Staff Controls Engineer

Costa Mesa · Costa Mesa, CA (OC-00) · USD 191,000-253,000 · 10+ years experience · Posted Oct 9, 2026

At a glance

Anduril Industries is seeking a Staff Controls Engineer to join the Hardware Platform Organization in Costa Mesa, CA.
This role involves designing and implementing motor control algorithms, developing sensorless rotor position estimation techniques, and building high-fidelity motor and inverter plant models.

Design and implement field-oriented control (FOC), six-step commutation, and direct torque control algorithms for BLDC and PMSM motors
Develop sensorless rotor position estimation techniques (back-EMF observer, sliding-mode observer, high-frequency injection) for applications where Hall sensors or encoders are not viable
Design current, speed, and position control loops with rigorous bandwidth, stability margins, and disturbance rejection specifications
Build high-fidelity motor and inverter plant models in MATLAB / Simulink, including magnetic saturation, iron losses, and thermal coupling
Develop controller models and validate performance through Model-in-the-Loop (MIL) simulation against requirements
Execute Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) testing using Embedded Coder auto-generated C code to verify fixed-point scaling, quantisation effects, and code-generation fidelity
Support Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) integration with real-time simulators (dSPACE, Typhoon HIL, or equivalent) for full controller board validation
Integrate Simulink auto-coded algorithm modules with the microcontroller RTOS, peripheral drivers, and application framework
Implement motor control firmware in C on microcontrollers (e.g., STM32, TI C2000, NXP S32K) with hard real-time constraints
Configure and optimise motor control peripherals: PWM timers, ADC synchronisation, encoder/Hall interfaces, comparator-based overcurrent protection

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Mechatronics, or equivalent hands-on experience
10+ years of professional experience designing and implementing motor control algorithms (FOC, Trapezoidal, or equivalent) for BLDC or PMSM motors
Strong foundation in classical and modern control theory — PID tuning, frequency-domain analysis, state estimation, observer design
Proficiency in MATLAB / Simulink, PLECS for control design, motor modelling, and auto-code generation (Embedded Coder or equivalent)
Deep experience writing production-quality embedded code on microcontrollers with hard real-time motor control loops
Perform Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) integration with real-time simulators
Working knowledge of power electronics: three-phase inverter operation, PWM schemes, dead-time compensation, DC bus dynamics, and loss estimation
Hands-on experience with motor control peripherals — ADC triggering, encoder/Hall/resolver interfaces, PWM complementary outputs, hardware overcurrent comparators
Familiarity with communication protocols: CAN, SPI, I²C, UART, RS-485 etc
U.S. Person status is required as this position needs to access export-controlled data (ITAR / EAR)

Master's or PhD with thesis work in motor control, power electronics, or electric machine design
Experience with sensorless control techniques at low speed and standstill (HFI, pulsating voltage injection)
Experience with SiC or GaN power device integration and high-switching-frequency inverter design
Experience with real-time simulation platforms (dSPACE, OPAL-RT, Typhoon HIL) for HIL validation
Background in defense, automation, automotive, aerospace, or robotics motor control applications — actuators, gimbal drives, electric propulsion
Experience with thermal modeling of motors and inverters, I²t protection, and derating algorithms
Active or ability to obtain a U.S. security clearance

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