Staff Propulsion Controls & Software Engineer

About the role

You own the full performance of the propulsion power electronics stack for Odys aviation's Laila UAV and Alta hybrid-electric VTOL programs. This role demands that you design, implement, and tune the motor drives, active rectifiers, DC/DC converters, and the Hybrid System Controller that orchestrates the turbogenerator, battery, and inverters. You will be accountable for making peer-designed hardware perform reliably in simulation, on the bench, and in flight under strict aerospace conditions. The position requires you to set the methodological direction for modeling, verification, and shipping a controls and simulation stack that can scale with a growing team. You will operate at the intersection of embedded firmware, real-time simulation, and system integration to ensure propulsion behavior meets both performance and safety targets. This is a high-ownership individual contributor role that directly influences the certification trajectory and flightworthiness of Odys aircraft.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Design and implement discrete-time control algorithms for permanent magnet synchronous machines, focusing on field-oriented control with maximum torque per ampere, torque per voltage, sensorless operation, and advanced modulation schemes.
• Develop and tune flux-weakening and voltage regulation strategies that maintain propulsion performance across wide speed and load ranges for SiC-based systems.
• Engineer EMI-aware modulation and switching-frequency strategies for SiC power stages operating at twenty to forty kilohertz, actively managing DC-link ripple, torque ripple, and acoustic constraints in software.
• Build the supervisory hybrid system control logic that coordinates turbogenerator setpoints, battery energy buffers, DC bus regulation, and propulsion inverters during all operating regimes.
• Own mode transitions, startup and shutdown sequencing, and powertrain-level fault arbitration to ensure robust and deterministic energy flow management.
• Construct and maintain high-fidelity propulsion models in MATLAB/Simulink, Simscape, and PLECS for machines, SiC inverters, rectifiers, DC-link components, batteries, and propulsors.
• Identify and correlate model parameters using bench and rig data, resolving discrepancies between simulation predictions and physical test results.
• Stand up and operate MIL, SIL, and HIL test environments using platforms such as Typhoon HIL, OPAL-RT, and Speedgoat, and automate regression and fault-injection test suites.
• Translate system architecture into control specifications, simulation studies, and firmware requirements while proactively flagging implementation risk to the systems architecture team.
• Take algorithms from model to target embedded code using Embedded Coder or hand-written C/C++ for TI C2000, ARM Cortex-R, and ARM Cortex-M platforms, including fixed-point implementation, fault detection isolation and recovery, diagnostics, and safe-state behavior.
• Define real-time communication interfaces and interface control documents for CAN, CAN-FD, and Ethernet, and support integration with dynamometer test rigs and iron-bird hardware.
• Produce design specifications, calibration records, modeling reports, and verification evidence aligned with DO-178C, DO-254, and ARP4754B processes.
• Contribute to standardizing controls and simulation templates, review procedures, and CI/CD pipelines for model and firmware releases as the team scales.
• Collaborate with systems, certification, and test engineering teams to align propulsion control performance with aircraft-level requirements and flight envelope protection strategies.
• Drive rigorous hardware-in-the-loop and software-in-the-loop validation to ensure that control algorithms remain deterministic, stable, and compliant under fault and edge conditions.

Requirements

• Bring eight or more years of experience developing control software for propulsion power electronics in transportation or aerospace applications.
• Demonstrate a proven track record of designing and implementing field-oriented control for permanent magnet synchronous machines in safety-critical systems.
• Show advanced implementation skills in discrete-time control, including flux-weakening, sensorless observers, synchronous reference frame methods, and digital filtering.
• Exhibit strong proficiency in MATLAB/Simulink and model-based design workflows, including automatic code generation and real-time simulation integration.
• Possess hands-on experience with SiC power electronics modeling and EMI considerations for switching frequencies above twenty kilohertz.
• Hold capability to develop and deploy firmware in C or C++ for real-time embedded targets such as TI C2000 or ARM Cortex-R/M processors.
• Maintain thorough understanding of aerospace certification standards such as DO-178C, DO-254, and ARP4754B as they apply to propulsion controls.
• Display experience with HIL test platforms such as Typhoon HIL, OPAL-RT, or Speedgoat, and with CI frameworks using Git-based version control for regression testing.

Nice to have

• Experience with hybrid-electric powertrain integration and energy management strategies for series and parallel architectures.
• Familiarity with aviation communication buses such as ARINC 429 or CANaerospace in the context of propulsion systems.
• Background in aviation safety cases, failure mode analysis, and functional safety methods for propulsion controls.

Practical notes

No working hours, travel, or visa details are specified in the job description.