Embedded Controls Engineer

Mesh; Placentia (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Discretionary bonuses

Medical, vision, and dental insurance

Flexible PTO

401(k) with company match

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Mesh Optical Technologies is seeking an Embedded Controls Engineer to design, implement, and tune real-time control loops for thermal management, optical alignment, and motion control within our advanced hardware systems. You will develop embedded firmware in C/C++ for microcontrollers and DSPs, emphasizing deterministic timing and low-latency execution.

You will model, simulate, and validate controller designs, implement sensor fusion and filtering, and bring up new sensors and motor drives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in engineering with coursework in control systems.
• 2+ years of experience designing real-time control on embedded platforms.
• Strong proficiency in C and/or C++ for embedded development, including bare-metal and RTOS.
• Solid foundation in classical and modern control theory, including PID tuning and stability assessment.
• Experience with sensor integration and low-level drivers (I2C, SPI, ADC, PWM, encoders).
• Proficiency in Python or MATLAB for modeling, simulation, data analysis, and test automation.
• Strong debugging skills across hardware and software with oscilloscopes and logic analyzers.
• Ability to work independently in fast-moving cross-functional environments.
• Willingness to work extended hours and weekends as needed.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and tune real-time control loops for thermal management, optical alignment, motion control, and process regulation.
• Develop embedded firmware in C/C++ for microcontrollers and DSPs with deterministic timing and low latency.
• Model and simulate control systems to predict dynamic behavior and validate designs before hardware deployment.
• Implement sensor fusion and filtering (Kalman, complementary) to extract clean signals from noisy measurements.
• Bring up sensors, actuators, and motor drives; write low-level drivers (I2C, SPI, ADC, PWM).
• Develop calibration routines and self-tuning algorithms for production deployment.
• Instrument control systems for observability—logging, telemetry, diagnostics.
• Collaborate with electrical, mechanical, optical, and manufacturing teams to co-design systems.
• Support production deployment including validation, fault handling, and graceful degradation.
• Contribute to Python-based tooling for system identification, data analysis, and testing.

Skills

C/C++ embedded

Real-time control

Python or MATLAB

Sensor integration

Debugging hardware/software

RTOS

Cross-functional teamwork

Extended hours

Control theory

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical/Computer/Mechanical/Aerospace engineering with control coursework

Tools

Bare-metal

RTOS

Python

MATLAB

I2C

SPI

Encoders

Job description

Mesh Optical Technologies was founded on the belief that optical photons will be at the center of advanced technologies in the coming century. Making advanced technology ubiquitous means building at scale, and that’s exactly what we’re doing at Mesh.

Our products and factory equipment rely on real-time control systems that must be precise, stable, and fast—from thermal regulation and optical alignment loops to motion control and process automation. We are seeking an Embedded Controls Engineer who combines deep embedded programming expertise with strong controls and algorithms knowledge. You will design, implement, and tune the control systems that keep our hardware operating at the edge of its performance envelope.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design, implement, and tune real-time control loops (PID, state-space, feedforward, adaptive) for thermal management, optical alignment, motion control, and process regulation across product and factory systems
• Develop embedded firmware in C/C++ for microcontrollers and DSPs, including bare-metal and RTOS-based architectures, with emphasis on deterministic timing and low-latency execution
• Model and simulate control systems to predict dynamic behavior, assess stability margins, and validate controller designs prior to hardware deployment
• Implement sensor fusion, filtering (Kalman, complementary), and signal conditioning algorithms to extract clean, actionable signals from noisy real-world measurements
• Bring up and integrate new sensors, actuators, and motor drives, defining hardware-software interfaces and writing low-level drivers (I²C, SPI, ADC, PWM, encoder interfaces)
• Develop calibration routines and self-tuning algorithms that enable production-scale deployment of control systems with unit-to-unit variation
• Instrument control systems for observability—logging, telemetry, and diagnostic interfaces that support real-time monitoring, fault detection, and post-hoc analysis
• Collaborate with electrical, mechanical, optical, and manufacturing engineering teams to co-design systems where control performance is tightly coupled to hardware design
• Support production deployment of control systems, including validation, fault handling, and graceful degradation strategies for field-deployed units
• Contribute to Python-based tooling for system identification, data analysis, simulation, and automated testing of control system performance

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related discipline with coursework in control systems
• 2+ years of experience designing and implementing real-time control systems on embedded platforms
• Strong proficiency in C and/or C++ for embedded development, including experience with bare-metal and RTOS environments
• Solid foundation in classical and modern control theory, including PID tuning, frequency-domain analysis, and stability assessment
• Experience with sensor integration, actuator interfacing, and low-level peripheral drivers (I²C, SPI, ADC, PWM, encoders)
• Proficiency in Python or MATLAB for modeling, simulation, data analysis, and test automation
• Strong debugging skills across hardware and software boundaries, including use of oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and serial debug interfaces
• Ability to work independently in fast-moving, cross-functional environments
• Willingness to work extended hours and weekends as needed

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

• Experience with advanced control techniques: state-space controllers, LQR/LQG, model predictive control (MPC), adaptive control, or system identification methods
• Experience with motion control systems, including stepper and servo motor drives, trajectory planning, and encoder feedback
• Experience with thermal control systems, including multi-zone regulation and transient thermal management
• Familiarity with optical or photonic systems where control loops manage alignment, power regulation, or wavelength tuning
• Experience with FPGA-based control implementations or high-speed digital control loops
• Experience with hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing and simulation environments
• Background in robotics, precision mechatronics, or semiconductor equipment
• Experience deploying control systems at production scale, including calibration, self-test, and fault recovery for high-volume manufactured products
• Familiarity with version control (Git), CI/CD pipelines, and collaborative embedded development workflows

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Pay range:
Embedded Controls Engineer: $140,000.00 - $170,000.00/per year

Title and base salary are determined on a case by case basis commensurate with experience and merit.

In addition to base salary, compensation for this role includes:

• Eligibility for long-term incentives including company stock options and discretionary bonuses awarded for exceptional achievements.
• Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental insurance with significant cost covered by the company for yourself and dependents.
• Paid parental leave and flexible PTO (3 weeks accrued vacation and 10 company holidays per year).
• 401(k) retirement plan access.
• Relocation assistance to sunny Los Angeles.