Lead Electrical & Motor Control Engineer

American Droid is a start-up robotics engineering and integration company dedicated to enhancing public service missions. We are based in coastal North Carolina.

Our mission is to design and integrate robotic that can serve alongside humans in defense, emergency response, and healthcare operations — where precision, safety, and reliability matter most. To start, we are prototyping and commercializing teleoperated human-like robotic hands, enabling operators to safely perform complex tasks remotely.

This is not just another robotics startup. It’s about restoring American technical independence — designing and building our own systems, right here in North Carolina, for missions that matter. This is a unique opportunity to join a start-up at the ground level and help build the future of American-made robotic systems.

Overview:

We are seeking a Lead Electrical & Motor Control Engineer to architect, prototype, and validate the motor control, power, and communication systems for the robotic hand. You will take ownership of the system’s electrical architecture, working hands-on from schematic design through PCB fabrication, board bring-up, and integration with mechanical and software systems. Your work will enable high-precision robotic manipulation and haptic teleoperation for public service and military applications.

Key Responsibilities:

• Define electrical requirements and system architecture for multi-axis direct-drive motors, including power delivery, feedback, and communication signals.
• Select, design, and integrate motor driver circuits, power converters, sensors, and board-to-board communication components.
• Develop schematics and PCB layouts, embedding them into 3D CAD models to verify fit, routing, and connector placement.
• Lead first-pass board fabrication, assembly, and bring-up, validating motor control, communications, and safety interlocks.
• Implement and document test plans for functional verification, thermal performance, and EMI/ESD robustness.
• Collaborate with mechanical and embedded software teams to achieve seamless hardware-software integration.
• Identify creative workarounds, alternative test paths, and iterative solutions to meet system-level performance goals.
• Lead, mentor, and cross-train junior and apprentice engineers, sharing technical expertise and best practices to strengthen team capability.

Required Qualifications:

• B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, or related field.
• 5 years of hands-on experience designing and debugging electrical systems for robotics, automation, or electromechanical applications.
• Expertise in BLDC / direct-drive motor control, driver ICs, current sensing, and encoder/resolver feedback integration.
• Proficiency in schematic capture and PCB design for high-current and mixed-signal layouts.
• Hands-on lab experience with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, soldering, and board bring-up.
• Strong knowledge of power electronics, DC/DC converters, EMI filtering, and signal conditioning.
• Experience with communication protocols (CAN, SPI, UART, RS-485, EtherCAT).
• Proven ability to produce fabrication-ready design packages and iterate based on test results.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with embedded firmware for motor control (C/C on STM32, TI, or similar MCUs).
• Familiarity with ROS 2 hardware interface layers for robotics applications.
• Understanding of safety-critical design practices, including power sequencing, watchdogs, and fault handling.
• Experience integrating sensors (force, IMU, temperature) into motion control loops.
• Knowledge of signal integrity, grounding strategies, and EMI mitigation in compact mechanical systems.
• Experience with DoD, medical, or robotic systems.
• Strong documentation, communication, and system-level troubleshooting skills.

Why Join American Droid:

• You’ll be part of something bigger: building a domestic robotics capability for the U.S.
• You’ll be part of the technical team from the start, shaping the company’s first products and engineering culture.
• You’ll have ownership over real systems that will serve national defense and public service missions.

The Mindset We’re Looking For:

• Mission Driven. You are dedicated to building American-made robotic solutions that serve our nation and support our communities.
• Independent & Solution Focused: You have ideas and thrive on figuring hard things out.
• Hands-on: You’d rather fix it on the bench than talk about it in a meeting.
• Action-Oriented Visionary: You see how today’s prototype becomes tomorrow’s deployable robot and execute the work to make that vision happen.

Other Information:

As an emerging robotics start-up, we are building from the ground up. Current compensation is limited, and benefits are not yet established — but we’re creating something bigger: a company that designs and builds leading American-made robotic systems for real-world missions. As we grow, compensation and opportunity grow with us.

This is a full-time position, part-time, or contract position with no remote work options. The work site is in New Bern, NC.

We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome candidates of all backgrounds to apply.

U.S. citizens only. Must be eligible for a U.S. Government security clearance and comply with ITAR/EAR export control requirements.

No calls or agencies please.