# Senior Payloads Software Engineer

**Company:** [Forterra](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/forterra)
**Location:** Clarksburg, MD
**Role:** Embedded Engineering
**Salary:** $120k – $200k/yr
**Experience:** 5+ years
**Skills:** C, C++, Python, Java, Ros2, Can, Can-Fd, Ethernet, Flexray, Uds, J1939, Jira, Motion Planning, Path Planning, Robot Perception
**Posted:** 2026-05-12

> Integrates and deploys software payloads on autonomous ground-vehicle hardware, validates field performance, and improves system behavior through testing and cross-functional collaboration. Requires 3+ years of relevant experience, strong C/C++ skills, hardware integration experience, and a bachelor's degree or equivalent expertise.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Integrate and deploy payloads on customer-bound hardware platforms and validate them in real-world conditions.
- Work with internal teams and end users to deliver new behaviors, payload integrations, and mission use cases.
- Analyze interactions among sensing, compute, controls, and other autonomous-vehicle subsystems to improve overall performance.
- Analyze test results, identify issues and root causes, and collaborate with engineering teams to resolve problems.
- Translate customer requirements into delivered autonomy capabilities with business development and engineering teams.
- Travel 10–25% or 25–50%, depending on candidate preference and role placement; commute to Arlington, VA as needed.

## Requirements
- 3 or more years of relevant experience.
- Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, robotics, or a related field, or equivalent demonstrated skill.
- Experience integrating software on hardware systems, including sensors, effectors, and compute platforms.
- Strong programming skills in C or C++.
- Experience with vehicle networks and diagnostics, including CAN, CAN-FD, Ethernet, FlexRay, UDS, and J1939, plus logging and trace tools.
- Software design, unit testing, debugging, algorithms, data structures, and software design principles.
- Ability to deliver production-quality software in a continuously integrated environment.
- Clean, maintainable code and documentation practices.
- Team collaboration and proactive problem solving.

## Preferred Qualifications
- Software development for robotics and autonomous systems.
- Open architectures such as IOP, MOSA, SOSA, or FACE.
- Safety-critical systems such as MIL-STD-882, ISO-26262, or DO-178.
- Python and Java.
- ROS2.
- State machines and motion or path planning.
- JIRA.
- Navigation, mapping algorithms, and robot perception.
- Real-time operating systems and embedded programming.
- Leadership on cross-functional software teams.

## Compensation and Benefits
- US salary range: **$120,000–$200,000**.
- Equity is included in most full-time, high-demand roles.
- Premium healthcare benefits, with Forterra covering 80% of the plan premium for employees and dependents.
- Forterra-paid basic life/AD&D and short- and long-term disability insurance.
- Company holiday calendar with a December winter break.
- 20 days of accrued PTO per year.
- At least 7 weeks of fully paid parental leave.
- $9,000 annual tuition reimbursement or professional development stipend.
- 401(k) plan with company match up to 4%.

## Similar jobs

- [Senior Robotic Hardware Engineer](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/e00f9865-927e-44f5-ba25-88f13fa58ecf) - Applied Intuition - Fort Walton Beach, FL - $120k – $165k/yr
- [Senior DSP Engineer](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/d2610b5c-df32-48c0-ab0d-49503601fc17) - Northwood Space - Torrance, CA - $140k – $226k/yr
- [Vehicle Controls - Technical Lead](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/f7e4cb98-09e1-47ff-8b5f-cfc8c97cba5c) - Applied Intuition - Sunnyvale, CA - $150k – $250k/yr
- [Senior Software Engineer, Sensor Platform](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/3df897db-962a-4d94-b012-1b0d24e38cd8) - Nuro - Mountain View, CA - $160k – $241k/yr
- [Senior Systems Engineer](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/1effe762-f722-4320-a147-785dc8dbfbdc) - Parallel Systems - Los Angeles, CA - $163k – $180k/yr

**Apply:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/db14e9ab-310b-44ad-98de-d6094744d0d4
**Canonical:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/db14e9ab-310b-44ad-98de-d6094744d0d4