EW RF Engineer

About Forterra

Forterra is a leading provider of autonomous systems for ground-based movement in the working world. Amongst some of the earliest innovators in the field of driverless technology, Forterra is focused on building systems that protect front-line soldiers and enable civilian workers in our industrial base. Forterra is the go-to provider of ground autonomy solutions for the U.S. Department of Defense, which harnesses the technology for asymmetric warfare in critical conditions.

About The Role

As an extension of our core products in Command, Control, and Communications (C3) we are diving deeper into the EW space to make the systems and platforms we integrate more survivable. We are developing an Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations (EMSO) capability that will provide broad spectrum awareness that can aid national government off-the-shelf assets in the EMS. For communication, this will provide a real time database of inference and unoccupied spectrum to aid maneuver. For Electromagnetic Warfare (EW), this will, in parallel, provide a tip and queue interface to enable current EW and Signals Intelligence systems to more rapidly identify signals of interest driving toward an open “plug-and-play” approach with national government off-the-shelf assets.

We are seeking an RF Systems Engineer to design, integrate, and field RF sensing capabilities that provide wideband spectrum awareness, agility, and direction finding aboard autonomous vehicles. This role will focus on bringing practical RF expertise to a small, cross-functional team building real systems for operational use.

You will own RF engineering end-to-end, from antenna concepts to RF front-end design for our EMSO products.  This will not be limited to bespoke designs aimed solely at Forterra’s systems, but work more broadly to design RF systems that can host partner capabilities and support rapid integration of of a plurality of sensor, effectors and communication systems.  This is a hands-on role for an engineer who thrives in ambiguous problem spaces and can move quickly from concept to over-the-air performance.

What You'll Do

• Design, integrate, and test RF front end design & subsystems supporting EMSO and EW sensing, including antennas, RF front-end components, and software-defined radios (SDRs).
• Develop RF architectures that enable wideband spectrum awareness, direction finding, and spectrum agility across VHF, UHF, and lower SHF bands.
• Work with external vendors and partners to specify, evaluate, and validate custom RF components or subsystems when required to ensure Forterra’s systems can support a wide array for tasks
• Rapidly prototype RF systems using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) or government off-the-shelf (GOTS) components, balancing speed, performance, and system maturity.
• Perform RF field testing, system demonstrations , experimentation, and validation.
• Collaborate with electrical and mechanical engineers to integrate RF hardware into autonomous vehicle platforms, considering antenna placement, grounding, shielding, and enclosure considerations.
• Diagnose and resolve RF performance issues including interference, data rate/bandwidth limitations, and RF chain degradation in real-world environments.

What We're Looking For:

• Mission-First Mindset - We put the needs of the mission and our customers first and understand that the US and its allies have no preordained right to victory in any future conflict.
• Ownership Mentality - We’re looking for owners; those who have a natural bias to assume responsibility, a healthy dose of skepticism, and contribute to a culture of performance.
• Technical Aptitude and Intellectual Curiosity - We are first and foremost a technology company, working at the leading edge of capabilities like machine learning, autonomy, distributed networking, and multi-modal sensor fusion.

Minimum Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience designing, building, and testing RF or wireless systems from concept through deployment.
• Strong understanding of RF fundamentals, including antenna theory, array processing, RF propagation, impedance matching, filtering, and low-noise amplification.
• Experience analyzing RF system performance using link budgets, VSWR, noise figure, and dynamic range.
• Practical experience across a broad range of frequencies, from VHF and UHF through lower SHF.
• Ability to work cross-functionally and communicate RF concepts clearly to non-RF engineers.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with EMSO, EW, or SIGINT systems and spectrum-awareness workflows.
• Experience with antenna arrays, phased arrays, beamforming, or RF direction-finding techniques.
• Knowledge of digital signal processing techniques for RF systems.
• Programming experience (Python, MATLAB, C/C++) for RF test automation and data analysis.
• Experience integrating RF systems onto platforms.
• Prior experience working in fast-paced, small-team, or field-focused development environments
  
  

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
  
  

US Salary Range
 $205,000—$255,000
 

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.

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