Staff Software Systems Engineer, Motor Controls

Joby Aviation; Sacramento (CA); On-site; USD 155,000 - 213,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Healthcare benefits

401(k) plan with company match

Employee stock purchase plan (ESPP)

Job summary

Joby Aviation seeks an experienced Mechanical/Controls Engineer to lead motor control architecture for electric aircraft. The role collaborates with hardware, mechanical, integration, and flight-testing teams to design, develop, test and improve system-level motor control behaviors.

You will work on sensorless and sensor-based PMSM control, advanced inverter PWM, fault detection, and real-time simulation using MATLAB/Simulink, with C/C++ interfaces and hardware-in-the-loop validation.

Qualifications

• B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering or relevant field; 10+ years of related experience across mechanical, electrical, computer, and robotics/mechatronics.
• Experience with actuation systems and/or servo control on safety critical applications.
• Experience developing embedded applications in C/C++, MATLAB Simulink model-based design for controls development.
• Experience with basic electronics debugging tools: oscilloscope, logic analyzer, power analyzer.
• Basic understanding of version control technologies.
• Experience with PIL/HIL verification/debugging.
• Experience creating mathematical models of servo systems for system identification and simulations.
• Knowledge of electro-mechanical systems focusing on interactions between electrical and mechanical components.
• Ability to be onsite regularly in San Carlos, CA.

Responsibilities

• Sensored and sensorless control of permanent magnet synchronous motors.
• Advanced inverter PWM, position/velocity estimation, current control, efficiency optimization.
• Develop fault detection, isolation, and reconfiguration logic for safety-critical systems.
• Closed-loop position control of servo actuation systems with redundant position sensors.
• Optimize motor controls using MATLAB Simulink.
• Develop wrappers/interfaces for MATLAB Simulink code in C/C++.
• Ensure systems meet performance requirements via control development, simulation, and hardware testing.
• Oversee dynamometer testing and data interpretation for control development.
• Tune and calibrate complete systems on dynamometers, test stands, and aircraft.
• Unit-tests for build environment, subsystem validation, integration, flight testing, and HIL tests.
• Decompose system requirements to software requirements.
• Develop system-level actuator models and integrate with inverters/servo controls.

Skills

Servo control

Embedded C/C++

MATLAB/Simulink

Oscilloscope

Logic analyzer

Power analyzer

Version control

PIL/HIL

System identification

Electro-mechanical

Onsite availability

Education

B.S. Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Git

Job description

Imagine a piloted air taxi that takes off vertically, then quietly carries you and your fellow passengers over the congested city streets below, enabling you to spend more time with the people and places that matter most. At Joby, we've been working to make that dream a reality since 2009 and we're now in the final stages of certifying our aircraft with the FAA. With plans to launch our aircraft in the US and Dubai, we're now scaling manufacturing and preparing for the launch of our commercial service.

Overview

This engineer will play a key role in a small, fast-moving team and participate in architecture, design, and implementation of motor control systems within our electric-powered, fly-by-wire aircraft. This engineer will work closely with the hardware, mechanical, integration, and flight-testing teams to design, develop, test and improve system-level behaviors.

Responsibilities

• Sensored and sensorless control of permanent magnet synchronous motors
• Advanced inverter pulse-width modulation, position and velocity estimation, current control and efficiency optimization
• Develop fault detection, isolation, and reconfiguration logic for safety critical systems
• Closed loop position control of simplex and duplex redundant servo actuation systems with redundant position sensors and multi-phase motors controlled from separate inverters
• Optimization of motor controls using MATLAB Simulink
• Develop wrappers and interfaces for the MATLAB Simulink code in C/C++
• Ensure inverter and motor systems meet performance requirements via controls algorithm development, implementation, Simulink simulation and hardware testing
• Oversee dynamometer testing and interpretation of data for controls development, validation and improvement
• Tuning and calibration of complete systems on dynamometers, on test stands, and on the aircraft
• Unit-tests for build environment, sub-system validation testing, integration testing, flight testing, processor/hardware in the loop testing
• Decompose system level requirements to software requirements
• Develop system level actuator models and integrate with inverters and servo controls for wholistic system level understanding of performance

Required

• B.S degree in Mechanical Engineering or relevant field and 10+ years of related technical experience (including mechanical, electrical, computer and robotics / mechatronics engineering)
• Experience with actuation systems and/or servo control on safety critical applications
• Experience developing embedded applications in C/C++, MATLAB Simulink model-based design for controls development
• Experience with basic electronics debugging tools: oscilloscope, logic analyzer, power analyzer
• Basic understanding of version control technologies
• Experience with processor/hardware in the loop (PIL/HIL) verification/debugging
• Experience creating mathematical models of servo systems for system identification, analyses and simulations
• Knowledge of electro-mechanical systems focusing on interactions between electrical and mechanical components in servo systems
• Ability to be onsite regularly in San Carlos, CA

Desired

• Advanced degree in Mechanical Engineering or relevant field
• Technical experience with aerospace actuation and controls system development
• Knowledge of control system design and principles of feedback control including PID control and advanced control techniques and their applications in the servo systems
• Knowledge of real time bare-metal firmware development
• Experience with hard, real-time interrupt-driven software development

Additional Information

Compensation at Joby is a combination of base pay and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). The target base pay for this position is $154,600 - $212,600/yr. The compensation package will be determined by job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Joby also offers a comprehensive benefits package, including paid time off, healthcare benefits, a 401(k) plan with a company match, an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), short-term and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, and more.

• Paid time off
• Healthcare benefits
• 401(k) plan with a company match
• Employee stock purchase plan (ESPP)
• Short-term disability coverage
• Long-term disability coverage
• Life insurance

Joby is an Equal Opportunity Employer.