Sr Staff Vehicle Controls Engineer

ALSO • Palo Alto, CA

42d

About The Position

We’re ALSO, an electric mobility company originally conceived as a part of Rivian. We’re a passionate team of builders, dreamers, doers and innovators, focused on creating entirely new (not to mention, innovative and delightful) vertically integrated, small EVs designed to meet the global mobility challenges of today and tomorrow. Our mission is to inspire everyone to ride ALSO—replacing many local car, truck and SUV miles with ones on vehicles that are more affordable, more enjoyable and 10-50x more efficient.
ALSO is looking for a Senior Staff Vehicle Controls Engineer to lead the design and development of world-class vehicle control systems. You will take ownership of the full software development life cycle from concept and modeling through validation and release. This role requires strong technical leadership across control architecture, estimation, and algorithm development, helping shape next-generation vehicle control systems in a fast-paced and collaborative environment. You will work across software, firmware, electrical, and vehicle domains to solve complex engineering problems

Requirements

• Masters or PhD in Controls, Electrical, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, or related field.
• Proficiency in MATLAB/Simulink, including model-based design, Stateflow, and development of automation scripts.
• Expertise in control theory and modern control methods, including MPC and LQR, with a deep background in system modeling, system identification, and state estimation techniques for dynamic systems.
• Experience developing and validating control algorithms through simulation and in-vehicle or dyno testing.
• Working knowledge of vehicle dynamics fundamentals and their interaction with control system design.
• Familiarity with embedded automotive software workflows and real-time control implementation.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with advanced control approaches such as adaptive or robust control applied to nonlinear systems.
• Real-time embedded systems and/or sensor fusion background.
• Experience with automotive communication networks (e.g., CAN, etherCAT) and tools such as Vector CANalyzer or CANape.
• Familiarity with version-control and CI tools (e.g., Git, Jenkins).
• Experience applying system identification or estimation techniques in production control systems.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead architecture and development of vehicle control systems including motion management, stability control, and related vehicle control functions.
• Own system-level control strategy and interface definition across controls, firmware, electrical, and vehicle domains.
• Develop and guide control algorithms and state estimators for vehicle control applications.
• Define handling metrics, objective maneuvers, and performance evaluation methodologies.
• Build and maintain high-fidelity simulation models to validate estimators, observers, and control solutions.
• Guide development of state estimation and sensor fusion approaches supporting vehicle controls (e.g., IMU, GPS, WSS integration).
• Define control architecture for distributed or multi-controller systems and ensure scalability across programs.
• Identify technical risks early and drive mitigation strategies across programs.
• Drive system-level integration and issue resolution across software, firmware, and vehicle domains.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship across the controls team, reviewing architecture and algorithm design.
• Drive continuous improvement of controls development workflows, tools, and automation.

Benefits

• Robust health coverage. Excellent health, dental and vision insurance covered up to 100% by ALSO with FSA & HSA options.
• One Medical membership and dedicated insurance advocates.
• Rich fertility and family building benefits with Progyny.
• Flexible time off.
• 401(k) match.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level