Director, Safety Critical Software bei Forterra Careers

About The Role

The Director of Safety-Critical Software will own the strategy, architecture, and execution of all safetycritical software development across the autonomous driving platform. This leader will ensure compliance with industry safety standards, build and scale a high-performing engineering team, and work closely with executives and cross-functional stakeholders to deliver safe, reliable, and certifiable software systems.

What You'll Do

1. Lead design and development of safety-critical software complying with applicable standards and focus on software architectures that are robust, reliable and fault-tolerant.
2. Build, mentor, and lead a team of safety-critical software engineers, fostering a culture of rigor, accountability, and innovation.
3. Lead software development activities such as sprint planning, task delegation, roadmap refinement and identifying markers of success.
4. Collaborate with engineers from other cross-functional groups such as systems, safety and test to ensure product and program level needs are met.
5. Manage software development throughout the development cycle, from collecting feature requests to their final delivery via thorough testing and verification activities.
6. Ensure development of safety-critical embedded software in C/C++ and model-based safety-certifiable tools, establishing best practices and reviewing critical implementations when needed.
7. Lead the development of software safety artifacts and required documentation to provide evidence of rigor in accordance with relevant standards.
8. Define and enforce software development processes aligned with ISO-26262, IEC-61508, DO-178, and other relevant standards.”
9. Create and maintain comprehensive documentation for software requirements, architecture and design decisions to ensure compliance with safety software development processes.
10. Lead software certification efforts and serve as the primary interface with external assessors, auditors, and regulatory bodies.

What We're Looking For:

1. Proven leadership experience building and managing software teams in safety-critical domains.
2. Strong technical credibility in embedded and real-time systems, able to review designs and guide architectural decisions.
3. Deep knowledge of safety standards such as ISO-26262, IEC-61508, DO-178, or MIL-STD-882, with experience driving certification efforts.
4. Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to influence executives and inspire engineers.
5. Track record of delivering complex, certified software systems in automotive, aerospace, medical, or similar industries.

What We Need:

1. Define and execute the safety-critical software strategy, ensuring compliance with all relevant standards.
2. Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing team of safety-critical software engineers.
3. Establish and enforce rigorous development processes, from requirements definition through verification and certification.
4. Partner with systems, safety, hardware, and test teams to ensure seamless integration and system-level safety.
5. Serve as the primary interface with external auditors, assessors, and regulatory bodies.
6. Oversee the delivery of safety-critical software artifacts, documentation, and traceability to demonstrate rigor and compliance.

What We Love to See:

1. Hands-on familiarity with embedded C/C++ or Ada in real-time operating systems (QNX, VxWorks, etc.).
2. Experience with MISRA C/C++ standards.
3. Knowledge of communication protocols such as CAN, CAN/FD, Ethernet, and FlexRay.
4. Background in model-based development tools (ANSYS SCADE, Simulink, or similar).
5. Understanding of robotics software domains (perception, navigation, motion planning, control).
6. Prior work in integrating complex electro-mechanical systems (autonomous vehicles, aerospace, medical devices).
7. Strong problem-solving and analytical mindset, with the ability to anticipate and mitigate risks.

US Salary Range
 $180,000—$250,000
 

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.