Senior PCB Designer

Forterra; Clarksburg (MD); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative firm is seeking a Senior PCB Designer to join their dynamic Electrical Engineering team. In this pivotal role, you will leverage your extensive experience in high-power and high-speed PCB designs to contribute to cutting-edge autonomous vehicle technologies. Collaborating closely with hardware engineers, you will be responsible for creating and reviewing PCB layouts, managing component libraries, and ensuring manufacturability. The ideal candidate will possess a strong technical aptitude and the ability to navigate complex design requirements, all while fostering a culture of excellence within the team. This is an exciting opportunity to shape the future of defense autonomy applications in a fast-growing company.

Benefits

Premium Healthcare Benefits

Life/AD&D Insurance

Generous Holiday Calendar

20 Days PTO

Paid Parental Leave

Tuition Reimbursement

Fully Stocked Beverages

401(k) with Company Match

Qualifications

• 5+ years of PCB layout experience or associates degree with 3 years of experience.
• Strong knowledge of signal integrity, power distribution, and EMI.

Responsibilities

• Design and layout circuits using Altium Designer for high-speed applications.
• Manage electronic component libraries and maintain templates for schematics.

Skills

Ownership Mentality

Technical Aptitude

Structured Thinking

Problem Solving

Leadership

Education

5+ years of PCB layout experience

Associates degree + 3 years of work experience

Tools

Altium Designer

Arena PLM

Job description

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

The Forterra Electrical Engineering team seeks a Senior PCB Designer with vast experience designing high power and high-speed Printed Circuit Board (PCB) layouts from electrical schematics to drive the future generation of autonomous vehicles. This includes everything from creating design rules, reviewing designs for manufacturability, generating files from the PCB project for board manufacturing and assembly, answering questions from the CM, and performing first article inspection on initial board runs.

Forterra is a fast-growing company at the early stages of growth. Members of our hardware team are resourceful, creative, and motivated to maintain designs from cradle to grave. The Senior PCB Design Engineer role will require industry knowledge and methodic approaches to the responsibilities involved. In this position, you will perform PCB layout for state-of-the-art defense autonomy applications. You will be working as a member of a highly skilled hardware team to design, prototype, and deliver high speed and high-power cutting-edge designs. In addition to being an expert PCB designer, you will be asked for design input with consideration for signal integrity, power distribution, and EMI. You will be consulted in early conceptual stages for approach, practicality, and robustness. You will be expected to participate in project plans as it pertains to budgets and timelines.

What you'll do

• Be a key member of Forterra’s Electrical R&D team – working closely with Hardware Engineers to design and lay out circuits using Altium Designer.
• Manage and maintain electronic component libraries in Altium 365 and Arena PLM.
• Maintain templates for schematics and drawings.
• Review and generate PCB/A manufacturing packages.
• Take responsibility of PCBA projects from schematic hand-off to first article inspection.
• Assist and guide other members of the Electrical Engineering department with technical problems.
• Assist and mentor other members of the Electrical Engineering department with designing for signal integrity, power integrity, and manufacturability.
• Drive project timelines by working with contract manufacturers to answer questions on their manufacturing line.
• Stay involved and up to date with the industry’s latest PCB design information, tools, and techniques.

Qualifications

• Ownership Mentality - We’re looking for owners: those who have a natural tendency 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.
• We need a PCB designer that can work with loosely defined requirements and dynamically create complex PCB designs with input from engineering.
• Structured Thinker and Problem Solver - Leading PCB design projects requires clear communication and well-thought-out methods. You’re not just connecting the dots, but an active team member through project iterations. You have an ability to distill complexity into its essential, digestible components.
• 360 Degree Leader - We are a non-hierarchical organization with a matrix structure that is dynamic and evolving. We expect you to be self-aware enough to recognize your position of unstated leadership.
• We need a PCB design expert to share knowledge and hold their team to a high level of excellence.
• A strong motivation to analyze and improve Forterra’s processes of PCBA design and manufacturing.

Preferred Qualifications

• IPC-6012 and/or IPC-2221 certifications.
• Strong experience with Altium Designer.
• Experience in fast-paced, start-up environments.
• Experience with Arena PLM.

Education & Experience

• 5+ years of work in PCB layout or associates degree +3 years of work experience.
• Knowledge of return path, power distribution, grounding and EMI mitigation.
• Mixed experience and working understanding in high density, high speed, and high-power designs.
• A solid understanding of the PCBA manufacturing process from design rules, file generation, quoting, fabrication, drilling, and managing contract manufacturers.
• Experience with high-reliability, aerospace, and/or IPC Class 3 designs.

Salary and Benefits

US Salary Range: $100,000—$130,000

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, Legal & ID protection 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.