58 OPEN
SALARIES · CONTROLS ENGINEER
Controls Engineer [YoY +8%]
Median total compensation for controls engineer roles in robotics, AI, and autonomy. Open roles by salary, direct from each employer.
[ SENIOR COMPENSATION · ANNUAL · BASE ]
$190,000 – $245,000USD
§ 01
Compensation by level
[ MID ]
$140K
[ SENIOR ]
$190K
[ STAFF ]
$245K
[ PRINCIPAL ]
$310K
§ 02
Top-paid open roles
- 01Senior / Staff Software Engineer - Motion PlanningZoox·Foster City, CA$254K–$350K
- 02Senior / Staff Software Engineer - Learned Trajectory Machine Learning EngineerZoox·Foster City, CA$242K–$349K
- 03Flight Controls Engineer (R4815)Shield AI·Seattle, Washington$220K–$340K
- 04Staff Engineer, Aircraft Trajectory Modeling (R5787)Shield AI·San Diego, California$200K–$300K
- 05Autonomy Engineer- Behavior and Motion Planning (R6007)Shield AI·San Diego, California$135K–$300K
- 06
Controls EngineerWayve·Sunnyvale, California USA$210K–$294K - 07
Principal Power Controls EngineerAnduril Industries·Costa Mesa, California, United States$220K–$292K - 08WPlatform Systems Engineer; Motion Planning and ControlWaabi·Phoenix, AZ$148K–$292K
- 09Staff Guidance & Controls Engineer (R4763)Shield AI·Dallas, Texas$180K–$280K
- 10Software Engineer - Motion PlanningZoox·Foster City, CA$168K–$270K
§ 03
Top employers hiring controls engineers
| Employer | Open roles | Median comp |
|---|---|---|
| Anduril Industries | 23 | $154K |
| Shield AI | 6 | $240K |
| Zoox | 5 | $230K |
| Waabi | 2 | $217K |
| Motional | 2 | — |
| Viam | 2 | $220K |
| Conspicuous | 1 | — |
| Confidential | 1 | — |
§ 04
Top cities hiring controls engineers
| Metro | Open roles | Median comp |
|---|---|---|
| Costa Mesa | 15 | $172K |
| Ashville | 7 | $149K |
| Foster City | 5 | $230K |
| New York | 3 | $220K |
| San Diego | 2 | $234K |
| London | 2 | — |
| Mountain View | 2 | $215K |
| Dallas | 1 | $230K |
§ 05
FAQ
- How much do controls engineers make in the robotics industry?
- Senior controls engineers in the robotics industry typically earn $190K base salary at top employers. Staff-level roles run $245K and principal-level reach $310K. Numbers are median base salary across 104 data points; total compensation including equity is typically 15-30% higher at private robotics employers.
- Who is hiring the most controls engineers right now?
- Anduril Industries (23 open roles), Shield AI (6 open roles), and Zoox (5 open roles) lead by open-role volume. Browse all 58 open controls engineer roles sorted by recency.
- Where are most controls engineer jobs located?
- The top robotics industry hubs for controls engineer roles right now are Costa Mesa, Ashville, and Foster City. Defense robotics tends to concentrate in DC/Northern Virginia and Colorado Springs (clearance-required roles), while commercial launch is heaviest in LA basin and Florida's Space Coast.
- Do controls engineer roles in robotics, AI, and autonomy require security clearance?
- Many do. Defense robotics programs at Anduril, Shield AI, Saronic, and defense primes require Secret or TS/SCI clearance. Commercial robotics roles at Boston Dynamics, Apptronik, 1X, Skydio, and Wayve generally do not. ITAR registration is more common than clearance — many sensor, autonomy, and unmanned-systems roles require it.
§ 06
Browse every controls engineer role