Forterra · 21 hours ago
Staff Systems Engineer
Arlington, VA
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
$145K/yr - $170K/yr
5+ years expForterra is a company focused on transforming the battlefield through the development of autonomous systems. They are seeking a Staff Systems Engineer to lead the design and integration of mission modules for autonomous ground systems, ensuring reliable interfaces and compliance with open architecture standards.
Defense & Space
Responsibilities
In your role as a Staff System Engineer, you will contribute to the development and architectural design supporting the delivery of prototypes and safety-critical ground based autonomous solutions
Lead the end-to-end systems engineering of autonomous and robotic systems supporting DoD missions, from concept through fielded capability
Translate warfighter and government stakeholder needs into clear, testable system requirements and architectures
Own system and subsystem architectures across autonomy, AI/ML, software, electrical, and mechanical domains
Drive requirements decomposition, traceability, and change management using MBSE and requirements management tools
Define and enforce interfaces to ensure reliable integration of mission payloads, autonomy stacks, and platform subsystems
Lead and support system integration, verification, and validation activities across lab, vehicle, and field environments
Support field testing, demonstrations, and operational evaluations to validate mission performance
Ensure systems comply with open architecture standards and interoperability requirements (IOP, MOSA, SOSA, FACE)
Serve as a technical authority and trusted interface with government customers, partners, and vendors
Participate in Systems Engineering Technical Reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, etc.)
Qualification
Required
BS degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Systems or related Engineering discipline, Computer Science, or a related technical field; MS Preferred
5+ years of work experience as a System engineer or related role focused on autonomous or robotic systems for DoD use
Strong background in requirements development, requirements decomposition, system architecture, and lifecycle management
Experience with SysML modeling and Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) tools (Cameo)
Experience working with open architectures (e.g., IOP, MOSA, SOSA, FACE, or similar)
Experience with managing requirements (Jama, Doors) and issue tracking (JIRA)
Hands-on experience supporting integration, test, and validation activities
Experience supporting field testing, demonstrations, or operational evaluations
Experience with robotics, AI and/or machine learning
Strong communication skills and the ability to communicate complex engineering issues to both a diverse technical team and non-technical stakeholders
Experience working with government customers or defense programs
Eligibility for a security clearance
Preferred
10+ years of work experience as a System engineer or related role focused on autonomous or robotic systems for DoD use
Demonstrated technical leadership over large, complex systems or system-of-systems across multiple programs or platforms
Background in payload integration (ISR, fires, EW, Counter-UAS, or similar)
Background in integration of hardware-software systems, including sensors, effectors, and compute platforms
Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP) or Functional Safety Certification
Experience with MIL-STD 882E or a related or similar functional safety standards (e.g., ARP 4754/4761, ISO 26262, UL 4600, IEC 61508, IEC 62304, DOD-178)
Familiar with mathematical and engineering principles and methods used to design safety critical systems
Direct experience in the design and development of autonomous vehicles or advanced ADAS applications
Benefits
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.
$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%.
Company
Forterra
Forterra delivers autonomous mission systems for defense.
201-500 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageRecent News
2025-11-14
2025-11-14
Washington Technology
2025-11-14
Company data provided by crunchbase