Senior Firmware Engineer: Motor Control & Flight Systems

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 215,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline, the world’s leading autonomous drone delivery company, seeks a Motor Control Engineer to ship high-performance motor controller firmware and work with electrical, structures, flight software, and test-site teams. You’ll use C++, Rust, and Python to develop controllers, drivers, and validation tools, both on bench and in flight, while leveraging data-driven analyses to improve performance.

You’ll collaborate across disciplines, build simulations in Rust, and validate new inverter

Qualifications

• Fluency in C/C++ with interest in Rust and Python.
• Mastery of nonlinear estimation techniques and classical control theory.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced safety-critical environment.
• Experience with mechatronic control systems preferred.
• Willingness to work across embedded environments from bare metal to RTOS and embedded Linux.

Responsibilities

• Design estimators and controllers for propulsion motors and actuators in close collaboration with the vehicle controls team.
• Implement controllers in C++, targeting a bare-metal ARM microcontroller.
• Write peripheral drivers for motor controller hardware.
• Validate firmware on bench and in flight tests.
• Develop hardware-in-the-loop tests and fault management strategies.
• Build vehicle simulations in Rust to validate firmware.
• Collaborate with electrical engineers to bring-up inverter designs.
• Monitor fleet performance with automated systems.

Skills

C/C++

Rust

Python

Control theory

Nonlinear estimation

Embedded systems

Executive communication

Systems engineering

RTOS

Embedded Linux

Tools

Bare-metal ARM

MATLAB

Julia

Job description

Zipline, the world’s leading autonomous drone delivery company, seeks a Motor Control Engineer to ship high-performance motor controller firmware and work with electrical, structures, flight software, and test-site teams. You’ll use C++, Rust, and Python to develop controllers, drivers, and validation tools, both on bench and in flight, while leveraging data-driven analyses to improve performance.

You’ll collaborate across disciplines, build simulations in Rust, and validate new inverter