Motor Controls Engineer

Position Summary

Due to continued growth, our firm is seeking a talented Motor Controls Engineer to lead the simulation, software design, prototyping, and validation of our next-generation motor control systems. In this role, you will develop advanced motor control software for state-of-the-art thermal systems. The perfect candidate brings deep knowledge of motor control, power electronics, embedded firmware, and model-based design, paired with practical experience creating and testing control algorithms.

Key Responsibilities

• Plant Modeling: Design, build, and optimize high-fidelity 3-phase inverter and electric motor models in PLECS or MATLAB/Simulink to validate motor controls, electrical parameters, device behavior, and thermal performance.
• Control Design and Tuning: Evaluate and select the appropriate commutation topologies (FOC, DTC, SVPWM, Six-step, etc.) for a given motor and system. Implement the multi-variable control loops for speed, torque, and position tracking. Verify safe operation of electric machine and components within the simulation environment.
• Observer and Estimator Design: Develop sensorless and/or sensored control algorithms, state estimators, and observers to accurately track rotor position and velocity.
• Embedded Code Generation: Translate the simulated controls into embedded software (C/C++) and validate.
• Software Requirements: Develop clear requirements and ensure bidirectional traceability between system requirements, code, and test cases. Maintain version control and configuration management baselines in alignment with appropriate standards.
• Verification and Testing: Design and execute functional and/or automated testing to demonstrate full compliance with software requirements. Assist in hardware bring-up, hardware/software debugging, analyzing steady state and transient test results, and dynamometer testing.
• Cross-functional Coordination: Work with electric machine designers to assist in optimized motor parameters. Partner closely with hardware and power electronics engineers to design, test, and optimize motor drive hardware and thermal performance. Collaborate with software engineers to integrate core motor control algorithms into the main embedded software framework.

Required Qualifications

• B.S. in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Computer Science required with a minimum GPA of 3.3 – M.S. or PhD a plus
• 3-year minimum experience simulating motor and/or power electronics controls and developing embedded software, strong proficiency in embedded C/C++
• A fundamental understanding of electric machine design types (PMSM, BLDC, IM, etc.) and commutation strategies (FOC, DTC, SVPWM, Six-step, etc.)
• An understanding of MCUs, switching devices (MOSFET, IGBT, SiC, GaN, etc.), gate drivers, current and voltage sensing, and ADC synchronization
• Proficiency in software debugging and using standard hardware debugging tools (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, dynamometers, etc.)
• United States Citizenship required due to US Government ITAR program restrictions

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with thermal/HVAC systems
• Experience developing and following DO-178 documentation and processes
• Experience with TI C2000 or STM32 microcontroller family
• Experience with additional programming languages (C#, Python, assembly, etc.) and GUI design
• Understanding of hardware components, hardware and PCB debugging, sensors/actuators, and common communication protocols

Mainstream Engineering Corporation is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified candidates will be considered without regard to legally protected characteristics.