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 is seeking a Simulation Technical Lead to define and drive the technical vision, architecture, and validation strategy for simulation across our autonomous vehicle platforms operating in both off-road and on-road environments for defense and commercial applications. This role is not just about building simulation. It is about making simulation a trusted engineering tool that drives autonomy performance, safety, and product readiness.
You will own critical questions such as:
- How to architect scalable, high-fidelity simulation systems
- How simulation integrates with real-world validation and field data
- How to incorporate AI/ML into scenario generation, perception validation, and autonomy testing
You will operate as the technical authority for simulation, guiding architecture decisions, driving alignment across simulation and autonomy teams, and ensuring simulation meaningfully accelerates product development.
What you'll do
- Define and implement a replay architecture to bring field data into simulation for regression testing and scenario reproduction
- Drive correlation between simulation and real-world performance, including defining metrics, acceptance criteria, and validation methodologies
- Ensure simulation supports edge-case discovery, failure reproduction, and system-level verification
- Ensure simulation environments accurately represent vehicle behavior, sensors, and operational domains
- Hands-on development of simulation features and functionality
- Participate in cross-functional meetings to identify features, improvements, and scenarios needed to achieve software releases
- Develop clear acceptance criteria for feature implementation and ensure goals are met
- Drive prioritization and sequencing of work to ensure meaningful progress toward validation goals
- Provide technical direction, mentorship, and code reviews across the simulation team
- Establish best practices for performance, scalability, and reliability of simulation systems
- Define strategy for incorporating AI/ML into simulation, including:
- Scenario generation and expansion
- Synthetic data generation for perception systems
- Closed-loop autonomy testing
- Work with engineering management on performance review feedback
- Travel quarterly to the company headquarters in Maryland for PI planning activities
Minimum Qualifications
- 7+ years of related experience
- Expert working knowledge in C++ and python
- Experience with simulation platforms such as CARLA/Unreal, dSPACE, Unity or similar
- Experience as a Technical lead including architecture design, technical strategy and implementation planning, mentoring, and code reviews
- Experience with collaborating across multiple geo-dispersed teams
- Strong problem solving and analytical skills, with an ability to troubleshoot and resolve software issues
- Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, managing multiple tasks and priorities
Preferred Qualifications
- Expert knowledge of Lua
- Experience with automotive simulation and physics models specific to tires, suspension, terrain dynamics, or related
- Strong understanding of sensor simulation (LiDAR, RADAR, and Camera)
- Experience scaling simulation in cloud or containerized environments
- Experience building replay systems or data pipelines for simulation
- Background in autonomous vehicles, robotics, or defense systems
- Experience with AI/ML workflows, especially:
- Synthetic data generation
- Scenario generation
- Model validation
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.
CLEARANCE ELIGIBILITY - This position may require eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance. For more information about U.S. Security Clearances: click here.
Forterra is an equal-opportunity employer, providing and promoting equal employment opportunity in all personnel practices. 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 applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any factor, including veteran and disability status, and criminal history, in accordance with applicable local, state, and federal laws.
Forterra is also committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. Please let your recruiter know if you need an accommodation at any point during the interview process.
To see Forterra’s candidate data privacy policy, please visit Forterra Legal | Job Applicant Privacy Notice.
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