Staff Motor Control Firmware Engineer

Reports to: Head of Software & Controls

Workplace Type: Hybrid (onsite in Santa Cruz 3 days/week)

Overview:

Join Us in Revolutionizing Cardiac Care from Beautiful Santa Cruz

Imagine building the firmware that gives surgeons superhuman precision while being minutes from world-class surf breaks and redwood forests. We’re developing a groundbreaking robotic platform for transcatheter valve deployment—and we need an exceptional Motor Control Firmware Engineer to bring our actuators to life.

You’ll own the embedded firmware that drives our 12-axis robotic system, implementing the motor control algorithms that translate high-level motion commands into precise, smooth, and safe actuator behavior. This is a ground-floor opportunity to build motor control firmware from early-stage scaffolding into production-ready code for a life-saving medical device.

What You’ll Do:

• Design and implement BLDC motor control algorithms including commutation logic, field-oriented control (FOC), and current/velocity/position control loops
• Develop bare-metal firmware in C for STM32 microcontrollers (Cortex-M4), optimizing for deterministic real-time performance
• Implement PWM generation, Hall sensor feedback processing, and closed-loop control for precision motion
• Build current sensing, fault detection, and protection mechanisms to ensure safe motor operation
• Develop and integrate CAN bus communication for coordination with the main robot controller
• Characterize and tune motor performance—you’ll be at the bench with an oscilloscope as much as you’re in the code
• Collaborate with electrical engineering on motor driver hardware, power electronics, and PCB bring-up
• Work with the controls team to integrate low-level motor firmware with higher-level motion planning and EtherCAT infrastructure
• Establish testing practices for embedded firmware, including hardware-in-the-loop testing and automated regression
• Document firmware architecture, interfaces, and calibration procedures for regulatory submissions

Skills:

• Expert embedded C programming for bare-metal, memory-constrained systems
• Deep experience with STM32 microcontrollers and the STM32 ecosystem (CubeIDE, CubeMX, HAL)
• Strong understanding of ARM Cortex-M architecture: interrupts, timers, DMA, peripheral configuration
• Proven motor control experience: BLDC/PMSM commutation, Hall sensor or encoder feedback, FOC or six-step control
• Control systems fundamentals: PID tuning, stability analysis, discrete-time implementation
• Proficiency with communication protocols: SPI, UART, CAN
• Hands-on hardware debugging skills: oscilloscope, logic analyzer, JTAG/SWD debugging
• Understanding of analog signal conditioning and current sensing for motor applications

Preferred:

• Experience with motor driver ICs and gate driver integration
• RTOS experience (FreeRTOS or similar)—we may introduce one as complexity grows
• PCB schematic reading and ability to work closely with EE on hardware debug
• Experience with EtherCAT or other industrial fieldbus protocols
• Familiarity with embedded testing frameworks and CI for firmware
• Medical device or safety-critical systems experience
• Knowledge of functional safety concepts (IEC 61508, ISO 13849)

Requirements:

Experience & Background

• BS/MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or equivalent
• 8+ years of hands-on embedded firmware development
• Demonstrated experience shipping motor control systems to production
• Track record of taking motor control from bring-up through tuning to reliable operation
• Comfortable working across the hardware/software boundary—you’re not afraid of schematics or soldering irons
• Ability to work in a hybrid environment, onsite 3 days a week at our Santa Cruz, CA office. In the future, there will be an option to work one day from our satellite office in Los Altos, CA.

We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, and disability, or other legally protected status.