Principal Robotic Control Systems Engineer at Astrolab
Hawthorne, CA
$180,000–$235,000
Jun 29, 2026
Hawthorne, CA
Jul 20, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A principal-level engineering role focused on the full lifecycle of control systems for planetary rovers, covering motor controllers, mobility systems, robotic arms, and antenna pointing. Day-to-day work spans simulation and design in tools such as MATLAB/Simulink, hardware-in-the-loop testbed development, controller tuning, and collaborating with software and avionics teams to bring designs through to flight implementation. Suited to a seasoned engineer with deep hands-on experience in extraterrestrial rover control systems.
Senior level · 15+ years · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA · Full-time
Pay in the description: $180,000–$235,000
Advertised as Principal, but the requirements read as Senior.
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 65 people in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software developers). range 20–100
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
What the occupation pays Median $160,920 (middle half $127,530–$191,540). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (7)
This role sits at the intersection of control systems engineering and software development. SOC 15-1252 (Software Developers) was chosen because the JD emphasizes writing and converting controller prototypes into flight code, developing software simulations, and supporting unit/integrated software testing — but 15-1299 (Computer Occupations, All Other) is a reasonable runner-up given the heavy embedded/controls engineering flavor.
The title says 'Principal' but the actual scope — deep individual-contributor technical work on a single vehicle system, with some mentoring of junior engineers — is consistent with a Senior band. There is no indication of org-wide technical authority or cross-team architectural ownership that would warrant Staff or Principal on the seniority ladder.
The JD states two overlapping experience requirements: 15 years of robotic control system development overall, and 10 years specifically on extra-terrestrial rover systems. The 15-year figure is used as the overall years minimum (the higher, role-level gate); the 10-year rover-specific requirement is noted here as it is domain-scoped rather than a named technology.
MATLAB and Simulink are listed together as a paired requirement ('Matlab/Simulink') with 'or equivalent control system design and analysis software' — they are treated as a single hard gate with each as an alternative of the other. The MATLAB Control System Toolbox is called out separately and explicitly required.
Python appears only in a parenthetical example ('e.g. Matlab, Simulink, Python') within a task description, not in the requirements section — treated as preferred context rather than a hard gate.
GNC (guidance, navigation, and control) appears only in a task description ('Support integrated vehicle guidance, navigation, and control system simulation') rather than in the requirements block — treated as preferred/contextual.
Ignored 2 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): MATLAB Control System Toolbox, motor controller development.
Read the full posting
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