Embedded Software Engineer, Motor Control & Real-Time Systems

General Matter, Inc. is an American nuclear energy company based in California that is focused on developing domestic nuclear energy solutions. The company aims to harness nuclear technology to increase national energy prosperity, reduce dependence on foreign energy sources, and support the expansion of American capabilities in the energy sector. Their work centers on making nuclear energy more accessible and practical by advancing technologies that can be developed and deployed within the United States. General Matter's mission is rooted in the belief that nuclear power represents a critical pathway toward a cleaner, more energy-independent future. By turning domestic nuclear potential into operational reality, the company positions itself at the intersection of national security, economic growth, and climate-conscious energy production. Their approach emphasizes building nuclear energy infrastructure that is homegrown rather than reliant on foreign supply chains or expertise. The company brings together leaders from nuclear engineering, technology, government, and finance, reflecting a multidisciplinary approach to solving the complex challenges of modern nuclear energy development. As a startup operating in the green and climate technology sector, General Matter represents a new wave of private investment in nuclear energy as a viable and scalable low-carbon power source for the United States.

About the Company

General Matter enriches uranium.
We are designing, building, and operating the world's lowest-cost enrichment services, here in the US.
In the process, we are restoring America's ability to produce nuclear fuel to power AI, advanced manufacturing and critical industries our country relies on to remain competitive.
Fuel drives the cost of advanced reactor electricity production, and enrichment drives the cost of the fuel that advanced reactors consume. Reliable, low-cost enrichment is the catalyst for the nuclear Renaissance now under way.
Our mission is to make nuclear not only the cleanest and safest source of baseload power, but also the most affordable. We believe abundant nuclear energy will lead to a post-scarcity society.
We were incubated inside Founders Fund, like Anduril and Palantir before us, and are backed by over a dozen of the world's top venture capital firms.
Our lean, world-class team of engineers and operators is applying a first-principles approach to solving the problem of nuclear fuel production.
We are a mission-driven company with a culture of urgency, accountability, and transparency.
Help us build a high-energy society by making the cleanest, safest form of baseload energy the most affordable.

About This Role

We are seeking an Embedded Software Engineer to develop the real-time control software, motor drive firmware, and device drivers that directly command test stands and production systems. This role sits where real-time embedded engineering meets motor control. You'll turn control algorithms into deterministic, fault-tolerant code that closes high-rate control loops, drives power electronics, coordinates distributed actuators over fieldbus networks, and acquires high-speed signals from scientific instrumentation. Safety and accuracy matter enormously in all of it. You will help define the real-time architecture, driver standards, and hardware interfaces of mission-critical embedded systems across R&D, manufacturing/test, and plant operations, working hands-on with hardware from early prototypes through deployed systems. If you seek high impact and are excited by fast-paced, intense, Skunkworks-style projects, we encourage you to apply to join our team.

Responsibilities

• Architect and develop deterministic, safety-critical control software on real-time Linux (e.g., PREEMPT_RT) and embedded microcontroller/DSP targets, including scheduling, timing, and fault-tolerant control logic.
• Define real-time architecture, driver standards, and hardware interface conventions shared across R&D, test, and production systems.
• Implement and optimize motor control algorithms in embedded firmware, including field-oriented control, sensorless control, and high-rate closed-loop current and torque control.
• Develop low-level drive firmware for PWM generation, synchronized ADC sampling, current and voltage sensing, and motor feedback interfaces for power electronics and inverters.
• Implement estimation, monitoring, and protection functions (state and fault estimation, overcurrent and overvoltage protection) to maximize system safety and reliability.
• Build and maintain industrial fieldbus masters and stacks (e.g., EtherCAT, CAN/CANopen, EtherNet/IP) for hard real-time, high-rate closed-loop control of distributed actuators, drives, and I/O.
• Write drivers and interfaces for scientific instrumentation, sensors, and data acquisition hardware for high-speed, kHz-class acquisition across low-level protocols and buses (e.g., SPI, I2C, serial, USB, PCIe, Ethernet).
• Own software from development through deployment by building automated build, test, and validation infrastructure, including software-in-the-loop (SIL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) frameworks for motor control and real-time systems.
• Perform safety analyses and validate control logic to ensure deterministic behavior, stability, and functional safety under both normal and fault conditions.
• Contribute to integrated system testing, commissioning, and continuous improvement of embedded software running on production equipment.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related STEM field.
• 5+ years of experience developing embedded, real-time, or low-level systems software.
• Evidence of exceptional ability (prior projects, portfolio of work, completed products, etc.).
• Strong, production-level experience in C, C++, or Rust.
• Hands-on experience implementing motor control firmware for electric motors and drives, such as field-oriented control, sensorless control, PWM, and closed-loop current control.
• Solid grounding in control fundamentals (linear systems, discrete-time control, digital filtering, and state estimation), deep enough to implement, tune, and debug control loops on real hardware.
• Hands-on experience with real-time systems and hardware/software integration, with a strong understanding of deterministic timing, interrupt latency, concurrency, and device driver development.
• Ability to perform trade studies and make clear recommendations from first principles, even with partial information.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Experience with power electronics, inverters, gate drivers, and current-sensing hardware, including their interaction with control firmware.
• Experience with motor-control-oriented MCUs/DSPs (e.g., TI C2000, STM32, or similar) and their timer, PWM, and ADC peripherals.
• Experience with model-based design workflows (MATLAB/Simulink, auto-generated code) and Python for analysis, test automation, and tooling.
• Familiarity with advanced estimation and control techniques (observers, Kalman filtering, fault detection).
• Experience implementing or integrating industrial fieldbus protocols and masters (e.g., EtherCAT, CANopen, EtherNet/IP, Modbus).
• Experience with real-time Linux (PREEMPT_RT, Xenomai) or other RTOS for motion and process control.
• Driver and kernel development experience, including bring-up of new sensors, instrumentation, and data acquisition hardware.
• Low-level communication protocol debugging and electrical hardware troubleshooting, including assistance in PCBA bring-up.
• Experience designing fault-tolerant, observable, and testable distributed control systems.
• Background in safety-critical, high-reliability, or regulated industrial environments (e.g., nuclear, chemical, energy, aerospace, robotics, semiconductor).

Additional Requirements

Ability to work extended hours and weekends as necessary.

Equal Opportunity Employer

General Matter is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with General Matter is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Compensation and Benefits

The base salary range for this role is $150,000–$260,000 annually.

Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. Please note that the stated salary range is an estimate and may be adjusted based on market conditions, business needs, or other factors. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan.