Principal Control Systems Engineer, PAT Systems Verified today

The Role

As Principal Control Systems Engineer for the Pointing, Acquisition and Tracking (PAT) system, you will serve as technical authority for the control architecture, algorithms, and implementation of pointing, acquisition, and tracking for TeraWave optical terminals. You will own the PAT control strategy from concept through flight operations, driving high bandwidth tracking, rapid link acquisition, and integration across optics, mechanisms, avionics, and network operations.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role with direct impact on link availability, data throughput, and system performance for a constellation supporting data center interconnects. You will lead a focused team of controls engineers while working in close partnership with optical, mechanical, thermal, avionics, and systems engineering disciplines.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end PAT control architecture for TeraWave optical inter-satellite and space-to-ground terminals
• Define control requirements, error budgets, and key performance metrics including pointing accuracy and acquisition time
• Lead trade studies evaluating pointing mechanisms, sensors, and control topologies for terminal designs
• Design and validate control loops for fine beam steering, coarse pointing, and beacon acquisition
• Develop acquisition strategies including scan patterns, dwell time optimization, and satellite-to-ground handover procedures
• Implement control algorithms in flight software, FPGA and SoC platforms, and MATLAB or Simulink simulation environments
• Integrate PAT control with spacecraft ADCS, avionics, timing systems, and the network control plane
• Build and maintain dynamic models of PAT subsystems covering mechanisms, actuators, sensors, and structural modes
• Lead PAT test campaigns and on-orbit commissioning including anomaly investigation and performance optimization
• Collaborate across disciplines with optical, mechanical, thermal, structural, and avionics engineers

Minimum Qualifications

• M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or a related field
• 12 or more years of experience in control systems design for precision electro-optical or opto-mechanical systems
• 5 or more years of experience in a lead engineering role with ownership of complex subsystems
• Expertise in classical and modern control theory including state space, LQR/LQG, H infinity, and robust or adaptive control
• Experience with real-time control implementation on embedded platforms using C, C++, FPGA/SoC, or RTOS
• Experience with high fidelity modeling and simulation of multi-body dynamics and optical pointing systems
• Experience with pointing and tracking systems for laser communications, telescopes, or comparable high precision applications
• Experience with sensor fusion using optical trackers, IMUs, or encoders, and multi-rate control loop design
• Proficiency in MATLAB/Simulink, Python, and/or C/C++ for control design, simulation, and data analysis
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum

Preferred Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or a related field
• Experience with space-qualified hardware and processes including design for thermal vacuum, vibration, and radiation environments
• Background in free-space optical communications or satellite communications including link budgets and atmospheric turbulence modeling
• Experience with adaptive optics or tip/tilt control for ground-based optical systems
• Familiarity with safety and quality standards applicable to space hardware development and long-life reliability
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex technical concepts across disciplines and to senior leadership
• Track record of delivering flight hardware or fielded systems from concept through operations

Compensation and Benefits

Base pay range for WA applicants: $230,773.00 - $323,081.85 (other site ranges may differ)

Benefits include medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability, 401(k) with company match up to 5%, Education Support Program, stock options for regular employees, and up to 4 weeks paid time off per year plus up to 14 company-paid holidays.

Additional Information

Relocation assistance is provided for this role. This role requires up to 25 percent travel. Applications accepted on an ongoing basis until requisition closes. Background check required for all positions.