Senior UX Designer - Military veterans preferred

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

We are looking for a seasoned and mission-driven UX Designer to help shape the future of autonomy-driven command and control (C2) systems. As a Senior UX Designer, you will lead the design of user interfaces that enable clarity, speed, and confidence for users making high-consequence decisions in high-stakes environments. You'll be embedded alongside product managers, engineers, and subject matter experts to understand the unique challenges faced by our users—whether they're coordinating autonomous vehicles in theater or managing logistics from thousands of miles away. This role will drive the UX for TerraLink, Forterra's C2 interface, and other operator-facing tooling that puts autonomy into action. We're looking for someone who is comfortable with complexity, passionate about human-centered design, and energized by solving deeply technical problems with clear, elegant interfaces. This role is central to making autonomy usable, intuitive, and reliable.

What you"ll do

• Contribute to the UX design of TerraLink and other operator-facing tools—working from early concept to final polish.
• Lead user research efforts in partnership with PMs and field teams to understand user workflows and uncover pain points.
• Translate technical capabilities and autonomy behavior into intuitive interfaces that clearly communicate system status and recommended actions.
• Design and prototype interactive solutions using tools such as Figma, Framer, or similar.
• Define UX standards, interaction patterns, and design systems that scale across Forterra's portfolio of software.
• Collaborate closely with engineers to ensure design fidelity and implementation accuracy.
• Work directly with field operators and end users to gather feedback, run usability tests, and iterate on designs in real-world conditions.
• Help shape Forterra's design culture and processes as we grow the design team.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in UX or product design, ideally with exposure to complex systems or enterprise tools.
• A strong portfolio demonstrating user-centered design thinking, interaction design, visual craft and experience designing for multiple platforms.
• Proficiency in modern design tools (e.g., Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch, Storybook, etc.).
• Experience designing interfaces for data-dense or real-time systems (e.g., geospatial apps, dashboards, operational tools).
• Experience building or contributing to design systems, including creating reusable components, defining design tokens, and maintaining consistency across products.
• Strong communication and storytelling skills—you can clearly explain design rationale to cross-functional partners.
• Comfort working in fast-paced, technical environments with incomplete information.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing for defense, aerospace, or mission-critical applications.
• Familiarity with command-and-control interfaces, GIS or ATAK-like tools.
• Comfort working with or designing around autonomous systems, robotics, or sensor data.
• Startup or high-growth experience with an emphasis on commissioning and shipping.

Education & Experience

• Degree in UX, HCI, Psychology, Graphic Design or a related field—or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of relevant industry experience, including direct ownership of shipped design work.

US Salary Range
$125,000 - $140,000

Location

Clarksburg, MD

25% travel is required.

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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