Chief Engineer

About the role

The Emerging Technologies team at Forterra develops mission specific autonomous ground vehicle platformsspanning both the military and commercial vehicle applications. Our systems must befield-ready reliable and compliant with safety cybersecurity and mission assurance standards. We workclosely with government and commercial stakeholders to deliver high-performance ground autonomysolutions for complex real-world environments.

We are seeking a Chief Engineer to direct technical execution for complex defense autonomyprograms within Emerging Technologies serving as the technical owner Architect and engineering lead. This hands-on leadership role carries full accountability for technical outcomes fromconcept through integration and delivery. The Technical Lead willinterface directly withgovernmentcustomers manage internal engineering execution collaborate with all internal partners (OperationsHardware Core Software etc.) and ensure delivery of a fully integrated mission-capable position is not a coordination role it requires deep technical judgment system level thinking direct problem-solving hands-on leadership of multidisciplinary teams and decision-making under pressure.

What youll do

• Program Technical Leadership
• • Coordinate the software development lifecycle for integrated vehicle systems ensuring robustreliable autonomy and seamless subsystem interaction

• • Define manage and own the logical and physical system architecture for the specific program acrosssoftware and hardware domains

• • Lead technical execution across multiple engineering disciplines (software electrical mechanicalautonomy systems and systems integration)

• • Manage and mitigate technical and programmatic risks through proactive design and schedulecontrol

• • Own the engineering schedule and ensure alignment with overall program milestones and deliverydates

• • Collaborate directly with defense customers partners and vendors to align on technical solutions and delivery milestones.

• Systems Engineering & Integration
• • Lead development and decomposition of system requirements and interface definitions for theprogram (Accountable but will have support from the broader org and dedicated resources within thedivision)

• • Ensure compliance with program-specific standards including MIL-STD-882E NIST 800-53 amongstothers

• • Define manage and own the logical and physical system architecture for the specific program acrosssoftware and hardware domains

• • Oversee integration and commissioning of autonomous platforms and weapons payloads in fieldconditions

• • Coordinate and be accountable for system-level validation and verification campaigns including testevents and live demos

• Cross-Functional Influence
• • Operate with full accountability even in the absence of direct authority or guidance

• • Resolve technical and organizational conflict across functions tomaintainexecution velocity

• • Ruthlessly prioritize tasks and resources to maximize team output in a fluid environment

• • Represent the program at technical reviews demonstrations and key stakeholder engagements

• Artifact & Compliance Management
• • Drive creation and management of all required engineering artifacts: systems requirements interfacecontrol documents cyber compliance packages safety analyses etc.

• • Conduct or supervise integration verification & validation Demonstration and Test in lab and field environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in engineering or related technical fieldrequired. Relevant disciplines include: Mechanical Electrical Computer Software Mechatronics Robotics Aerospace Engineering or similar

• Minimum5 years of experience in systems integration robotics or autonomous vehicles

• Demonstrated leadership of cross-functional engineering teams in high-stakes environments

• Strong background in autonomy drive-by-wire systems or closely related fields

• Ability to obtain a Secret clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (M.S. Ph.D.) in engineering preferred

• 10 Years of Experience in systems integration robotics or autonomous vehicles

• Experience working on robotics and autonomous systems for Department of Defense applications

• Experience in DoD acquisition programs or direct collaboration with military end-users.

US Salary Range
$175000$235000

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 Forterras overall compensation 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.

Required Experience:

Chief