Senior System Test Engineer

Forterra • Clarksburg, MD

21h • Onsite

About The Position

About the role Forterra builds autonomous ground systems that operate in the real world: industrial sites, logistics yards, and contested environments. Our systems must work every time, under uncertainty, and with real consequences. The Product Validation team exists to answer one question: “Is this system safe, reliable, and ready for real-world missions?” We validate autonomous vehicles across simulation, hardware in the loop benches, and live vehicle testing to reduce risk, expose failure modes early, and ensure mission success for both commercial and DoD customers. As a System Test Engineer you will play a critical role in ensuring the functional safety, reliability, and performance of autonomous vehicle subsystems. Your primary focus will be on designing, executing, and maintaining comprehensive test plans for critical vehicle functions, including emergency stop systems, autonomous navigation, sensor fusion, and control logic. This is an on-site role requiring hands-on exposure to cutting edge technology and real-world environments.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, or a related field
• 5+ years of experience in system test, validation, integration, or V&V roles
• Hands-on experience testing, troubleshooting hardware or software systems
• Customer-focused mindset and sense of quality
• Proven experience designing and executing system-level tests
• Experience analyzing complex failures across hardware, software, and integration boundaries
• Working knowledge of autonomous or complex cyber-physical systems
• Candidate should be a flexible team player with good oral and written communication skills, and able to work effectively in a very fast-paced environment with team members from many different disciplines
• Willingness to travel for testing and field support (up to ~25%)

Nice To Haves

• Experience with automotive and defense safety standards such as ISO 26262 and/or MIL-STD882E
• Experience working on DoD programs
• Working understanding of autonomous system architectures including perception, planning, and control subsystems
• Understanding of automotive electronics and a familiarity with communication protocols such as Ethernet, CAN, and LIN
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, data pipelines, or automated test frameworks

Responsibilities

• Own vehicle-level test strategy for autonomy features and safety-critical functions
• Translate system requirements and user journeys into structured test plans and scenario matrices
• Identify operational edge cases and risk-driven test permutations
• Design and source custom test interfaces, instrumentation, and tooling as needed
• Execute and oversee testing across simulation, benches, and real vehicles
• Analyze results, perform root cause analysis, and clearly communicate risk and readiness
• Write scripts and tools to monitor metrics, automate checks, and accelerate debugging
• Partner with Systems, Software, Hardware, and Safety to define V&V strategy
• Provide testability feedback during design and requirement reviews
• Represent Product Validation in program milestones and readiness discussions

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.
• 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%

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level