Senior Failure Analysis & Sustainment Engineer

About Forterra

At Forterra, we are unleashing autonomy at scale to transform the battlefield. Our mission is to build the foundational platforms that enable an intelligent ecosystem to coordinate, adapt, and execute with speed and precision even in the uncertainty and disruption of modern conflict. In an era marked by rapid technological change and evolving threats, we design for flexibility, survivability, and operational dominance.

Forterra delivers weapons, sensors, and battlefield effects through integrated autonomous networks reaching operational areas faster, safer, and without placing human lives at risk. Our systems operate with distributed control, dynamic routing, and real-time responsiveness, enabling sustained advantage across complex mission environments.

Forterra is seeking a Technical Product Support Manager to serve as a central technical leader for the lifecycle support of our fielded products. In this role, you will oversee configuration management, sustainment planning, and obsolescence mitigation while working cross-functionally with engineering, supply chain, program teams, and field service. You’ll act as the go-to technical liaison for customers, drive continuous improvement initiatives, and ensure product readiness through hands-on problem-solving and operational support. This is a dynamic, fast-paced role based on-site at our Clarksburg, MD facility—ideal for a detail-oriented technical professional with at least 5 years of relevant experience and a strong background in engineering or related fields.

What You'll Do

The Technical Product Support Manager serves as the central technical point of contact for the comprehensive lifecycle support of fielded products. This role ensures sustained operational readiness, drives continuous improvement, and bridges cross-functional teams—including engineering, supply chain, program management, and field service—to deliver seamless product support for both customers and internal stakeholders.

• Own and build failure analysis processes  

• • Establish, implement, and continuously improve processes for identifying, documenting, and quantifying failure modes  

• • Lead and manage FRACAS data workflows and ensure high-quality reliability data capture  

• • Translate��failure data into actionable product and process improvements that enhance system uptime  

• Lead investigations and root cause analysis (RCA)  

• • Drive discrepancy report investigations from intake through resolution  

• • Perform hands-on forensic analysis of failed components and systems  

• • Determine root cause using structured methodologies (e.g., 5 Whys, fishbone, fault tree)  

• Serve as technical authority for product failures  

• • Act as SME supporting refurbishment and inspection technicians  

• • Provide engineering guidance for troubleshooting, repair decisions, and escalation  

• • Interface with design, manufacturing, and reliability teams to close the loop on issues impacting mission-critical systems  

• Cross-functional collaboration  

• • Work closely with product design, manufacturing, sustainment logistics, program teams, customer success, and reliability engineering  

• • Communicate findings clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders  

• Drive reliability and sustainment initiatives  

• • Identify trends and systemic issues across fielded systems  

• • Lead initiatives to improve product durability, maintainability, and lifecycle performance for mission-critical applications  

• Support engineering changes and obsolescence management  

• • Source, test, qualify, and implement replacement parts