Senior Controls Engineer

Ultrasonium; Woburn (MA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Direct collaboration with founding团队

Flexible working

IP portfolio development

Job summary

Ultrasonium in Woburn, MA is seeking a seasoned Real-time Controls Engineer to shape a novel metal additive manufacturing platform. You will own architecture, model development, and deployment across hardware and software, guiding an end-to-end control pipeline and ensuring production readiness.

With 5+ years in real-time control on physical hardware, you will sculpt low-latency firmware on FPGA/DSP/RTOS, fuse sensor data, and work closely with a founding team to push boundaries in manufacturing

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Mechanical/Robotics or related field; advanced degree a plus.
• 5+ years hands-on experience designing real-time control systems on physical hardware.
• Deep proficiency in closed-loop control design, classical or model-based, with real hardware results.
• Experience with embedded real-time platforms: FPGA, DSP, or RTOS-based MCUs.
• Strong C/C++ for embedded targets; Python or MATLAB/Simulink for modeling.

Responsibilities

• Own the real-time control architecture from requirements to production readiness.
• Design, implement, and tune closed-loop control systems for high-speed, multi-variable processes.
• Develop embedded real-time firmware on FPGA, DSP, or RTOS platforms for low-latency control.
• Integrate multi-axis motion control with process feedback across the system.
• Develop sensor fusion and signal processing to extract reliable state from high-bandwidth data.
• Build plant models and perform model-based control; validate against experimental data.
• Define and execute controls verification & validation (HIL tests, performance tests, FMEA).
• Collaborate with electrical, mechanical, and process engineers for clean integration.
• Establish controls documentation standards and participate in IP development and patent work.
• Mentor interns and junior engineers as the team scales.

Skills

Real-time control design

Embedded systems

C/C++ programming

FPGA/Verilog/VHDL

Multi-axis motion control

Education

Bachelor's degree in EE/ME/Robotics

Master's degree or PhD a plus

Tools

FPGA tools

LabVIEW RT

NI hardware

Job description

This role spans closed-loop process control, multi-axis motion, and embedded real-time systems. You will define how the machine senses and responds to its process in real time, work directly with the founding team, and have significant latitude to make fundamental technical decisions that shape the product.

You might be a great fit if you...

• Want to solve a controls problem that has never been solved before and develop control strategies from first principles.
• Thrive at the intersection of hardware and software. You are as comfortable with embedded real-time code as you are with block diagrams and plant models.
• Take end-to-end ownership. From architecture and model development to implementation, validation, and production, you drive it all the way.
• Are energized by constraint. Tight timing requirements and hardware-in-the-loop complexity bring out your best work.
• Want to have an impact on decarbonizing manufacturing. You understand that more efficient processes and lighter parts have real consequences at scale.

Key responsibilities

• Own the real-time control architecture for a novel metal additive manufacturing platform, from requirements definition to implementation, validation, and production readiness.
• Design, implement, and tune closed-loop control systems for high-speed, multi-variable physical processes with stringent performance and repeatability requirements.
• Develop embedded real-time firmware on FPGA, DSP, or RTOS-based platforms to execute low-latency control and feedback loops.
• Integrate multi-axis motion control with process feedback, synchronizing actuation and sensing across the full system.
• Develop sensor fusion and signal processing pipelines to extract reliable process state information from noisy, high-bandwidth sensor data.
• Build plant models and perform model-based control design; validate models against experimental data and iterate.
• Define and execute controls V&V procedures including HIL testing, performance characterization, and failure mode analysis.
• Collaborate with electrical, mechanical, and process engineering to ensure clean system-level integration.
• Establish controls documentation standards: architecture documents, parameter specifications, test reports, and design review records.
• Contribute to IP development and support patent preparation in collaboration with the founding team.
• Mentor interns and junior engineers as the team scales.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, or a related field; Master's or PhD a plus.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience designing, implementing, and deploying real-time control systems on physical hardware.
• Deep proficiency in closed-loop control design, classical and/or model-based, with demonstrated results on real hardware.
• Experience with embedded real-time platforms: FPGA (VHDL/Verilog or HLS), DSP, or RTOS-based microcontrollers.
• Strong programming skills in C/C++ for embedded targets; Python or MATLAB/Simulink for modeling and analysis.
• Experience with multi-axis motion control systems and associated hardware interfaces.
• Demonstrated ability to take control systems from architecture through deployment on physical hardware, with iterative tuning and validation.
• Prior experience in a hardware startup, industrial equipment, or advanced manufacturing context.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with high-speed control loops where latency and jitter are critical constraints.
• Background in model-based control design (system identification, state estimation, MPC, or adaptive control).
• Familiarity with NI hardware, LabVIEW Real-Time, or similar industrial control platforms.
• Experience with sensor fusion, Kalman filtering, or other state estimation techniques in hardware systems.
• Exposure to machine vision or optical sensing integration for closed-loop process feedback.
• Interest in metal additive manufacturing or advanced manufacturing processes.

What we offer

• Y Combinator and NSF-backed startup with differentiated, defensible technology.
• Equity incentive based on long-term contributions and performance.
• Direct collaboration with the founding team on hardware that does not exist elsewhere in the world.
• A lean, low-bureaucracy environment where your technical judgment shapes product direction.
• Flexible working arrangements and a culture that respects your time and autonomy.
• The opportunity to file patents and contribute to a growing IP portfolio in a novel technical domain.