Staff Motor Control Software Engineer

Our mission at Atomic Machines is to bring autonomous bits-to-atoms manufacturing of anything at any scale to the world, and we are well on our way. We are developing an entirely new class of manufacturing foundry for micro- and nano-scale machines, and we are using that foundry to create products the world has heretofore been unable to build. Our first device has exceptionally strong and large-scale product-market fit: it is both iconic of what our platform can do and a driver of very significant enterprise scale.

Joining forces with us means becoming part of an incredibly talented, inventive and passionate multi-disciplinary team running hard to make our platform, devices and vision a reality. You will have the opportunity to help define the company from its earliest days. You’ll be challenged to learn and grow as a builder and a leader as the company itself grows rapidly. And you will receive significant equity compensation - you’ll truly be a company owner and benefit financially from our overall success. 

Our offices are located in Berkeley and Santa Clara, California.

About this role:

We are seeking an experienced Staff Motor and Controls Sofware Engineer to join as a founding member of the Robotics and Controls function. The ideal applicant is an expert in control theory and is well-versed in robotics, applied physics, electro-mechanical systems, and computer science. Atomic Machines is on a rapid growth trajectory, and we are developing the foundational architecture for our automated manufacturing platform, which uses robotics as a key building block. This role has the opportunity to shape the Robot Control specialty within Systems Engineering and grow in both leadership and/or technical depth. This role is physically based Monday-Friday in our Santa Clara office or Berkeley office.

What You’ll Do:

• Join as a founding member of the Motor and Controls function within Systems Engineering, and guide the architecture of the HW and SW systems for a new manufacturing platform.
• Develop and maintain robot control algorithms for our two core custom robots in the Atomic Machines Platform, a fully autonomous, lights-out manufacturing system for building a new class of micron-scale electromechanical devices.
• The first robot is responsible for high-precision manipulation of materials, utilizing a multitude of sensors, cameras, and various end effectors. Capabilities of this robot include force sensing (custom hardware, software, calibration routines, etc), visual alignment capabilities (utilizing multiple cameras to align to, pick, and precisely position all materials), and visual inspection of work products.
• The second robot is responsible for high-speed shuttling of work-in-progress material between the multiple sections of our platform.
• Support development efforts for various electromechanical and software elements of the manufacturing system, using models and analysis tools that provide detailed quantitative understanding of machine behavior.
• Evaluate robot designs for future system iterations.
• Support development and maintenance of design requirements.

What You’ll Need:

• 10+ years of experience designing and developing control systems for robotics and complex electromechanical devices.
• At least a MS in Mechanical, Electrical, Mechatronic, or a similar engineering discipline.
• Proficient in Low-level programming such as C/C++.
• Excellent knowledge of control theory for robotics systems.
• Well-versed in robotics, applied physics, electro-mechanical systems, and computer science.
• Ability to research, select, design and evaluate hardware and software components and architectures for controlling advanced robotics systems.
• Documentation quality - good, clear communication.
• Engage productively in collaborative meetings, drives clarity and alignment on requirements and approaches, effectively influences and drives alignment across multiple swarm teams and across disciplines.
• Clear understanding of math and physics; deep understanding of engineering first principles and how to apply them.
• Creativity and inventiveness.
• Drive and ownership of projects and problems.
• Willingness to learn and ability to learn fast.
• Autonomy - ability to deal with ambiguity and still make progress.