Vehicle Controls Systems Architect at Forterra in Clarksburg, MD

About Forterra

At Forterra, we are unleashing autonomy at scale to transform the battlefield. Our mission is to build the foundational platforms that enable an intelligent ecosystem to coordinate, adapt, and execute with speed and precision even in the uncertainty and disruption of modern conflict. In an era marked by rapid technological change and evolving threats, we design for flexibility, survivability, and operational dominance.

Forterra delivers weapons, sensors, and battlefield effects through integrated autonomous networks reaching operational areas faster, safer, and without placing human lives at risk. Our systems operate with distributed control, dynamic routing, and real-time responsiveness, enabling sustained advantage across complex mission environments.

About the role

The Vehicle Controls team is looking for a Systems Architect to take ownership of systems architecture, requirements, and integration/test work on our vehicle platforms. This is a true cross-disciplinary systems engineering role: you'll need enough depth in mechanical, electrical, and software engineering to hold your own in a technical conversation with specialists in any of those areas, while spending most of your time on the vehicle — integrating commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) actuation and sensing systems, and designing custom solutions when nothing commercially available fits the need.

What you'll do

Systems Architecture & Requirements

• Own high systems architecture for vehicle subsystems, defining how mechanical, electrical, and software components interact.
• Work with internal and external customers to understand requirements and tradeoffs for overall system design decisions.
• Collaborate with hardware and software leads to mature and develop detailed hardware and software architectures.
• Write, maintain, and trace system and subsystem requirements through integration and test.
• Author and maintain Interface Control Documents (ICDs), Interface description documents, and other systems engineering artifacts to support development and safety analysis.

Systems Integration & Test

• Work with design and development teams to integrate custom and COTS actuation and sensing systems onto vehicle platforms, and design unique actuation or sensing solutions when no suitable existing options exists.
• Work hands-on with vehicles to bring hardware and software components from different teams together into a working system.
• Troubleshoot integration issues across mechanical, electrical, and software boundaries in both lab and vehicle environments.
• Develop and execute test plans and procedures to validate system and subsystem performance.
• Become an expert autonomous vehicle operator to gain an understanding of how the DBW system fits into overall system architecture and needs to perform.

Engineering & Analysis

• Write scripts (e.g. Matlab, Octave, Python) to process, analyze, and visualize test and telemetry data to debug issues and verify/validate system performance.
• Generate systems engineering artifacts to support safety analysis (MIL-STD-882, ISO-26262), including FMEA, Fault Trees, functional architectures and allocations, etc.
• Interpret mechanical and electrical CAD models, Bills of Material, COTS Specifications and drawings in support of integration work and requirement analysis.
• Review software design and code to understand and validate system-level behavior and integration impact.
• Optionally contribute to design efforts in relevant field of expertise, including mechanical, electrical, or software.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Communicate effectively with mechanical, electrical, software, and program stakeholders across the company.
• Translate between disciplines to keep integration and test work moving and on schedule.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of hands-on systems integration and test engineering experience (exceptional candidates with 1–2 years of directly relevant experience will also be considered).
• B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field — or equivalent hands-on experience. Industry background and specific degree matter less than demonstrated hands-on integration experience.
• Demonstrated ability to work across mechanical, electrical, and software disciplines and communicate credibly with specialists in each.
• Experience writing, managing, and tracing system and subsystem requirements on a formal engineering program.
• Experience integrating COTS components (especially actuation and/or sensing systems) onto vehicles or other complex electromechanical systems.
• Experience interpreting electrical schematics, including PCB, cable, and harness drawings.
• Working knowledge of interface control principles and documentation (ICDs).
• Ability to review text and model-based software and reason about the system-level implications of code and design changes.
• Scripting proficiency (e.g., Python) for processing and analyzing test data.
• Must be a U.S. Person and eligible to obtain a security clearance in the future. No current clearance is required to start.
• Willingness to work hands-on with hardware in lab and field/vehicle environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience owning systems architecture for a vehicle, robotic, or other complex electromechanical platform end to end.
• Experience developing and executing formal test plans and procedures.
• Background in automotive, medical, aerospace, robotics, or defense vehicle programs.
• Proficiency with mechanical design, including CAD modeling and drafting.
• Proficiency with electrical design, including eCAD modeling and cabling/harness design tools.
• Proficiency with text-based (C, C++) and/or model-based (Simulink) embedded software development.
• Mechanical and electrical hands-on fabrication experience (e.g. machining, 3D printing, cable assembly)

US Salary Range $150,000—$200,000

The salary range for this role is an estimate and is based on a wide variety of compensation factors. The salary offered to candidates will vary based on a variety of factors including (but not limited to) relevant work experience, education, specialized training, critical expertise, training, and more. Equity in Forterra is included in most of our full-time, high-demand roles and is therefore considered part of Forterra’s overall compensation package. In addition to base salary and equity, Forterra offers competitive benefits for full-time employees including:

• Premium Healthcare Benefits: Three plan options, including an HSA-eligible plan, with Forterra covering 80% of the plan premium for you and your dependents.
• Basic Life/AD&D, short and long-term disability insurance plans 100% covered by Forterra, plus the option to purchase additional life insurance for you and your dependents.
• Extremely generous company holiday calendar including a winter break in December.
• Competitive paid time off (PTO) offering 20 days accrued per year.
• A minimum of 7 weeks fully paid parental leave for birth/adoption.
• A $9k annual tuition reimbursement or professional development stipend.
• Fully stocked beverage refrigerators with all the Celsius your little heart desires.
• 401(k) retirement savings plan, including traditional, Roth 401(k), and after-tax deferral with company match up to 4%.

Your recruiter will be able to share more information about our salary and benefits offering during the hiring process.

Forterra is an equal-opportunity employer, providing and promoting equal employment opportunity in accordance with local, state, and federal laws. Forterrans are unique, talented individuals who are united through a shared passion to deliver autonomous systems that enable national resilience and a robust supply chain. All qualified applications will receive equal consideration for employment.