Controls / Mechatronics Engineer
Celerity Craft - Squamish, BC
Full-time · On-site (shop and test water)
About the role
Celerity Craft is developing Dynamic Air Cushion Vehicles: low-energy amphibious craft that use an energized air cushion under a trimaran-style hull for lift and thrust. We are building and testing a family of prototypes (2.4 m uncrewed through to larger manned demonstrators) and need an engineer who owns the control and electrical integration of those vehicles.
This is a hands-on role. You will make sensors, actuators, power, and software work together on the boat, not only in a model. The immediate priority is reliable IMU and control-surface integration, clean data into the existing acquisition and reporting chain, and a control implementation that the rest of the team can operate and extend without drama.
What you will do
• Own electrical and software integration of the prototype control system: IMUs, control-surface actuators and position feedback, pressure and motion sensors, power distribution, and the interface into the data-acquisition and reporting suite.
• Bring up, calibrate, and validate sensor and actuator chains on the bench and on the water. Confirm that what the reports show is what the hardware is actually doing.
• Implement and tune real-time control for ride and attitude (pitch, roll, heave, and related modes), including flap / control-surface laws and any active stability logic already in development.
• Design and build the vehicle electrical architecture for the current prototypes: harnesses, connectors, grounding, shielding, 48 V distribution, and signal integrity in a wet, vibrating, electrically noisy environment.
• Work with mechanical and naval architecture on actuator mounting, sensor placement, mass distribution, and failure modes that affect stability (pitch-pole, roll, twist).
• Produce integration documentation other people can use: wiring diagrams, interface control documents, calibration procedures, test cards, and a clear record of what was changed and why.
• Support on-water trials: instrumentation setup, live monitoring, post-run data review, and rapid fault isolation.
• Contribute to the path from the current 2.4 m uncrewed platform toward larger prototypes, including what must scale in sensing, actuation, power, and control.
What we need
• Degree in mechatronics, controls, electrical, mechanical, robotics, or a closely related field, or equivalent demonstrated experience.
• Proven integration of IMUs or other inertial/motion sensors with actuators on a real machine (vehicle, marine craft, robot, or industrial system), not coursework only.
• Embedded or real-time software capable of closing a control loop and logging data you can trust. Comfort with at least one of C/C++, Python, or a common controls environment, and with buses such as CAN.
• Practical electrical work: schematics, harness design, sensor excitation and signal conditioning, power electronics at low-voltage vehicle level, and debugging with a scope and meter.
• Experience taking a system from bench to field test and writing the procedures that make that repeatable.
• Clear, calm communication. This is a small team. You will brief results, flag risk early, and work with people who are not controls specialists.
Strong advantages
• Marine, amphibious, UAV, USV, or high-speed craft experience.
• Ride control, flight control, or active suspension.
• Sensor fusion, 6-DOF data acquisition, or digital-twin interfacing.
• Actuator selection and closed-loop position/force control (servos, linear actuators, flaps).
• Low-voltage battery systems (including LFP) and marine electrical practice.
• Familiarity with autonomous or uncrewed vehicle architectures.
How we work
Squamish shop and local test water. Some travel for trials. Early-stage hardware company: you will specify, build, test, and fix. We care more about a system that runs cleanly on the boat and produces data the team can use than about a polished simulation that has not been on the water.
