Staff Software Engineer - Controls

RED CAT HOLDINGS • Torrance, CA

18d • $176,000 - $198,000

About The Position

As a Staff Software Engineer — Controls, you will be a senior individual contributor focused on building high-performance, control-critical embedded software in C++. This role is deeply hands-on and firmware-centric: you will design, implement, and optimize real-time C++ and bare-metal systems that interface directly with sensors, actuators, and hardware peripherals, while applying control theory to achieve stable, responsive behavior in gimbal and VTOL platforms. You will own control-adjacent firmware across the stack, from low-level drivers and real-time scheduling to control loop implementation, tuning, and validation, ensuring deterministic performance under tight latency and reliability constraints. You will help shape the embedded software architecture, establish best practices for modern C++ in safety and performance critical systems, and work closely with hardware, avionics, and systems engineers to bring complex electromechanical systems to life. This role emphasizes software excellence first, with controls expertise applied pragmatically: translating system dynamics into robust, production-grade firmware that performs reliably in real-world operating conditions.

Requirements

• 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 synchronization primitives.
• 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.

Nice To Haves

• PX4 Flight Stack: Hands-on with PX4 middleware, MAVLink, and QGroundControl integration.
• Simulation & URDF: Experience working with URDF-based modeling and robotics simulation environments.
• Hardware Debugging: Proficient with oscilloscope, logic analyzer, and hardware debugging tools.
• RTOS Proficiency: Experience with FreeRTOS, Zephyr, or similar real-time operating systems.

Responsibilities

• Control-Critical Embedded Software: Design, implement, and maintain real-time embedded C++ software that executes control loops for VTOL and gimbal systems, with a focus on deterministic performance, timing, and robustness in production environments.
• Applied Flight Controls (VTOL): Implement and tune flight control behaviors—including attitude, position, and transition modes—directly in firmware for multirotor and VTOL platforms, translating system dynamics into reliable, testable software.
• Modern C++ for Firmware: Define and uphold modern C++ best practices for embedded and real-time systems, including memory safety, concurrency models, unit testing, and CI workflows appropriate for control-critical codebases.
• Systems Integration & Collaboration: Work closely with mechanical, electrical, and hardware teams to define clean software–hardware interfaces, integrate sensors and actuators, and support bring-up, HIL testing, and performance iteration.
• Verification & Validation Infrastructure: Build and maintain software-in-the-loop (SIL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test benches; analyze telemetry and performance data to guide tuning, debugging, and system-level improvements.
• Gimbal Firmware & Controls Integration: Contribute to gimbal product development by implementing motor control logic, sensor fusion interfaces, and low-level firmware that enables stable, high-bandwidth motion control.
• Technical Ownership: Drive critical control-adjacent software from design through deployment, balancing performance, safety, and maintainability across the embedded stack.
• Other duties as assigned.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed