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Rover Control Systems Engineer at Astrolab

Astrolab is hiring a Rover Control Systems Engineer in Hawthorne, CA, US. Remote. Pay: USD 140k-160k/yr.

About Astrolab

Astrolab designs and deploys planetary surface mobility and infrastructure to support human and commercial operations on the Moon and Mars. Its rover platform, FLEX, is a large, versatile rover for surface logistics. The company has built and tested full-scale rover systems and plans lunar missions, including FLIP in 2026 carrying NASA and commercial payloads, and CLV-1 in 2028 under NASA's Artemis program.

Rover Control Systems Engineer job description

Astrolab is The Lunar Operations Company. We design and build the systems and hardware the lunar economy will come to depend on — rovers, power, and data networks for sustained operations on the Moon. We are focused on the problems that must be solved before the next chapter of human exploration can scale. The Moon does not forgive untested assumptions. The people who work here know that, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

Astrolab is seeking a Rover Control Systems Engineer to support development of control systems for extra-terrestrial rovers such as vehicle mobility system control, robotic arm control, and high gain communication antenna pointing control. Control system development will include initial simulation and design of vehicle control systems, control system performance analysis, gain tuning, and supporting software and integrated hardware/software development and testing.

Note: Some travel may be required for this position

What you'll do:

Work with stakeholders to define control system requirements from vehicle and subsystem level functional and performance requirements
Support design, analysis, develop, tune, verification, and validation of vehicle control systems
Build system simulations for controller design, analysis and tuning in appropriate tools (e.g. Matlab, Simulink, Python) and mature simulations as additional test data becomes available
Design and prototype appropriate controllers that meet the defined requirements using simulations and control system design tools (e.g. Matlab control system toolbox)
Support sizing and selection of integrated robotic control system components (sensors and actuators) such as motion sensors, cameras, motor encoders, motors, and similar
Analyze and tune controller performance, stability, and robustness using the system simulations, testbeds, and test data
Develop control system documentation and work with vehicle software team to convert controller prototypes into flight code, including supporting unit and integrated testing of flight implementations
Support calibration of integrated hardware/robotic control systems (e.g. robotic arm calibration)

What you'll bring:

Basic Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) related field
5+ years of robotic control system development
Experience building, testing, and validating control system simulation and analysis tools

Preferred Qualifications

Experience analyzing and tuning performance of robotic control systems
Experience working with testbeds for testing control systems on flight-like hardware
Experience with Matlab/Simulink and Matlab control systems toolbox or equivalent control system design and analysis software

Benefits and Perks

Join a team of best-in-class engineers building the foundation of planetary surface exploration
Equity ownership in the company
Comprehensive health benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and mental health support
401(k) plan with company match
Flexible PTO and parental leave
Home office set up reimbursement
Weekly lunch stipend, plus complimentary snacks and beverages on-site
Once a month social hour on-site with food and drinks

Apply now

Applications go straight to Astrolab. We never sit between you and the employer.

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