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About This Role
Scientific Applications \& Research Associates, Inc. (SARA) is a world\-class Defense Research and Development enterprise, with a charter to create new and emerging technological innovations in support of Commercial \& Government organizations. We have expertise in RF, EMP, Pulsed Power, Acoustics, and Threat Warning Systems, and we prioritize partnering with our customers to address real\-world problems with cost\-effective solutions… that work.
The High\-Power Electromagnetics Division (HPEM) team at SARA is looking for an exceptionally talented, motivated, and creative Senior Research Engineer to support rapid Research \& Development (R\&D) and power systems research activities out of our facility in Colorado Springs, CO. Selected candidates will have the opportunity to grow, lead, and learn with talented engineers, physicists, and technicians on long\-term programs and new programs supporting the DoD, DoE, and their contractors.
Core Responsibilities:
- Perform self\-guided engineering calculations and apply physics first principles
- Solve engineering problems using modeling and simulation, interpreting real\-world test data
- Execute self\-guided engineering studies
- Develop specifications and requirements
- Design and execute specialized tests
- Write concise test plans, technical reports, maintain comprehensive project documentation, and deliver technical briefings
- Multitask and effectively collaborate with small or large engineering teams
Minimum Requirements:
- Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field (or additional experience in lieu of Master’s degree)
- 8 years of directly applicable power systems Electrical Engineering experience
- Critical thinking and problem\-solving skills
- Excellent decision\-making and leadership capabilities
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Excellent organizational skills including attention to detail and multitasking skills
- Adaptability and flexibility
- US Citizen with the ability to obtain and maintain TS DoD security clearance
- May require light physical effort, involving standing, sitting and use of hands while performing duties, carrying or lifting up to 50 pounds
- Working environment is indoor, moderately quiet, reasonably clean, well\-lighted and well\-ventilated; moderate physical hazards may exist
Preferred Qualifications:
- Master’s or PhD in Electrical Engineering or related field
- 10\+ years of experience and relevant research emphasis in Power Systems
+ Or complimentary experience in areas such as Pulsed Power, EMP, Electromagnetic Compatibility, Signal Processing, High Voltage Physics (1s to 100s of kilovolts), or Digital and Analog Controls
- P.E. Electrical and Computer: Power license or exam completion
- Experience using data acquisition equipment including multimeters, oscilloscopes, network analyzers, voltage probes, current probes, specialized test sets, and spectrum analyzers
- Experience testing and setting digital protective relays, commissioning switchgear, or substation design
- Experience with relevant modeling software such as one or more of the following:
+ Power system short\-circuit, load\-flow, EMT, dynamics (Aspen, SKM, RTDS, EMTP)
+ Mathematical scripting, modeling, analysis, or automation (MATLAB, Python)
+ Circuit modeling and board layout (Dip Trace, Altium, SPICE)
- Experience in analytical modeling and the scientific process
- Experience in test design or requirements development
- Experience working cooperatively in team environments
- Strong writing and presentation skills
- Ability to learn new skills and take new responsibilities
- Conflict resolution experience
- Active DoD TS or DoE Q security clearance
SARA offers a competitive benefits package to include:
- Medical, dental, vision, disability and life insurance; and other supplemental programs
- A generous PTO program (vacation, sick, holiday)
- Tuition \& certification reimbursement
- Flexible work schedules
- Discretionary Employee bonuses
- 401(k) match/profit sharing
- Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
Pay Range
Salary at SARA is determined by various factors, including but not limited to location, the individual’s particular combination of education, knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience, as well as contract\-specific affordability and organizational requirements. The projected compensation range for this position is $135,000 to $180,000 (annualized USD). The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position and is just one component of SARA’s total compensation package for employees. Positions are on\-site, unless indicated otherwise.
Application Deadline: September 7, 2026
SARA is an equal employment opportunity employer.
Salary Context
This $135K-$180K range is below the median for Research Engineer roles in our dataset (median: $207K across 63 roles with salary data).
View full Research Engineer salary data →Role Details
About This Role
Research Engineers bridge the gap between research and production. They implement papers, build experiment infrastructure, optimize training pipelines, and make research prototypes production-ready. They're the engineers who make research work at scale.
The role sits at a unique intersection. You need to understand the math well enough to implement novel architectures correctly, and you need the engineering chops to make them run efficiently on distributed systems. When a research scientist has a breakthrough idea, you're the person who turns it from a notebook prototype into a training pipeline that runs on 256 GPUs.
Across the 4,317 AI roles we're tracking, Research Engineer positions make up 2% of the market. At SARA Inc, this role fits into their broader AI and engineering organization.
Research Engineer roles are growing as AI labs recognize that research velocity depends on engineering quality. The role is less competitive than Research Scientist (no PhD required), but the bar for engineering skill is very high. These roles are concentrated at major labs and well-funded startups.
What the Work Looks Like
A typical week involves: implementing a new attention mechanism from a recent paper, profiling and optimizing a training pipeline that's bottlenecked on data loading, building evaluation infrastructure for a new benchmark, debugging distributed training issues across a GPU cluster, and pair-programming with a research scientist on their latest experiment. The work is deeply technical.
Research Engineer roles are growing as AI labs recognize that research velocity depends on engineering quality. The role is less competitive than Research Scientist (no PhD required), but the bar for engineering skill is very high. These roles are concentrated at major labs and well-funded startups.
Skills Required
Strong software engineering fundamentals plus ML knowledge. Python, C++, and CUDA experience are common requirements. You'll need to read papers and turn ideas into working code. Distributed systems experience (especially distributed training) is highly valued. Performance optimization skills separate great candidates from good ones.
Experience with large-scale training infrastructure (FSDP, DeepSpeed, Megatron), GPU programming (CUDA, Triton), and the internals of ML frameworks (PyTorch internals, custom autograd functions) is what makes candidates stand out. The best research engineers can debug issues that span the full stack from GPU memory management to numerical precision to algorithmic correctness.
Strong postings mention the team's recent research, the infrastructure scale, and the specific technical challenges. They often list the research areas you'd support. Look for roles that emphasize both implementation quality and research understanding.
Compensation Benchmarks
Research Engineer roles pay a median of $272,100 based on 227 positions with disclosed compensation. Senior-level AI roles across all categories have a median of $227,400. This role's midpoint ($157K) sits 42% below the category median. Disclosed range: $135K to $180K.
Across all AI roles, the market median is $215,000. Top-quartile compensation starts at $266,300. The 90th percentile reaches $320,790. For comparison, the highest-paying categories include AI Safety ($287,500) and AI Engineering Manager ($244,000). By seniority level: Entry: $110,000; Mid: $194,400; Senior: $227,400; Director: $274,554; VP: $241,000.
SARA Inc AI Hiring
SARA Inc has 1 open AI role right now. They're hiring across Research Engineer. Based in Colorado Springs, CO, US. Compensation range: $180K - $180K.
Location Context
Across all AI roles, 15% (635 positions) offer remote work, while 3,657 require on-site attendance. Top AI hiring metros: New York (1,650 roles, $220,000 median); San Francisco (1,335 roles, $265,000 median); Los Angeles (708 roles, $214,112 median).
Career Path
Common paths into Research Engineer roles include Software Engineer, ML Engineer, Research Intern.
From here, career progression typically leads toward Senior Research Engineer, Research Scientist, ML Architect.
This is one of the best entry points into AI research without a PhD. Build a strong engineering portfolio with ML projects, contribute to open-source ML frameworks, and demonstrate that you can implement complex ideas correctly and efficiently. The transition to Research Scientist is possible with published first-author work, which some research engineer roles support.
What to Expect in Interviews
Technical screens test both engineering skill and research understanding. Expect coding rounds with performance-critical implementations (GPU optimization, efficient data loading). Be prepared to discuss papers relevant to the team's research area and explain how you'd implement key ideas. System design questions focus on training infrastructure: distributed training, experiment tracking, and compute resource management.
When evaluating opportunities: Strong postings mention the team's recent research, the infrastructure scale, and the specific technical challenges. They often list the research areas you'd support. Look for roles that emphasize both implementation quality and research understanding.
AI Hiring Overview
The AI job market has 4,317 open positions tracked in our dataset. By seniority: 138 entry-level, 2,071 mid-level, 1,655 senior, and 453 leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level). Remote roles make up 15% of the market (635 positions). The remaining 3,657 roles require on-site or hybrid attendance.
The market median for AI roles is $215,000. Top-quartile compensation starts at $266,300. The 90th percentile reaches $320,790. Highest-paying categories: AI Safety ($287,500 median, 34 roles); Research Engineer ($272,100 median, 227 roles); AI Engineering Manager ($244,000 median, 23 roles).
Research Engineer roles are growing as AI labs recognize that research velocity depends on engineering quality. The role is less competitive than Research Scientist (no PhD required), but the bar for engineering skill is very high. These roles are concentrated at major labs and well-funded startups.
The AI Job Market Today
The AI job market spans 4,317 open positions across 15 role categories. The largest categories by volume: AI/ML Engineer (3,004), Data Scientist (345), AI Software Engineer (309). These three account for the majority of open positions, though smaller categories often have higher per-role compensation because of specialized skill requirements.
The seniority mix tells a story about where AI teams are in their maturity. Entry-level roles (138) are outnumbered by mid-level (2,071) and senior (1,655) positions, reflecting that most companies are past the 'build a team from scratch' phase and need experienced engineers who can ship production systems. Leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level) total 453 positions, representing the bottleneck between technical execution and organizational strategy.
Remote work availability sits at 15% of all AI roles (635 positions), with 3,657 requiring on-site or hybrid attendance. The remote share has stabilized after the post-pandemic correction. Senior and specialized roles (Research Scientist, ML Architect) are more likely to be remote-eligible than entry-level positions, partly because experienced hires have more negotiating power and partly because these roles require less hands-on mentorship.
AI compensation is structured in clear tiers. The market median sits at $215,000. Top-quartile roles start at $266,300, and the 90th percentile reaches $320,790. These figures include base salary with disclosed compensation. Total compensation (including equity, bonuses, and sign-on) runs 20-40% higher at companies that offer those components.
Category matters for compensation. AI Safety roles lead at $287,500 median, while Prompt Engineer roles sit at $145,000. The spread between highest and lowest-paying categories reflects the premium on specialized technical skills versus broader analytical roles.
The most in-demand skills across all AI postings: Python (2,249 postings), Aws (1,224 postings), Azure (938 postings), Rag (915 postings), Gcp (660 postings), Pytorch (640 postings), Prompt Engineering (624 postings), Kubernetes (559 postings). Python dominates, appearing in the vast majority of role descriptions regardless of category. Cloud platform experience (AWS, GCP, Azure) is the second most common requirement. The newer entrants to the top skills list (RAG, vector databases, LLM APIs) reflect the shift from traditional ML toward generative AI applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
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