Company Overview

Driven by our vision of the affordable, reliable, net-zero carbon grid of the future, Mainspring has developed a new category of power generation — the linear generator — that delivers local, scalable, and fuel-flexible power to help accelerate the transition to the net-zero carbon grid.

The unique combination of attributes offered by Mainspring’s linear generator enables applications on both the commercial and utility sides of the meter for the $816B global electricity equipment market. We serve a wide range of Fortune 500 customers across markets and industries as well as top-tier utilities and other gridside providers.

We are looking to build relationships with people who share our values:

• Pragmatic Optimism. Building a new category of world-class power generation requires the optimism of ambition and creativity, balanced with practicality to solve problems efficiently. The challenges that arise are opportunities for growth.
• Excellence without Ego. We bring expertise and commitment to creating the best customer experience, from sales to deployment and service, just as we apply deep technical rigor to building and delivering world-class products. We strive for excellence and behave as leaders with the humility to acknowledge our challenges, both collectively and as individual contributors.
• Proactive Collaboration. The integration and cross-disciplinary nature of Mainspring’s business requires intentionally seeking out others who bring different skills, perspectives, and priorities. Our culture of inclusion and respect extends beyond our team to interactions with our partners and customers.

Mainspring is based in Menlo Park and has partnered with top-tier investors and utilities such as Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, NextEra, and American Electric Power. More information can be found at www.mainspringenergy.com.

Responsibilities

Do you enjoy controlling multi-domain physical systems like robots, cars, or generators using an embedded system? Do you like modeling and identifying the dynamics in your system (linear or nonlinear), designing an appropriate controller, then implementing it on hardware?

If so, Mainspring Energy has a high-impact opportunity for a Senior Controls Engineer who wants to join a world-class engineering team: architect, design, and implement new automation and control algorithms for our Linear Generator.

The Linear Generator is a sophisticated, automated, integrated system with mechanical, electrical, fluid, thermodynamic, and thermal dynamics. Controllers determine the machine's behavior and performance.

The Senior Controls Engineer will have significant influence over our architecture while being part of a dynamic team. The engineer will create models, identify system dynamics, design and simulate control algorithms, implement algorithms in C++ and Python, and test the designs on hardware. This is an exciting opportunity for a product-focused automation and controls generalist with a passion for application, implementation, and integration.

Controls candidates will have the opportunity to join one of four specific teams:

• Power control
• Reaction control
• Motion control
• System automation

Power control designs the algorithms to meet customer power demand. Experience in power delivery, electric generators, DERMS, or related technologies will help the candidate in this role.

Reaction control ensures desirable reaction properties to meet the power demands while optimizing efficiency. Members of this team gain experience with thermo-fluidic and chemical systems.

Motion control exercises precise tracking of positions and efficient conversion between mechanical and electrical power in our linear electromagnetic machine. It bears some similarities to other electromechanical machine controls with strong influences from the thermodynamics of our compression cylinders.

System automation ties everything together to operate the linear generator autonomously without human interaction requiring sophisticated decision-making.

The team is dynamic in organizing and adapting to new product feature requests so the controls generalist may apply and be considered for these or other future positions in controls. In any of the roles, the candidate will encounter the following responsibilities.

• Implement algorithms and continuous-integration (MIL, SIL, PIL) tests in C++17.
• Design and simulate automation, controllers, diagnostics, and fail-safes for a novel integrated platform.
• Invent algorithms for power dispatch
• Collaborate with other controls engineers on designs and architectures.
• Debug sensors, actuators, and subsystems for noise and disturbances and assist calibration, verification, and validation.
• Design algorithms to maintain robust performance with gross sensor noise or disturbances
• Communicate algorithms with block-diagrams, pseudo-code, code, etc.
• Analyze complex systems from experimental data and create representative plant models.
• Support reliability and manufacturing testing of systems under control
• Analyze data to assess performance capabilities and inform requirements and design decisions
• Support fleet generator operation to enhance reliability and performance
• Work with cross-functional teams to define requirements for new software features and drive implementation, validation, and release of features.

Qualifications

• Driven and self-directed enthusiastic contributor
• Multiple years of experience designing, implementing, and testing algorithms in thermodynamic machines - experience with engines is a plus
• BS in mechanical engineering or related degree or experience - advanced degrees are a plus

The Bay Area salary for this role is $145k-$155k base + pre-IPO stock options + benefits. This position is on-site in Menlo Park, CA. The salary will be adjusted based on the experience of the employee.

Does your experience not meet all of our posted requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to positions unless they meet every listed requirement. At Mainspring, we are committed to building a diverse, inclusive, flexible, and collaborative environment, so if you want to help us transition the world to clean and affordable electricity, and don’t meet all posted requirements for a particular role, we’d still love to hear from you. Mainspring can sometimes be flexible enough to shift responsibilities for the right person, or otherwise identify open or upcoming roles that may better fit your professional background.

In more traditional words, Mainspring Energy, Inc is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

This compensation and benefits information is based on Mainspring Energy's estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future. We generally do not negotiate on salary once we have made an offer. The level of pay within the range will depend on a variety of job-related factors that may include location, relevant prior experience and/or education, or particular skills and expertise. New hires joining the company tend to be paid within the starting base pay range noted above, with opportunities to increase pay over time based on development of additional skills, competencies, and company-specific knowledge.