Salient Motion

Controls Engineer

Salient Motion · Hawthorne, CA
Hawthorne, CA $120K–$140K Posted 2026-10-06
Salary
$120K–$140K
Type
Full-time
Experience
2+ yr
  • *Applicants must be U.S. Citizens or U.S. Permanent Residents (Green Card holders) to meet customer and regulatory requirements**

Who We Are

We are pioneering modular motion technologies to power the next generation of innovation for Industrial, Aerospace and Defense. If you're excited about disrupting legacy industries, and passionate about building next generation technology, let's chat!

We are at the forefront of innovation, crafting exclusive motion control components that propel the industrial, aerospace, and defense sectors into the future.

A couple other things:

  • We are open to relocating you
  • We have great benefits
  • We are well funded, and generating revenue
  • We are located in beautiful Hawthorne, CA and just moved into a new large hangar facility

Role Summary:

We are hiring an entry-level Motion Control Engineer to help build and maintain the embedded firmware that powers our motion control and motor drive products. This role is built for someone with a strong software/firmware foundation, solid C, an instinct for clean system architecture, who is eager to grow into motor control and control-loop design in a fast-paced aerospace environment. You'll work alongside experienced controls and firmware engineers, turning control concepts into robust, production-quality embedded code.

What you'll do:

  • Design, implement, and maintain embedded firmware for motion control and motor drive products, primarily in C.
  • Contribute to system architecture decisions for control firmware modules, with an eye toward maintainability, testability,

and real-time performance.

  • Translate control algorithms into well-structured, production-quality firmware, working closely with senior engineering staff.
  • Participate in code reviews, static analysis, and unit/integration testing to uphold firmware quality standards.
  • Support bring-up, debug, and validation of control firmware on hardware in the lab.
  • Document firmware architecture, module interfaces, and design decisions.
  • Assist in specifying and executing firmware verification test plans.

What you need:

  • Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
  • 2-4 years of professional experience in embedded firmware development related to Motion Control.
  • Strong proficiency in C, with a solid grasp of firmware/software architecture principles (modularity, abstraction layers, state

machines).

  • Familiarity with embedded systems fundamentals: microcontrollers, interrupts, timers, and communication protocols (SPI,

I2C, UART, CAN).

  • Strong problem-solving skills and a genuine interest in learning control theory and motor control fundamentals on the job.
  • Experience with version control systems (e.g., Git) and collaborative software development workflows.

Nice to Haves:

  • Exposure to motor control concepts (field-oriented control, PWM generation, current/position sensing).
  • Familiarity with motion control loop design and digital filter design (PI/PID tuning, notch/biquad filters, Bode/FRF analysis).
  • Experience with an RTOS (FreeRTOS, ThreadX, or similar).
  • Familiarity with model-based design or code-generation workflows (e.g., Simulink/Embedded Coder).
  • Exposure to unit testing frameworks for embedded C (Unity, CppUTest, or similar).
  • Coursework or project experience in feedback control systems.

Export Control:

  • This role supports aerospace programs and may involve export-controlled information or hardware. Candidates must be able to

comply with applicable export control laws and access requirements.

What we have to offer:

We are not just building components. We are reshaping the future of the Aerospace and Defense component industry, which is a $300B+ market! Come join us and help build next generation systems that will make a massive impact at global scale.

  • We offer competitive compensation: $120,000 to $140,000 base salary + equity
  • Exceptional healthcare benefits, Medical is 100% covered by the company
  • Flexible PTO
  • 401K
  • More to come!
$110K — 10th pctl $265K — 90th pctl
This role’s midpoint $130K vs. market median $180K for Engineering roles
-25%
below median
Based on 24,000+ Engineering roles with disclosed salary ranges tracked on NewJob.
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