Who is Recruiting from Scratch : Recruiting from Scratch is a premier talent firm that focuses on placing the best product managers, software, and hardware talent at innovative companies. Our team is 100% remote and we work with teams across the United States to help them hire. Title of Role: Controls Engineer - Autonomy Location: El Segundo, CA Company Stage of Funding: Growth Stage (Raised $46M) Office Type: Onsite, 5 Days a Week Salary: $150,000 – $210,000 Company Description Our client is the highest-rate drone manufacturer in the U.S., rapidly gaining traction in national defense and aerospace sectors. Their mission is to transform the modern battlefield by building advanced, autonomous systems that make uncrewed flight as effortless and impactful as possible. Their drones are fully U.S.-made—an achievement that few competitors can claim—and their latest product lines are already reshaping industry standards by delivering unmatched affordability and performance. Now, they're launching a new autonomy function—a startup within a startup—focused on building the "Tesla Autopilot" of aerial systems. This role offers the rare opportunity to shape a critical engineering function from the ground up at a well-funded, high-growth company that has increased revenue 5x since its last round. What You Will Do Design and implement real-time, model-based control algorithms and state estimation systems for autonomous drones.

Develop and deploy autonomy software to edge compute platforms—both on the flight controller and onboard companion computers.

Own the full lifecycle of autonomy features, including ideation, development, testing on real hardware, and iteration in production environments.

Contribute to board bring-up and flight control software systems (PX4, Betaflight, Ardupilot).

Support real-world autonomy deployments, debugging embedded systems, and optimizing latency-sensitive video and wireless modules.

Collaborate with cross-functional teams including electrical engineering, firmware, and systems integration to scale production-ready systems.

Ideal Background 3+ years of industry experience in autonomy, controls, or robotics systems, especially within aerial, automotive, or mobile robotics (e.g., self-driving cars, AGVs, autonomous drones).

Hands-on experience building and deploying control systems into high-volume, embedded edge platforms.

Strong grasp of real-time, non-linear controls, state estimation, and motion planning.

Track record of shipping control systems in fast-paced, product-focused environments.

U.S. Citizen or Green Card holder (required due to work on defense-related systems).

Preferred Experience with flight control stacks such as Betaflight, PX4, or Ardupilot.

Background in board bring-up and basic EE tools (oscilloscope, logic analyzer).

Familiarity with electronics design, including schematic/PCB design or microsoldering.

Experience with wireless embedded systems and sub-frame latency video compression.

Deployment of ML models to edge devices for autonomy tasks.

Leadership experience building or scaling autonomy teams (senior candidates may be considered for VP-level roles).

Compensation and Benefits Salary Range: $150,000 – $210,000

Equity: Competitive, commensurate with level and scope of role

Visa Sponsorship: Not available

Citizenship Requirement: Must be a U.S. Citizen or Green Card holder

Office Type: Onsite in El Segundo, CA (No hybrid/remote options)

Role Type: Full-time

This is an exceptional opportunity to lead the development of autonomous systems at the forefront of defense technology innovation. Whether you're a mid-level engineer looking to deepen your impact or a senior technologist ready to step into a top leadership position, the team is hiring across the spectrum with the goal of building a world-class autonomy function. If you're excited to define how autonomy shapes the next generation of aerial systems—and want to build fast, iterate on real hardware, and push boundaries—this is the role for you.

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