Senior Motor Controls Engineer

Roboticsconnected; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 158,000 - 218,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k)

Time Off policies

Equity and annual bonus potential

Job summary

Lab37 Robotics is seeking a Senior Motor Controls Engineer to define and implement motor control strategies for food-automation robots. You’ll work with mechanical, electrical, test, embedded, and robot software engineers to own the controls implementation and ensure reliability in production.

You will develop, integrate, and tune BLDC/PMSM and stepper control loops, choosing between commercial drives, controller ICs, and custom firmware.

Qualifications

• Hands-on BLDC/PMSM control experience and practical stepper experience.
• Strong fundamentals in motor physics, commutation, feedback, and loop tuning.
• Hands‑on embedded C/C++ capability and debugging motor‑control hardware.

Responsibilities

• Define and guide motor and drive choices with multidisciplinary team.
• Develop, tune, and validate BLDC/PMSM and stepper control loops and firmware.
• Evaluate control strategies and quantify performance and reliability tradeoffs.

Skills

BLDC/PMSM control

Stepper control

Embedded C/C++

PWM timing

Oscilloscope analysis

Motor driver interfaces

Tools

CAN/CANopen

Embedded firmware

Job description

Who we are

Lab37 Robotics, is a technology company focused on the development and deployment of robots designed specifically for direct-to-customer food production. Our mission is to revolutionize the food industry by creating innovative robotic solutions that enhance efficiency, quality, and customer satisfaction. We are passionate about pushing the boundaries of technology to deliver cutting-edge products that meet the evolving needs of our clients.

About the role

We build robots that prepare and assemble food in real production environments. We’re looking for a Senior Motor Controls Engineer to help define how our mechanisms move—and make those decisions work reliably in production.

You’ll explore how control strategies can improve the performance, reliability, and cost of robotic mechanisms. Working with a multidisciplinary team, you’ll assess what is possible, make the tradeoffs clear, and turn promising approaches into robust, supportable implementations.

You will be our primary motor-controls specialist within a team of mechanical, electrical, test, embedded, and robot software engineers. You’ll guide motor and actuation decisions alongside the mechanical engineering team, own the controls implementation, and collaborate across disciplines to validate performance and improve reliability.

What you’ll do

• Partner with mechanical, electrical, and test engineers to recommend and evaluate motor and drive options. Determine when a different control strategy can meet performance and reliability requirements with a smaller or lower-cost actuator, then implement and validate the approach.
• Develop, integrate, and tune BLDC/PMSM and stepper control, including current/torque, velocity, and position loops. Choose appropriately between commercial drives, controller ICs, and custom firmware.
• Evaluate alternative control strategies and quantify their performance, cost, and reliability tradeoffs. Establish operating limits and margins with the team, and carry promising approaches through implementation and validation.
• Work with test, mechanical, and electrical engineers on instrumented experiments and automated tests. Contribute controls-specific measurements and analysis to characterize performance and validate behavior across operating conditions and component variation.
• Diagnose issues across controls, electronics, firmware, and mechanics—from resonance and lost motion to feedback errors, overheating, and intermittent faults—and drive corrective changes.
• Make systems easier to commission and support through calibration tools, validated configurations, useful telemetry, fault handling, design guidance, and clear documentation.

What we are looking for

• Demonstrated ownership of motor-control solutions from development through production or sustained real-world operation, including hands-on BLDC/PMSM control and practical stepper experience.
• Strong applied controls fundamentals: motor physics, commutation and FOC, feedback selection, discrete-time control, loop stability and tuning, saturation, and the effects of friction, backlash, compliance, and resonance.
• Hands‑on embedded C/C++ capability and the ability to bring up and debug motor‑control hardware. You can reason about PWM/ADC timing, current sensing, encoders, real‑time execution, and motor‑driver interfaces.
• An experimental approach: you use motion data, analysis tools, and oscilloscopes to test hypotheses, quantify margins, and distinguish electrical, mechanical, and software issues and causes.
• Independent engineering judgment and collaborative decision‑making. You can assess feasibility, quantify tradeoffs, explain when a control strategy or hardware change is justified, and implement the agreed solution.
• Clear communication and durable ownership. You surface risks early, follow failures through to prevention, collaborate across disciplines, and leave behind tools and knowledge that make others effective.

Helpful, but not required

• Experience designing and delivering custom motor controllers or servo drives from the ground up, including hardware architecture, embedded firmware, control algorithms, and production validation and support.
• CAN/CANopen or comparable industrial drive interfaces; motor power‑stage integration, regenerative‑energy management, or EMC troubleshooting.
• Robotics, appliances, food equipment, or other cost‑sensitive electromechanical products with demanding duty cycles and field‑service needs.
• We value demonstrated engineering results and sound judgment over a particular degree, vendor ecosystem, or exact number of years of experience.

Why join us

• Demand for online food delivery is growing really fast! In the last 5 years, just in the US, the overall market has expanded 10X from $10B to $100B, and could expand to $500bn- $1T by 2030.
• Changing the restaurant industry: You’ll be part of a team that helps restaurants succeed in online food delivery.
• Collaborative environment: You will receive support and guidance from experienced colleagues and managers, helping you to learn, grow and achieve your goals, and you’ll work closely with other teams to ensure our customer’s success.

What else you need to know

This role is based in our Pittsburghoffice. As a company driven by invention and continuous change - we are constantly reimagining our industries, building new products, and refining how we operate. We do our best work together. That’s why all of our office-based teams work onsite, five days a week.

The base salary range for this role is $158,000 - $218,000 per year.

Actual compensation will be determined on an individual basis and may vary depending on experience, skills, and qualifications.

Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package. You may also be eligible for equity awards and an annual performance-based bonus.

Benefits Summary (USA Full-Time Exempt Employees):

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance (multiple plans, incl. HSA options).
• Company-paid life and disability insurance (short- and long-term).
• Voluntary insurance: accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity.
• Optional supplemental life insurance for self, spouse, and children.
• Pet insurance discount.
• 401(k).
• Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Flexible Spending Accounts (Healthcare, Dependent Care, Commuter)
• Time Off policies:
  • Discretionary vacation days
  • 8 paid holidays per year
  • Paid sick time
  • Paid Bereavement leave
  • Paid Parental Leave

Benefits are subject to change at the company's discretion.

Ready to join us as we serve those who serve others?

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