Component / Sustainment Engineer

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 looking for a hands-on Component / Sustainment Engineer to join the Core Product team in Clarksburg, MD. You will be working with a small team of engineers to develop autonomous systems for military and commercial vehicles. This involves sustaining the products in production and ensuring efficient builds on upcoming product builds.

What you'll do

• Serve as the technical point of contact for PCB/CCA component lifecycle and shortage support
• Identify, validate, and document form-fit-function alternates to resolve shortages, and add them to engineering libraries and PLM
• Prepare and release technical drawing package updates to address obsolescence and shortages
• Qualify new components, including eMMC, DDR modules and ICs, and hard drives
• Review new designs through BOM scrubs, flagging components with known shortages, lifecycle risk, or single-source exposure before release
• Monitor Product Change Notices (PCNs) and assess their impact on active products
• Maintain consistency between engineering component libraries and PLM
• Partner with Supply Chain and Hardware teams to analyze obsolescence risk, develop mitigation strategies, and assess product line impact, including recommending PCB respins or interim solutions
• Support new product gate reviews for sustainment risks and impacts
• Track work and maintain documentation in NetSuite, Arena, Jira, and spreadsheet

Minimum Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or similar
• At least 2 years of applicable experience in an engineering field.
• Hands-on experience with Altium (or comparable ECAD tool) to update designs, drawings, and BOMs.
• Experience with PLM and configuration management practices (ECO/ECN processes).
• Experience with obsolescence management and reporting.
• Working knowledge of memory and storage technologies.
• Ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Arena and NetSuite specifically.
• Familiarity with component risk tools (SiliconExpert, Z2Data, or similar).
• Failure analysis or troubleshooting experience.
• Defense industry or high-reliability experience.

US Salary Range
$95,000 - $135,000

Location

On-Site in Clarksburg, MD

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.