve performance, scalability, reliability, and cost efficiency. • Collaborate across divisions to support diverse AI initiatives and align technical implementations with mission and business objectives. • Evaluate emerging AI tools, frameworks, and infrastructure approaches for operational fit, supportability, and long-term value. • Develop and maintain technical documentation, runbooks, architecture diagrams, and operational procedures.

• Partner with software developers, platform engineers, and IT staff to improve system design, operability, deployment safety, and production support readiness. • Define and maintain operational standards, runbooks, support procedures, escalation paths, and service-level objectives. • Evaluate system architecture and changes to ensure they balance functional requirements, service quality, reliability, security, and compliance needs. • Drive continuous improvement in platform stability, maintenance, and availability. • Provide advanced technical support and troubleshooting for complex platform and service issues affecting internal users and stakeholders.

• Identify, evaluate, and prioritize opportunities to integrate AI into existing and new organizational processes and tooling • Design and implement data structures, metadata models, naming conventions, and data standards to support AI and machine learning initiatives • Support onboarding new AI projects by identifying data requirements, assessing data readiness, and defining ingestion and preparation workflows • Develop processes to measure and improve ongoing data quality, consistency, completeness, and accuracy across AI datasets and workflows • Build and maintain data preparation pipelines to support model training, testing, retrieval, and operational AI applications • Collaborate with technical and business stakeholders across divisions to understand data sources, use cases, and operational constraints • Create and maintain documentation for data standards, transformation logic, onboarding procedures, and quality controls • Partner with AI, software, platform, and security teams to ensure data workflows are scalable, secure, and aligned with organizational objectives

What you’ll do as a Principal Subcontracts Administrator - Provide strategic, cradle-to-grave subcontract leadership from solicitation planning through subcontract closeout on complex, high-value, and high-risk programs - Serve as a trusted advisor to Program Managers and Division Leadership on subcontract strategy, risk mitigation, and compliance - Lead the development of subcontracting strategies, including subcontract type selection (FFP, CPFF, T&M, CR, etc.), pricing approach, and flowdown methodology - Independently negotiate complex subcontract terms and pricing, including cost/price analysis, equitable adjustments, and resolution of performance or compliance issues - Ensure all subcontracts and subcontract actions are fully compliant with FAR, DFARS, prime contract requirements, CPSR standards, and internal policies - Review, approve, and guide preparation of all required subcontract documentation, including sole source justifications, price/cost analyses, and negotiation memoranda - Provide formal and informal training to Program Managers and other program support staff on subcontracting processes, compliance requirements, and best practices - Prepare and disseminate critical subcontract status updates, risk assessments, compliance findings, modifications, deviations, claims, terminations, and closeout actions - Stay current on regulatory changes, legislation, and industry best practices, proactively advising leadership on impacts and implementation - Lead efforts to identify and resolve systemic subcontracting issues, developing innovative solutions and process improvements - Build and maintain strong internal and external relationships with division leadership and subcontractors - Mentor and provide technical oversight to Senior and Junior Subcontracts Administrators, serving as a subject matter expert - Support Small Business Subcontract Plan development, execution, and reporting, including audit and CPSR support activities Principal Subcontracts Administrator Requirements - Demonstrated expert-level experience in a cradle-to-grave government subcontracting environment, from solicitation strategy through closeout - Advanced knowledge and practical application of FAR, DFARS, and government subcontracting regulations - A distinguished track record of managing multi-million-dollar, mission-critical portfolios. - Proven expertise in negotiating complex subcontract terms and pricing - Extensive experience with CPSR-compliant subcontract file documentation and audit support - Experience managing subcontracts in a high-volume and/or highly complex program environment - In-depth experience with wide range of subcontract types, including CPFF, FFP, T&M, and CR - Strong ability to independently interpret prime contract requirements and translate them into compliant subcontract actions - Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Adobe Acrobat for document creation, analysis, and file management - Demonstrated ability to apply advanced subcontracting principles to competitive and non-competitive procurements, cost/price evaluation, post-award administration, dispute resolution, equitable adjustments, and closeout Principal Subcontracts Administrator Preferences - Advanced experience with SharePoint-based subcontract file management and workflows - Experience using Deltek Costpoint - Experience serving as a lead or subject matter expert during CPSRs or internal compliance reviews Education and Experience - Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or equivalent - 8-10+ years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree - 7+ years of related experience with a Master’s degree - 10+ years minimum of related experience in lieu of a degree REMOTE WORK NOTICE: This position is available for fully remote or hybrid work consideration if candidate is located near the Washington, DC, Raleigh, NC or Albuquerque, NM areas. 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 2000 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. We realize that employee ownership produces 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 employee 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). Our motto is “Engineering and Science That Matters for Fun & Profit” and we live our core values of Passion, Freedom, Service and Growth every day. For additional information and an opportunity to join our unique team, please visit our website at www.ara.com.