Controls & Embedded Systems Engineer - Prototype Development

American Turbines; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 175,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Health insurance

Vision & dental

401(k) match

Job summary

American Turbines is seeking a Controls & Embedded Systems Engineer to take ownership of bringing our first turbine to run. You will design embedded controls and firmware for real-time, safety-critical operation, define sensor selection and valve/pipe choices, and own the loop from testing to steady-state.

You'll work closely with the test team from early on, embedding yourself in the build to influence component choices and ensure the engine can start, run, and shut down safely when needed.

Qualifications

• Experience with embedded controls and firmware for rotating machinery or real-time safety-critical systems.
• Ability to design and close the loop from sensor inputs to actuation.
• Experience taking a system from blank sheet to running state, not just spec'd.

Responsibilities

• Own embedded controls and firmware to achieve steady-state operation.
• Collaborate with test team to select sensors and define control logic.
• Embed in the build from early on to influence hardware and observability.

Skills

Embedded controls

Firmware development

Real-time systems

Safety-critical systems

Sensor selection

P&ID familiarity

Job description

About American Turbines

The power grid was built for a world that no longer exists. Centralized generation, hundred-mile transmission lines, decade-long permitting cycles. Meanwhile, demand is exploding: AI data centers, industrial electrification, remote operations that need megawatts yesterday and can't wait for utilities to catch up.

American Turbines is designing small modular gas turbines, purpose-built for distributed power generation. Machines designed from a blank sheet to be manufactured at scale, clustered in arrays. Hundreds of units operating in parallel, dynamically matching load like a compute cluster matches demand. We are a seed-stage company backed by the investors behind SpaceX, Boom Supersonic, and Hadrian.

About the Role

The Controls & Embedded Systems Engineer will own getting American Turbines' first turbine to actually run: the embedded controls and firmware that take it from start to steady-state operation, keep it running through every test, and shut it down safely when something goes wrong. This includes owning the P&ID, sensor selection, and valve and plumbing choices, since those decisions are inseparable from what you're controlling, but the job is making the engine work.

You will work directly with the test team to get the right sensors on the rig and define the control logic and firmware the engine actually runs on. As testing reveals what the engine needs versus what we assumed, you're the one closing that loop.

This is not a role where controls comes in after the hardware is built. You will be embedded in the build from early on, shaping component choices around what's controllable and observable.

What We're Looking For

Experience with embedded controls and firmware for rotating machinery, engines, or similarly real-time, safety-critical systems. You've taken a system from a blank sheet to actually running, not just simulated or spec'd out.

You think in failure modes and control loops as much as you think in code. You know how much of this job is judgment calls under uncertainty rather than clean spec work, and you'd rather be watching the engine run than writing the document that describes it.

Compensation

$175,000 to $225,000 base.

• Generous stock package.


• Medical, vision, and dental care.


• 2% matching on 401(k).