Controls Engineering Manager

As our Controls Engineering Manager, you’ll wear two hats: a hands-on individual contributor driving control algorithm development and a leader building out our controls team from the ground up. You will personally design, implement, and validate control loops for gimbal systems and VTOL platforms, set the overall architecture, define embedded C++ best practices in control projects, and work closely with hardware, firmware, and software teams to bring innovative products to market.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• VTOL Controls: Architect and validate flight control loops (attitude, position, transition modes) for multirotor/VTOL vehicles.
• Embedded C++: Establish and enforce modern C++ coding standards, unit-testing frameworks, and continuous-integration workflows for real-time systems.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with mechanical, electrical, and firmware teams to define interfaces, run hardware-in-the-loop tests, and iterate control performance.
• System Validation: Develop hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) and software-in-the-loop (SIL) test benches; analyze performance data and drive tuning cycles.
• Gimbal Product Development: Assist in the end-to-end creation of new gimbal products, focusing on core drive motor architecture and sensor system design and integration.
• Other duties as assigned.

Over the next 6 months, this candidate will:

• Develop a simulation environment for the Overload product to support early testing and iteration.
• Begin contributing to the core control algorithms, with a focus on stability, responsiveness, and system integration.
• Review and refine the Overwatch control loop, identifying areas for improvement and implementing necessary changes.
• Analyze the PX4 control stack to understand existing architecture and challenges relevant to our objectives.
• Build a dedicated simulation environment for Overwatch to accelerate development and validation of new control strategies.

Required Qualifications -

• Control Systems Expertise: 5+ years designing and implementing control algorithms for gimbals, stabilizers, or aerial vehicles.
• Embedded Robotics Background: Proven experience shipping embedded robotics products in C++ on microcontrollers (ARM Cortex-M, STM32, etc.).
• Strong C++ Skills: Deep understanding of modern C++ (14/17/20), real-time constraints, memory management, and multithreading.
• Geometry & Transformations: Solid grasp of 3D kinematics, coordinate frames, quaternions, and homogeneous transforms.
• Frame-Level Expertise: Experience in one or more of attitude control, sensor fusion, target tracking or other complex frame-transformation problems, perception, and related system performance metrics.
• Sensor Integration Expertise: Hands-on experience integrating feedback sensors—such as IMUs, encoders, and related sensing hardware—into drive-system control loops.
• Leadership & Project Ownership: 1+ year(s) leadership experience as a technical lead—mentoring peers, drivi