Senior Robotics Controls Engineer — Hardware-in-the-Loop

Aurelius Systems, Inc; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary + equity

United Health Care medical, dental, &

PTO + sick days

Field test travel

Lunches and office snacks

E-bike / scooter stipend

Direct access to leadership

Job summary

Aurelius Systems is a defense tech startup in San Francisco developing autonomous, edge deployed directed energy systems for counter-UAS. This senior controls engineer role focuses on architecture, tuning, and validation of precision pointing and tracking loops with hardware‑in‑the‑loop tests.

You’ll own the control architecture, state estimation, and integration with the tracker, working across mechanical, electrical, and software teams to push the system from model to field.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of robotics experience
• Strong fundamentals: classical controls, state space, LQR, MPC
• Proven simulation experience and a track record of managing the sim‑to‑real gap on actual hardware
• Modern C++ for real time control implementation
• Python or MATLAB/Simulink for modeling, system ID, and analysis
• State estimation in practice (Kalman, EKF, UKF, complementary filters)
• System identification and frequency domain tuning
• Direct experience with motion control hardware — servo drives, brushless motors, encoders, IMUs
• Comfortable working at the seam between mechanical, electrical, and software
• Understanding of latency, jitter, and how they kill control loop performance

Responsibilities

• Architecture and tuning of the precision pointing and tracking control loops
• Closed loop tracking from sensor input through actuator command at hundreds of Hz
• State estimation across IMU, encoder, and vision based feedback (Kalman filters, complementary filters, sensor fusion)
• System identification and modeling of the gimbal, mount, and actuator dynamics
• Actuator tuning, gain scheduling, and compensation for nonlinearities (backlash, friction, saturation)
• Resonance characterization, notch filtering, and structural compensation
• Simulation infrastructure for controls development
• Hardware‑in‑the‑loop test infrastructure for controls validation
• Field characterization of the system against real targets at the range
• Author controls documentation and tuning standards

Skills

Robotics experience

Classical controls

State-space

LQR

MPC

C++ real-time

Python/Matlab

Kalman filtering

System identification

Frequency domain tuning

Motion control hardware

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Education

MS in Mechanical Engineering

MS in Aerospace Engineering

MS in Electrical Engineering

MS in Robotics

BS with hands-on robotics

PhD with shipping record

Tools

Servo drives

Brushless motors

Encoders

IMUs

Job description

Aurelius Systems is a defense tech startup in San Francisco developing autonomous, edge deployed directed energy systems for counter-UAS. This senior controls engineer role focuses on architecture, tuning, and validation of precision pointing and tracking loops with hardware‑in‑the‑loop tests.

You’ll own the control architecture, state estimation, and integration with the tracker, working across mechanical, electrical, and software teams to push the system from model to field.