Controls Software Engineer - C/C++ / Structured Text

GCS Recruitment; Kirkland (WA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

GCS Recruitment is looking for a Controls Software Engineer to enhance the control software for a large fleet of industrial robotics. You will be involved in resolving bugs, improving performance, and working hands-on with hardware.

The ideal candidate will have real controls experience and software skills in languages such as C or C++. A strong ability to navigate a large codebase is essential. The work will take place on-site in either Seattle or Boston.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with industrial control systems, machine control, and real-time automation.
• Proficiency in modern lower-level programming languages like C, C++, or Rust.
• Willingness to learn Structured Text (CODESYS) on the job.

Responsibilities

• Investigate and resolve bugs in the deployed control application.
• Drive improvements in servo control and motion orchestration.
• Work directly with real hardware like servos and sensors.

Skills

Real controls experience

Software development in modern languages

Ability to navigate a large codebase

Strong software-engineering discipline

Tools

Structured Text

C/C++

Linux

EtherCAT

Job description

A leading robotics and automation organization is seeking a Controls Software Engineer to join the team behind one of the largest industrial robotics deployments in the world - a fleet of advanced robotic pick-and-place workcells operating across automated fulfillment sites, scaling from over 1,000 machines today to several thousand in the next two years.

This is a software-engineering role in a controls environment - not a traditional PLC position. The team is built largely of engineers from C/C++ software backgrounds who work hands-on with real industrial control hardware. If you pair genuine software-development ability with real controls or automation experience, this is a rare chance to do deep, high-impact work at extraordinary scale.

The Role

As a Controls Software Engineer, you'll support and improve the control software running across the deployed robotic fleet:

• Investigate and resolve bugs and faults in the deployed control application across a large fleet of machines
• Drive rate and throughput improvements across the servo control, motion orchestration, and state-handling layers
• Work hands-on with real hardware in the lab - servos, drives, sensors, vision systems, and conveyance
• Diagnose issues from telemetry, logs, and alarm history; take fixes from root cause through to deployment
• Author change documentation and runbooks, and align stakeholders before fleet-wide rollouts

The deployed application is written in Structured Text (CODESYS) on Linux-based industrial PCs, with a parallel migration into modern C++ underway. The codebase is large and mature - success here is as much about strong software-engineering instincts as it is about controls.

What We're Looking For (Non-Negotiables)

• Real controls experience - hands-on work with industrial control systems, machine control, motion/servo, robotics, or embedded real-time automation
• A firm grasp of software development in a modern, lower-level language - ideally C, C++, Rust, or Structured Text
• The ability to navigate and contribute to a large, mature codebase with strong software-engineering discipline
• Willingness to work on-site in Seattle or Boston

Important:

CODESYS and Structured Text are not strict requirements. Most of the team came from C/C++ backgrounds and picked up CODESYS on the job. If you have strong lower-level software skills and genuine controls or automation experience, you're in scope - the Structured Text can be learned on the job.

Strongly Preferred

• Structured Text on any platform - CODESYS, TwinCAT, Allen-Bradley, Siemens
• Embedded, real-time, or industrial software experience
• Servo/motion control, robotics, or Cartesian / pick-and-place workcell background
• Linux at the system level; EtherCAT or industrial fieldbus experience
• Experience supporting production or fleet-scale systems

Experience Level

Open to strong mid-level engineers (3-5 years) who can own and deliver, through to senior engineers who can plug in immediately. What matters is the combination of real controls exposure and genuine software-engineering ability.