Junior Controls Engineer: Motion & Embedded Systems

Communications & Power Industries (CPI); Plano (TX); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and wellness programs

Retirement savings plan with company 


Career development

Job summary

Communications & Power Industries (CPI) in Plano, TX is seeking a Controls Engineer I to help design, develop, test, and integrate control systems for advanced ground station antennas and optical telescopes. You will collaborate with electrical, controls, mechanical, software, and systems engineers to gain hands‑on experience with motion control, embedded systems, and servo drives.

The role is ideal for a recent Electrical Engineering graduate eager to apply classroom knowledge to real‑world

Qualifications

• U.S. citizenship due to government contract and facility security requirements.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.
• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Electrical Engineering Technology, Controls Engineering, or related field.
• 0–2 years of engineering experience; recent graduates welcome.
• Foundational understanding of control systems, electrical circuits, electronics, and/or embedded systems.
• Familiarity with CAN bus or similar protocols is a plus.
• Ability to read electrical schematics and drawings.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills; effective communication.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally (30–40%).

Responsibilities

• Participates in electrical requirements and functional analysis, performance analysis, design, integration and verification of electrical components and systems.
• Support the design and development of control systems for full-motion ground station antennas under experienced guidance.
• Handle electrical configuration, component selection, schematic capture, layout, test, and integration of servo and RF systems.
• Assist with developing, tuning, and troubleshooting PID control loops for motion-control applications.
• Document electrical and control system architectures using CAN bus or similar protocols.
• Develop, modify, and troubleshoot embedded C code for control applications.
• Assist with integration and testing of brushless DC motors, servo drives, and encoders.
• Collaborate with diverse engineers to integrate control systems into antenna products.
• Perform system modeling, simulation, testing, and data analysis to evaluate performance.
• Support lab and field testing, troubleshooting, and root‑cause analysis.
• Participate in internal reviews and vendor capability evaluations.
• Create and maintain engineering documentation (schematics, specs, test procedures).
• Review customer requirements and participate in design reviews for continuous improvement.
• Support projects from concept to prototype, testing and production release.
• Support installations and field activities with the team.
• Follow established engineering standards and development tools.
• Maintain focus on quality, reliability, and cost throughout development.

Skills

Analytical thinking & problem solving

Written & verbal communication

Multidisciplinary teamwork

Learning new technologies

Schematic reading

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering Technology

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering

Tools

CAN bus

Embedded C programming

Job description

Communications & Power Industries (CPI) in Plano, TX is seeking a Controls Engineer I to help design, develop, test, and integrate control systems for advanced ground station antennas and optical telescopes. You will collaborate with electrical, controls, mechanical, software, and systems engineers to gain hands‑on experience with motion control, embedded systems, and servo drives.

The role is ideal for a recent Electrical Engineering graduate eager to apply classroom knowledge to real‑world