Control Systems Engineer

First Principle; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Benefits

Job summary

First Principle is assembling a highly capable R&D team to build the control platform for a new transmission network in the United States. The role is on-site in San Francisco and offers meaningful equity and strong benefits for an early‑stage team.

You will own control software subsystems end to end, validate performance in simulation and SIL/HIL, and collaborate closely with power systems engineers to ensure reliable, scalable operation from terminal to network level.

Qualifications

• A degree in Engineering or a related field.
• 3+ years of commercial experience delivering control systems in safety‑critical domains.

Responsibilities

• Own key control software subsystems end to end (development, testing, deployment, and maintenance).
• Model and validate control performance in Simulink or PLECS; prove it out on SIL/HIL before hardware.
• Collaborate with power systems engineers to ensure seamless power delivery across terminals and network.
• Support in‑situ commissioning of controls software at project sites.
• Help build and improve CI/CD, version control, and issue tracking.

Skills

Control fundamentals

PID tuning

State estimation

System debugging

Education

Engineering degree

Tools

Simulink

PLECS

SIL/HIL platforms

Job description

First Principle has been retained by an early, exceptionally well-backed team building a new industrial electric grid for the United States, delivering gigawatts of power directly to next-generation data centers and advanced manufacturing hubs.

At the heart of their network is a power terminal with integrated energy storage. It’s built to hold a link stable on its own, with no grid inertia to lean on, putting controls at the core of the whole system. With projects already in active development across the West, the R&D team is now building the control platform that will take this hardware from simulation to the field.

We’re seeking a Control Systems Engineer to develop, test, and deploy the control software behind these terminals. You’ll own key subsystems end to end, working alongside principal engineers with decades of system design behind them. This is a hands‑on builder role with a high level of architectural ownership.

Key Responsibilities

• Own key control software subsystems end to end (development, testing, deployment, and maintenance) while contributing to the terminal and network-level control architecture.
• Model and validate control performance in Simulink or PLECS, then prove it out on SIL/HIL platforms before anything reaches real hardware.
• Work closely with power systems engineers to keep power delivery seamless from each terminal and across the wider network.
• Support in-situ commissioning of controls software at project sites.
• Help build and improve the team’s controls development pipeline, including CI/CD, version control, and issue tracking.

Success Criteria

• A degree in Engineering or a related field, with 3+ years of commercial experience delivering control systems in safety‑critical domains.
• Deep fluency in control fundamentals: feedback and feedforward control, state estimation, PID tuning, and stability analysis.
• Hands‑on experience validating controls through simulation and on HIL/SIL platforms, with strong debugging skills across the software, firmware, and hardware boundary.
• Relevant backgrounds may include EV powertrain and motor control, robotics, aerospace, grid‑scale energy storage, or power conversion.

This is a rare chance to write the control software for a new kind of transmission network, applying the same fundamentals as inverters and drives at gigawatt scale. On‑site in San Francisco, with meaningful equity, and fantastic benefits for an early‑stage team.