Servo Controls and Actuation Engineer

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) is a world leader in proven, reliable remotely piloted aircraft and tactical reconnaissance radars, as well as advanced high-resolution surveillance systems. This position is located in Poway, CA.

Responsibilities

• Analyze, design, develop, support and troubleshoot control algorithms for servo systems, antiskid brakes, environmental control systems and power electronics for unmanned air vehicles and ground support equipment.
• Design analog, digital, S-domain and Z-domain controllers with appropriate analysis, modeling and simulation.
• Perform electrical, mechanical and software test and/or test support in the lab and in the field to verify system performance and troubleshoot problems, including test set-up and test data collection.
• Conduct multidisciplinary plant characterization of electronics, electromagnetic devices, servo mechanisms and aircraft structures.
• Define requirements for individual servo components (electric motors, gear trains, feedback devices) and support in-house design or locate off-the-shelf/vendor components.
• Create documentation for engineering development (lab notebooks, test reports, trade studies, block diagrams, hand sketches, theory of operations, white papers).
• Generate documentation to support production (test procedures, test records, bill of materials, interface control drawings, source control drawings, change requests, change notices).
• Produce documentation for customer support (slide presentations, field instructions, troubleshooting memos, field alert bulletins).
• Travel to GA-ASI and military test facilities (El Mirage, Grey Butte and other US facilities) to perform engineering tests and provide engineering support.
• Travel to vendor facilities to provide engineering support and/or vendor evaluation as needed (US).
• Perform other duties as assigned while observing all laws, regulations, and safety procedures.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in engineering or a related technical discipline from an accredited institution, plus two or more years of engineering experience (or equivalent experience in lieu of education).
• Experience in closed loop control analysis and design, including S-domain and Z-domain controllers.
• Analytical and practical knowledge of electro-magnetic and mechanical devices.
• Hands-on hardware experience.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Security Clearance.

Skills

• Background in analysis, design, and product development.
• Experience with Microsoft Excel and/or MATLAB.
• Familiarity with C programming.
• Experience with system verification test methods (phase-gain stability determination using small signal swept sine or random noise, and large signal transient disturbances).
• Familiarity with digital filtering (FIR, IIR, Butterworth, etc.).
• Knowledge of Linear Quadratic Regulator and Estimator approaches for controls solutions.
• Experience with simulation techniques, including Runge-Kutta methods for non-linear simulations.
• Experience with state space approaches and classical frequency domain methods for controls analysis.
• Self-motivated with a can-do attitude, able to adjust and solve problems in real time with minimal supervision.

Pay

Salary range: $68,770 – $116,193