Data, AI and tech job titles

102 titles · 9,340 open roles

Controls Engineer a new title on company job boards

Engineering · Emerging · not on Hacker News yet · 72 open roles at 20 companies · median $172k

First sighting

An engineer who designs and manages control systems to automate mechanical and physical operations.

New: first seen Dec 2025, job board

Why it exists

Written by rule from our own data

First seen in our data in December 2025, in a company job-board posting from Waymo. Today 72 open roles use the title at 20 companies, most of them in AI labs.

  1. PostingThe oldest Controls Engineer posting we holdWaymo, Dec 2025 · backs: first sighting
  2. PostingControls Engineer, Power Generation & MicrogirdOpenAI, Nov 2026 · backs: an open posting with the title

Where it is posted

Sectors

  • AI lab7
  • AI infrastructure7
  • Robotics and autonomy5

Cities

  • San Francisco6
  • Palo Alto6
  • Austin5
  • Denver3
  • Dallas3
  • Los Angeles3
  • Phoenix1
  • Munich, Germany1

Countries and remote

  • United States70
  • Germany1
Remote option10%

Posted pay

Middle half $149k to $214k, median $172k from 50 postings that state a base range (USD a year).

Who is hiring for it

Open postings on their own job boards, read 5h ago
#CompanyOpen roles
1Anduril IndustriesA company hiring most for Systems Engineer and Test Engineer.27
2FluidstackA company hiring most for Security Engineer and Controls Engineer.7
3CrusoeThe round values the data center giant at $30.9 billion.6
4Relativity SpaceA company hiring most for Test Engineer and Systems Engineer.5
5AST SpaceMobileA publicly traded satellite designer and manufacturer based in Midland, Texas, United States.3
6Commonwealth Fusion SystemsAn American fusion power company founded in 2018 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, after a spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).3
7K2 SpaceA company hiring most for Design Engineer and Test Engineer.3
8OkloA company hiring most for Controls Engineer and Design Engineer.3
9xAIAn American artificial intelligence company founded by Elon Musk.3
10OpenAIAn American artificial intelligence (AI) public benefit corporation (PBC) headquartered in San Francisco, California.2
11AnthropicAn American artificial intelligence (AI) public benefit corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California.1
12Aurelius SystemsA company hiring most for Machine Learning Engineer and Controls Engineer.1

Open roles

8 of 72; company pages list the rest
Open role$124k to $186k

Sr Instrumentation and Controls Engineer

Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, United States

Open role$220k to $292k

Principal Power Controls Engineer

Costa Mesa, California, United States

Open role$230k to $340k

Senior Mechanical Controls Engineer

San Francisco Office (Fremont St)

Open role$90k to $150k

Instrumentation & Controls Engineer

Idaho Falls, ID

Role
Controls Engineer, Power Generation & MicrogirdOpenAISan Francisco$257k to $327k
Principal Robotic Controls EngineerAurelius SystemsSan Francisco$250k to $315k
Sr Instrumentation and Controls EngineerRelativity SpaceStennis Space Center, Mississippi, United States$124k to $186k
Principal Power Controls EngineerAnduril IndustriesCosta Mesa, California, United States$220k to $292k
Senior Controls EngineerCommonwealth Fusion SystemsDevens, MA$134k to $205k
Controls Engineer - Data Center OperationsFluidstackAbernathy, TX$202k to $258k
Senior Mechanical Controls EngineerLambdaSan Francisco Office (Fremont St)$230k to $340k
Instrumentation & Controls EngineerOkloIdaho Falls, ID$90k to $150k

Share of Hacker News hiring posts

1 posts since Apr 2011 · new in 6 months
November 2026 1 of 207 postings, 0.48%
3-month averageEach monthFirst sighting
About this title

An engineer who designs and manages control systems to automate mechanical and physical operations.

First sighting
...| Mechanical Engineer, Electrical Engineer, Robotic Controls Engineer | New York, NY | ONSITE | Full-time | $220K-$300K Nirvana Robotics...
Nirvana Robotics, Ask HN: Who is hiring? (November 2026)

73 open postings titled "Controls Engineer" at Anthropic, OpenAI, xAI, Nuro and 15 more (job-board scan, 2026-11-02; proposed by the model). One of the postings. Not checked by hand yet.

Median posted salary $172k from 50 postings that state a base pay range (the median of their midpoints, USD a year). Not a survey of what people earn.