Senior Controls Engineer – Electro-mechanical Products Verified today

Role Overview

Blue National Security (BNS) is seeking a Senior Controls Engineer to lead architecture, development, integration, and qualification of spacecraft attitude-control actuators and momentum-management systems. This role focuses on Reaction Wheel Assemblies (RWAs), motor-control electronics, embedded flight software, FPGA development, and control algorithms.

You will serve as technical leader across the full product lifecycle, from concept development through flight qualification, production, and on-orbit support.

Responsibilities

• Lead system architecture, requirements development, design, implementation, integration, test, and qualification of reaction wheels and momentum-control systems.
• Develop and mature control algorithms for reaction wheel applications, including speed, torque/current, momentum management, fault detection, and safe-mode behaviors.
• Design motor-control solutions for spacecraft actuators, including PMSM/BLDC motors, field-oriented control, space-vector PWM, commutation, current control, and speed-control loops.
• Develop real-time embedded control architectures, including functional decomposition, hardware selection, processor/FPGA partitioning, timing analysis, and software-layer definition.
• Oversee FPGA design and implementation activities for motor-control and actuator systems.
• Lead embedded flight software development, including bootloaders, scheduling, system management, mode control, command/telemetry interfaces, and health monitoring.
• Define and implement Fault Detection, Isolation, and Recovery (FDIR) strategies for actuator electronics and software.
• Perform dynamic-system modeling, controls analysis, simulation, and validation using MATLAB/Simulink and real-time simulation environments.
• Lead integration and test of motors, sensors, power electronics, FPGA firmware, embedded software, and mechanical assemblies.
• Develop verification approaches, test procedures, and data-analysis methods for component- and system-level testing.
• Oversee electrical, mechanical, GNC, systems engineering, manufacturing, reliability, and mission teams.
• Provide technical mentorship, design leadership, and review support for engineers across controls, FPGA, and embedded software disciplines.
• Support anomaly resolution, root-cause investigations, and continuous improvements for development and operational systems.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 15+ years of direct experience designing, developing, testing, and deploying Reaction Wheel Assemblies, reaction wheel control systems, or closely related spacecraft actuator systems.
• Demonstrated experience developing control algorithms and real-time control systems for precision electromechanical systems.
• Extensive motor-control experience, including three-phase PMSM or BLDC drives, field-oriented control, space-vector PWM, current/torque control, and speed-control loops.
• Experience designing and implementing embedded control systems, including hardware/software partitioning, processor selection, timing architecture, and real-time execution.
• Experience with FPGA-based controls implementation and development workflows.
• Proficiency in C and/or C++ for embedded applications.
• Experience with MATLAB/Simulink for controls modeling, simulation, analysis, and/or embedded code generation.
• Experience with embedded processors, DSPs, microcontrollers, and/or FPGA platforms such as TI DSP, ARM, Xilinx, MicroBlaze, Microsemi, or equivalent.
• Experience with real-time operating systems, schedulers, or deterministic embedded architectures, such as VxWorks, Green Hills, or custom bare-metal/scheduler-based systems.
• Experience implementing embedded-system fundamentals, including serial communications, memory and peripheral management, timers, counters, watchdogs, bootloaders, and hardware bring-up.
• Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, and mechanical drawings.
• Hands-on laboratory experience with oscilloscopes, logic/protocol analyzers, power supplies, signal generators, embedded debug tools, and electromechanical assembly/test equipment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Controls, Robotics, or related discipline.
• Experience developing small-satellite or spacecraft attitude-control hardware.
• Experience with control moment systems, including multi-axis control, gimbal/motor control, momentum management, and primary/secondary system configurations.
• Experience developing flight software applications, including system management, mode control, communications, bootloaders, and scheduling.
• Experience with VHDL and/or Verilog for production FPGA development.
• Experience designing systems that meet aerospace environmental, reliability, safety, and qualification requirements.
• Experience leading integrated hardware, FPGA, and flight-software teams through aggressive development and test schedules.
• Experience with spacecraft GNC interfaces, attitude-control system architecture, and momentum-management strategies.
• Familiarity with production embedded systems and design-for-manufacturability principles.
• Demonstrated technical mentorship and leadership experience.

Compensation

Base pay range for Colorado applicants: $144,179.00 to $201,849.90 annually. Other site ranges may differ.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision insurance.
• 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 all regular employees (20+ hours/week).
• Paid time off: up to four weeks per year and up to 14 company-paid holidays.
• Performance bonuses based on company discretion.

Employment Requirements

Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum. Background check required for all positions.