Description
Senior Motion Control Software Engineer
Location: Rancho Dominguez, CA (Onsite)**
Salary: $150,000 $175,000
Company: TRAK Machine Tools (Southwestern Industries)
About TRAK Machine Tools
TRAK Machine Tools, a division of Southwestern Industries, designs and manufactures CNC controls and machine tools for the toolroom market. For over 50 years, we have built PC-based CNC control systems known for reliability, innovation, and ease of use. Learn more at www.trakmt.com
The Role
We are seeking a hands-on Senior Real-Time Motion Control Software Engineer to take ownership of our motion control and real-time slave system. This is a deeply technical roll ideal for an engineer who enjoys solving real-world control problems at both the software and machine level.
Role focus:
~60% real-time motion/slave system
~40% Windows-side C/C++ and Win32 integration and PLC logic
You will work directly at CNC machines to diagnose, tune, and validate motion performance.
Key Responsibilities
Real-Time Motion Control
- Own and maintain real-time motion control software written in C
- Support and ultimately own the RTX64 real-time implementation
- Manage deterministic scheduling, thread priorities, and core affinity
- Diagnose and resolve latency-sensitive and race-condition issues
- Tune PID loops and feed-forward control
- Analyze step response and diagnose servo instability on physical machines
- Validate motion behavior hands-on at CNC machines
PLC & Machine Logic
- Maintain and extend our proprietary PLC system (written in C/C++)
- Develop new PLC logic to support expanded I/O and new machine features
- Debug field I/O and machine sequencing issues
Platform Modernization
- Support migration from Windows CE to Windows 11 IoT + RTX64
- Refactor and improve motion-related code where appropriate
- Ensure long-term stability and maintainability of the motion platform
Required Qualifications
- BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, or related field
- 10+ years of professional software development experience
- Strong C programming experience in real-time systems
- Strong C++ experience in Windows/native environments
- Experience working in deterministic or near real-time systems
- Solid understanding of:
- Thread prioritization and concurrency
- Core affinity and real-time scheduling
- Interrupt-level timing constraints
- Strong control theory background, including:
- PID control
- Closed-loop feedback systems
- Step response analysis
- Feed-forward techniques
- Ability to diagnose servo instability on real hardware
- Comfortable working hands-on with CNC machines
Preferred Experience
- Experience with RTX64, IntervalZero, or similar RTOS platforms
- Background in CNC, robotics, aerospace, disk drives, semiconductor equipment, or industrial automation
- Familiarity with EtherCAT/TCP/UDP networking and/or industrial communications systems
- Experience migrating legacy real-time platforms
- Comfortable working with Visual Studio
Why Join Us?
At TRAK Machine Tools, you'll work on cutting-edge CNC control systems that directly impact modern manufacturing. We offer competitive compensation, health and disability insurance, paid vacation, and a 401(k) retirement plan.
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