Control Engineer

Salient Motion, Inc.; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Healthcare benefits

New hangar facility

Job summary

Salient Motion, Inc. in Hawthorne, CA is seeking an entry-level Motion Control Engineer to develop and maintain embedded firmware for motion control and motor drive products.

You will work with senior engineers to translate control concepts into robust, production-quality code, participate in reviews, and help bring-up and test firmware on hardware in the lab. A BS in EE/CS and 2–4 years of embedded experience are expected.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering or related field.
• 2-4 years of embedded firmware experience in motion control.
• Strong proficiency in C and firmware/architecture principles.
• Familiarity with microcontrollers, interrupts, timers, SPI, I2C, UART, CAN.
• Interest in learning control theory and motor control on the job.
• Experience with Git and modern development workflows.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain embedded firmware for motion control and motor drive products.
• Contribute to system architecture decisions for control firmware modules.
• Translate control algorithms into production-quality firmware.
• Participate in code reviews, static analysis, and testing.
• Support bring-up, debug, and validation on hardware in the lab.
• Document firmware interfaces and design decisions.
• Assist in firmware verification test plans.

Skills

C programming

Firmware development

Embedded systems

Control theory interest

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Git

FreeRTOS

ThreadX

CAN

SPI

I2C

UART

Job description

**Applicants must be U.S. Citizens or U.S. Permanent Residents (Green Card holders) to meet customer and regulatory requirements**

Who We Are

We are pioneering modular motion technologies to power the next generation of innovation for Industrial, Aerospace and Defense. If you're excited about disrupting legacy industries, and passionate about building next generation technology, let's chat!

We are at the forefront of innovation, crafting exclusive motion control components that propel the industrial, aerospace, and defense sectors into the future.

A couple other things:

• We are open to relocating you
• We have great benefits
• We are well funded, and generating revenue
• We are located in beautiful Hawthorne, CA and just moved into a new large hangar facility

Role Summary:

We are hiring an entry-level Motion Control Engineer to help build and maintain the embedded firmware that powers our motion control and motor drive products. This role is built for someone with a strong software/firmware foundation, solid C, an instinct for clean system architecture, who is eager to grow into motor control and control-loop design in a fast-paced aerospace environment. You'll work alongside experienced controls and firmware engineers, turning control concepts into robust, production-quality embedded code.

What you'll do:

• Design, implement, and maintain embedded firmware for motion control and motor drive products, primarily in C.
• Contribute to system architecture decisions for control firmware modules, with an eye toward maintainability, testability,
• and real-time performance.
• Translate control algorithms into well-structured, production-quality firmware, working closely with senior engineering staff.
• Participate in code reviews, static analysis, and unit/integration testing to uphold firmware quality standards.
• Support bring-up, debug, and validation of control firmware on hardware in the lab.
• Document firmware architecture, module interfaces, and design decisions.
• Assist in specifying and executing firmware verification test plans.

What you need:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• 2-4 years of professional experience in embedded firmware development related to Motion Control.
• Strong proficiency in C, with a solid grasp of firmware/software architecture principles (modularity, abstraction layers, state
• machines).
• Familiarity with embedded systems fundamentals: microcontrollers, interrupts, timers, and communication protocols (SPI,
• I2C, UART, CAN).
• Strong problem-solving skills and a genuine interest in learning control theory and motor control fundamentals on the job.
• Experience with version control systems (e.g., Git) and collaborative software development workflows.

Nice to Haves:

• Exposure to motor control concepts (field-oriented control, PWM generation, current/position sensing).
• Familiarity with motion control loop design and digital filter design (PI/PID tuning, notch/biquad filters, Bode/FRF analysis).
• Experience with an RTOS (FreeRTOS, ThreadX, or similar).
• Familiarity with model-based design or code-generation workflows (e.g., Simulink/Embedded Coder).
• Exposure to unit testing frameworks for embedded C (Unity, CppUTest, or similar).
• Coursework or project experience in feedback control systems.

Export Control:

• This role supports aerospace programs and may involve export-controlled information or hardware. Candidates must be able to
• comply with applicable export control laws and access requirements.

What we have to offer:

We are not just building components. We are reshaping the future of the Aerospace and Defense component industry, which is a $300B+ market! Come join us and help build next generation systems that will make a massive impact at global scale.

• We offer competitive compensation: $120,000 to $140,000 base salary + equity
• Exceptional healthcare benefits, Medical is 100% covered by the company