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

Forterra’s C3 Integrations team enables market development of our core Command, Control, and Communications products through rapid prototyping and partner experimentation, delivering mission solutions that leverage Forterra’s proven autonomy and C3 technologies.  

We’re looking for an experienced and driven Senior Software Engineer to design, extend, and deliver novel mission capabilities through our user interface software, TerraLink. In this role, you will lead the development of operator-facing workflows, integrations, and mission features while working directly with customers and partners to translate real-world operational needs into production-quality software.  

Strong candidates combine deep hands-on software development experience with demonstrated technical leadership and a customer-facing mindset. You should be comfortable owning ambiguous problem spaces, delivering capability on aggressive timelines, and collaborating across internal teams and external partners to rapidly mature prototypes into deployable solutions. 

What you'll do

You are an accelerator: you will rapidly prototype and mature operator-facing mission capabilities to support customer evaluations, demonstrations, and early operational deployments.  

You are a technical leader: you will work with senior stakeholders, mentor and develop junior engineers, and contribute to the development of technical strategy. 

Qualifications

• Software Engineering Expertise – 8+ years of professional software development experience, including delivery of production systems in complex or safety-critical environments. Expertise in C++ and Python and strong experience developing and deploying software in Linux environments required 

• Mission-First Mindset – Demonstrated commitment to delivering reliable, operationally relevant software in support of real-world missions and customers 

• Technical Leadership – Proven ability to own complex features or subsystems end-to-end, from requirements through field deployment, while collaborating across teams and developing junior engineers  

• User-Facing Application Development – Experience building and maintaining complex user-facing applications, including UI-driven workflows, operator tools, and mission planning systems  

• Integration-Focused Engineering – Demonstrated success integrating in-house and third-party developed software components into cohesive, operator-ready capabilities  

• Customer & Partner Engagement – Ability to work directly with customers and partners to define requirements, iterate on solutions, and deliver usable capability on tight timelines  

• Field-Ready Aptitude– Willing and able to validate solutions in real operational environments, working shoulder-to-shoulder with users during field tests, exercises, and demonstrations to rapidly iterate and harden capabilities. Prior Forward-Deployed Engineer (FDE) experience is a significant attribute  

• Clear Communicator – Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain technical tradeoffs and designs to both technical and non-technical audiences  

• Excellence in Ambiguous Environments – Comfortable operating in fast-paced, evolving programs where requirements are incomplete and rapid iteration is required 

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience developing mission-oriented user interfaces, command-and-control tools, or operator-facing software for defense, robotics, or other autonomous systems  

• Familiarity with distributed systems, extensibility, and service-oriented architectures, particularly as they relate to UI-driven mission workflows  

• Experience with modern UI frameworks or visualization technologies used in operational or industrial software (specific frameworks optional)  

• Prior Defense & Intelligence work is strongly valued  

• Must be eligible for a U.S. security clearance  

US Salary Range
 $170,000—$185,000
 

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.