New

Controls Engineer

San Carlos, California, United States

About the company

At Swift Solar, our mission is to unlock the full potential of solar energy. We believe that solar energy has vast untapped potential to power our lives, fuel economies, and strengthen supply chains, while protecting planetary health in the face of global climate change. The reality is that today's solar technology is good, but not good enough. 

Swift Solar is making solar better with its breakthrough tandem technology that harnesses the power of perovskite materials to create solar solutions that are not only more efficient than traditional technology but also more versatile, enabling applications ranging from space solar to utility-scale power generation. 

Swift Solar is a mission-focused startup supported by the US government and backed by world-class investors. It’s a long journey to bring a new clean energy technology to market, and we’re in it for the long haul, together. Join our extraordinary team building the cutting-edge solar technology that will shape the future of the global solar industry.

A day in the life

As a multidisciplinary Controls Engineer at Swift, you’ll help us bring cutting-edge solar technology to reality by making our tools smarter, more precise, and easy to use. Your core responsibility will be designing, implementing, and maintaining the control systems that power Swift’s lab and production equipment.

While controls will be your primary focus, you’ll also tap into your broader skillset—whether in mechanical, software, or electrical engineering—to tackle the team’s most pressing technical challenges. You’ll work closely with process engineers, mechanical designers, and software developers to ensure our tools operate with the safety, reliability, and precision needed to accelerate Swift’s transition from lab-scale R&D to scalable production.

On a typical day, you might troubleshoot a PLC logic issue on a deposition tool, update a control sequence change for a new process step, or partner with a mechanical engineer to define the controls interface between a custom electro-mechanical device and production equipment.

As an early team member, you’ll help shape how Swift designs, builds, and scales its hardware/software systems—and you’ll get a front-row seat to the making of next-generation solar technology. This is a dynamic, hands-on role where you’ll work across disciplines, influence system design decisions, and grow your skills in an environment that values initiative, curiosity, and impact. 

You might be a good fit if you... 

  • Have hands-on experience with robotics, automation, and system integration for manufacturing or lab equipment.
  • Bring versatility, with strengths in mechanical, software, or electrical engineering.
  • Take initiative to solve problems – even outside your formal responsibilities.
  • Have built or interfaced GUIs connected to sensors, actuators, and PID controllers.
  • Have programmed PLCs using Beckhoff (TwinCAT), Siemens, Omron, or similar platforms.

A very strong candidate might bring one or more of the following...

  • Experience specifying and implementing Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES).
  • Mechanical or electrical design experience for automated systems.
  • Full-stack web development and API integration (e.g. React, Node.js, Django).
  • Experience creating dashboards, visualizations, or working with Docker and cloud platforms (GCP, AWS, etc.).
  • Deep motivation to make an impact on climate change

The logistics

  • Compensation: Competitive package including salary, equity, and benefits
    • Expected Pay Range: $110,000 - $185,000 per year
    • The actual offer, reflecting total compensation and benefits, will be determined by factors such as relevant experience, skills, and other qualifications 
  • Ideal start date: August – September 2025
  • Job type: Full-time
  • Location: San Carlos, CA (Swift Solar HQ)

What you’ll love about Swift

  • Work with purpose: Join our mission to unlock the full potential of solar energy and make a global impact. 
  • Lead with innovation: Be part of an extraordinary team building cutting-edge solar technology - growth mindset; culture
  • Thrive with benefits: Have 100% of your monthly premiums for HMO / PPO group healthcare plan options and 75% of your dental and vision insurance premiums covered by us. Employees also benefit from 401(k) matching, clean commuter benefits, and meaningful equity. 
  • Invest in your career: You’ll grow your skills, your network, and your perspective at Swift. We’ll support you in attending conferences and taking online courses, as long as you share your new insights with the team.

We recognize that candidates from underrepresented backgrounds often hesitate to apply if they don’t meet all the criteria. If you’re excited about this role and believe you can contribute to our team, we encourage you to apply—even if you don’t meet every qualification listed. We're eager to meet people from all backgrounds, and your unique skills and experiences could be exactly what we need.

If you believe in our mission, but this isn’t the right job for you, please check out other career opportunities on our website and email us at careers@swiftsolar.com with any questions. And if you have a friend who would be a perfect fit, send them this link. Thanks!

Swift is an equal opportunity employer. We value an inclusive work environment and welcome team members of all backgrounds and perspectives.

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at Swift Solar? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Education

Select...
Select...
Select...

What do you want us to call you? This is probably your first name or a nickname.

What city/state/country do you live in? We know that you might be willing to relocate—this is just so we know whether we need to fly you out.

Try to be concise: 1 paragraph is a good target.

Try to be concise: 1 paragraph is a good target.

We know you've probably done a lot of great things, but if you had to choose just one, what would it be? Why?

This could be a project for work or school, a side project, a research outcome, a competition victory, an honor or award, something you've written, an organization you started, or anything else you're passionate about. This is your chance to shine—please don't be shy!

Feel free to tell us as much or as little as you want.

What's the most important value that you care deeply about and do your best to live by? This could be a single word or phrase, or a longer explanation. There's no right answer, so just be yourself!

Select...
Select...

Feel free to elaborate on any of your answers here. If your school wasn't listed in the education section, feel free to provide details here. If you'd like to provide context for your US work authorization, please feel free to do that here. If you've had to overcome any particular barriers in your life—personal, career, or otherwise—to get to this point, we would love to hear more about your experiences. Please feel free to share your preferred gender pronouns if you like.

This question is completely optional, so please don't feel any pressure to write anything.

Please share any suggestions you have to help us improve this application!

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Swift Solar’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.