Controls Engineer

Humble Robotics

$120K — $145K *
Transportation
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or related field; or equivalent experience
  • Strong foundation in classical control theory, including PID, LQR, and state-space methods
  • Industry experience with real-time control systems on physical hardware
  • Proficiency in Rust and/or C++ for performance-critical applications
  • Experience with estimation techniques, such as Kalman filters
  • Ability to debug and tune controllers on actual hardware
  • Familiarity with ROS/ROS2/Autoware/Iceoryx or similar robotics systems

Responsibilities

  • Design, implement, tune, and deploy real-time controllers for autonomous trucks
  • Develop and maintain vehicle dynamics models and support controller design
  • Build and enhance estimation and sensor fusion pipelines for vehicle state
  • Validate controllers through software-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop testing
  • Debug and analyze controller performance using vehicle logs and telemetry data
  • Collaborate across teams to define interfaces and integration requirements
  • Contribute to the controls codebase in Rust focusing on safety and performance
  • Document design decisions and methodologies for team reference

Benefits

  • Opportunity to work on cutting-edge technology in autonomous vehicles
  • High ownership role in a small, collaborative team environment
  • Focus on the integration of machine learning with production autonomy
  • Potential for equity compensation in a rapidly developing industry
  • Engagement with diverse computing platforms and embedded systems
Full Job Description
Position Overview

We're looking for a Controls Engineer to design and optimize trajectory generation and control systems for an autonomous truck. You'll own safety-critical systems and ensure reliable execution of complex maneuvers, working closely with the ML team to integrate real-time path outputs while enforcing system constraints and safety checks. This role spans embedded systems and diverse compute platforms, and offers a rare opportunity to connect cutting-edge ML with production autonomy on a small, high-ownership team.

Key Responsibilities

  • Design, implement, tune, and deploy real-time controllers for autonomous trucks, taking ownership from modeling through on-vehicle validation
  • Develop and maintain vehicle dynamics models and perform system identification to support controller design and simulation fidelity
  • Build and improve estimation and sensor fusion pipelines for vehicle state (Kalman filters, EKF/UKF, etc.)
  • Validate controllers through SIL/HIL testing, closed-loop simulation, and structured on-vehicle experiments
  • Debug, analyze, and iterate on controllers in the field using vehicle logs and telemetry
  • Collaborate with teams across ML autonomy, system software, hardware, and safety on interfaces, requirements, and integration
  • Contribute to the controls codebase in Rust with a focus on safety, reliability, real-time performance, and maintainability
  • Document design decisions, experiments, and tuning methodology clearly for the broader team


Minimum Qualifications

  • BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or a related field-or equivalent industry experience
  • Strong foundation in classical control theory: PID, LQR, state-space methods
  • Industry experience developing real-time control systems deployed on physical hardware
  • Strong proficiency in Rust and/or C++ for performance-critical systems
  • Experience with estimation techniques (Kalman filters, complementary filters, or similar)
  • Demonstrated ability to debug and tune controllers on real hardware
  • Experience with ROS/ROS2/Autoware/Iceoryx or comparable robotics middleware
  • Strong written and verbal technical communication
  • Eligible to work in the United States


Preferred Qualifications

  • Background in nonlinear, robust, or adaptive control
  • Experience with Model Predictive Control (MPC) and optimization tooling (QP solvers, CasADi, Acado, etc.)
  • Experience with Bazel or similar build systems for complex codebases
  • Working knowledge of vehicle dynamics like tire models, lateral/longitudinal dynamics, and load transfer
  • Comfort operating as an early team member-high ownership, low ego, fast iteration


Compensation

This role is eligible for base salary \+ benefits \+ equity compensation. Salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including qualifications, skills, experience, and location.

Additional Information

As part of the interview process, we may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to compare your qualifications and experience to the job description. A human reviews all AI output and makes a final hiring decision. Humble Robotics does not rely on the output to make any employment decisions. Some applicants may have a legal right to opt-out of the use of AI as part of our interview process. Contact **[email protected]** to exercise this right or if you have further questions on the use of AI tools in our hiring process.

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