Senior Sustaining Controls Engineer
Mainspring Energy
Listing collected from Mainspring Energy's career site. NextChapter is independent of Mainspring Energy.
Menlo Park, CA · $139k–$163k a year · Posted October 27, 2026
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Where Menlo Park, CA ranks
Where Menlo Park, CA placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #5Best cities for AI-skill jobs in the West Coast32% · of 71
- #6Best cities for financial services pay after cost of living$164k · of 33
- #6Best cities for AI-skill jobs32% · of 100
- #7Best cities for entry-level jobs that want AI skills in the West Coast21% · of 54
- #11Best all-round cities for AI careers in the West Coast75 / 100 · of 39
- #12Best cities for pay after cost of living in California$169k · of 32
Rankings about engineering jobs
- Best cities for software and engineering jobs #1 San Francisco (3,412 openings)
- Best cities for engineering pay after cost of living #1 San Mateo ($216k)
- Most requested AI skills in engineering jobs #1 AI tools in daily work (6.1%)
- AI tools named most often in engineering jobs #1 Claude (1.7%)
- Employers with the most engineering jobs #1 Amazon (2,992 roles)
How AI is used in this kind of work
Among bioengineers and biomedical engineers, AI is already used for some of the tasks. Measured exposure for bioengineers and biomedical engineers: 13% (some).
Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.
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About the job
Overview The Senior Sustaining Controls Engineer will play a crucial role in the success of our product automatically and reliably fulfilling customers’ electricity demand. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to diagnose and resolve issues, differentiate between mechanical, electrical, and software-related problems, and document solutions to increase product reliability and reduce maintenance needs. This position is ideal for a multidisciplinary engineer who enjoys working on complex systems and has a keen eye for detail.
In this role, you will act as an electromechanical generalist, bridging the gap between hardware and software across our linear generator fleet, lab operations, and manufacturing processes. Following our rapid transition from R&D to full production, you will take a structured, methodical approach to untangling complex legacy issues and clearing the issue backlog. Applying a strong foundation in physics and systems engineering, you will trace root causes across C++ software, electrical circuits, and mechanical components, using these insights to develop targeted sustaining features that improve long-term product stability and fleet performance.
Responsibilities
Manage, document, and resolve fleet issues ensuring clear communication and follow-up on resolutions and improving the process
Diagnose root causes of system issues, distinguishing between mechanical, electrical, and software-related problems
Categorize, systematize, and address gaps in automated system behavior
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to provide technical support and enhance system behavior
Debug and troubleshoot existing control algorithms to improve system performance and reliability
Analyze and understand C++ code to interpret behavior
Implement fixes to field issues in C++ code, and test them in simulation and laboratory environments
Adjust feature designs to address field issues
Use Python for data analysis, scripting, and system diagnostics
Tune control gains and calibrate systems, documenting the process for future reference
Identify and address gaps in system performance, ensuring continuous improvement
Support reliability and manufacturing testing, contributing to the system's life cycle maintenance
Qualifications
Experience in successful root cause analysis of complex software-mechatronic systems
Driven and self-directed systems-thinker responsible for creating or improving effective sustaining engineering processes
Excellent communicator with demonstrated collaboration across multidisciplinary teams
Degree in mechanical or electrical engineering with controls focus
Senior level: BS and six years or MS and five years
138872 - 163379 USD a year This position is onsite at our Menlo Park HQ . The salary will be adjusted to reflect local market conditions based on employee location as well as the experience of the employee. Along with base salary, Mainspring offers pre-IPO company equity through Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) + benefits.