Embedded Controls Systems Engineering Manager

Mainspring Energy•Menlo Park, CA

3d•$168,000 - $198,000•Onsite

About The Position

Mainspring Energy manufactures and delivers fuel-flexible, low-emissions local power solutions that rapidly add new capacity and deliver reliable, affordable, and sustainable electric power. The company began commercial shipments of its Mainspring Linear Generators in 2020 and today has hundreds of megawatts in advanced development and field operations for leading Fortune 500 companies, data centers, and utilities. Mainspring also partners with global energy leaders including AEP, NextEra Energy Resources, Schneider Electric, and more. The core values that ground our work, guide our decisions, and connect us together: Pragmatic Optimism Excellence without Ego Proactive Collaboration We are seeking an experienced Systems Engineering Manager - Embedded Controls to lead the architectural definition, requirements breakdown, and systems-level integration of our complex electro-mechanical product ecosystem. In this role, you will own the Systems Engineering V-model across our digital and control stack. You will lead a multidisciplinary team responsible for turning high-level product goals into precise functional requirements, allocation budgets, and Interface Control Documents (ICDs) spanning Control Algorithms, Embedded Firmware, and Cloud SW Platforms. While you will not manage mechanical CAD or structural design directly, you will act as the primary systems partner to our Mechanical and Electrical Engineering teams to ensure physical realities align seamlessly with our digital controls architecture.

Requirements

B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Mechatronics, Computer Engineering, or a related quantitative field
8+ years total engineering experience in complex connected physical systems (e.g., robotics, autonomous systems, medical devices, IoT hardware, aerospace, or automotive)
2+ years in technical leadership/people management
Proven track record owning the Systems V-model, writing system specifications, defining ICDs, and conducting system-level trade studies
Deep knowledge of closed-loop control theory (PID, state-space, trajectory planning, system identification).
Strong working knowledge of embedded real-time systems (C/C++, RTOS, SPI/I2C/CAN buses)
Practical understanding of cloud architecture patterns (MQTT/gRPC APIs, fleet management, telemetry pipelines, OTA architectures)
Comfort working closely with Mechanical Engineers to incorporate physical dynamics, mass properties, and thermal/kinematic limits into digital system models

Nice To Haves

Experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering
Familiarity with functional safety standards (e.g., ISO 26262, IEC 61508, or IEC 62304)
Hands-on experience developing HIL automated test benches for system validation

Responsibilities

Lead top-down requirements engineering: translate product roadmap goals into technical system-level specifications, performance budgets (latency, power, bandwidth), and safety metrics
Own system-level functional breakdown and allocation across Controls, Embedded Software, and Cloud SW layers
Author and maintain Interface Control Documents (ICDs), system state machines, and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test plans
Drive architectural trade studies balancing multiple solutions against customer and organizational needs
Build, mentor, and manage a high-performing team of Systems and Controls Engineers
Drive tight technical alignment with partner engineering teams: Embedded SW, Cloud SW, Mechanical & Electrical
Establish modern Systems Engineering processes (Model-Based Systems Engineering, automated requirement traceability, CI/CD for HIL testing)
Oversee the design, modeling (C++/Python), and validation of closed-loop control systems, state estimation, and sensor fusion algorithms
Ensure control models translate cleanly to target hardware execution without violating timing or memory constraints